The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-04-14

Of last week by the announcement that
 he had retired from the presidency of one
 of the two oldest trust companies of New
 York. feeling justified. in view of his age -SS years-in accepting the chairmanship
 of the board of directors. If MT. Parish
 did typify the old school of bankers and
 banking. nevertheless he was well up in
 the ranks of those who in recent years l have had part in some very great trans actions.
 Ills was one of the very rare offices in New York in which the telephone was not
 installed, and it was sometimes spoken o1 as distinguishing eccentricity of MT. Parish that he abhorred that apparatus, l at least the use of it in his business life. But he had a reason for refusing to per mt the installation of the telephone in his office. He was accustomed to say to those
 who spoke to him of the business value of the apparatus that he liked to look a man in the eye when discussing busi-
 ness with him, and if 1t were not thought worth while to consult with him face to face then he did not consider it worth while to enter into business converse ton. He sat at his desk president of this in- stitution 54 years ,and there was no impor- tant transaction, nor any transaction, in
 
 minor and technical, which was not car | ried out under his keenly observing and analysing eye.
 Another peculiarity which was never theless an inflexible rule which President Parish enforced was the refusal to hand out 8 check book until the book previous | ly given to customer had been exhaust ed. One of those who has had for many years confidence in this institution, hav- ing been as good customer of it in the way of deposits as any other, was per | suaded that it would be convenient for | him to have a pocket checkbook But when he made application for it he ob- served that investigation followed so that | 1t might be discovered what the number | on the latest check of his which had come into the institution was. It was found l that his check book-which was one of the desk or table kind-still contained a con siderable number of blank checks. His reques. was refused, and the reason given 1 by President Parish, as reported by this customer was that he did not like to have blank checks lying around and that | therefore 1t would not be permissible to give out new checkbook. even a pocket check book, until the checks of the old
 book were exhausted. Another rule al- ways observed was that cancelled or paid checks should not be returned to the banker President Parish regarded these as bank vouchers
 Faithful to First Principles The institution was one of the first two established in New York city chiefly for the purpose of conducting fiduciary busi- ness. When it's doors were opened and for years afterward there was no trust business of the kind which is now so com
 mon, trustees for railroad undertaking or
 trustees for great corporate transactions.
 The only trusts then established were
 those for individuals or for phlanthro-
 pic or educational institutions. No temp | tation could ever influence President Par ish to depart from this first principle Many were the opportunities that came
 to him for sharing in large undertakings, especially underwritings, but he was per | emptory in his refusal In this respect
 the institution has been for many years unique. There is none other in New York
 like it. When, last September, bankers
 of New York city were undertaking the organization of a voluntary pool to secure 1 S0.000,000 of gold which was to be used to
 save the credit of New York city and pre- vent the notes of the city which were held
 abroad from going to protest it was said | that there were only two institutions in l the city which declined to join this pool. The public did not know the names of | these institutions until some time had passed. President Parish's institution was l one of the two. His reasons. however, for | upon mere whim. They related to the dis tinctive and peculiar management of his bank. He learned some years ago that it was advisable for a bank especially in
 these days of changing conditions to rely upon itself in times of emergency. He Therefore established and maintained an l adequate reserve which was kept in the vaults of his institution. No matter what happened, he felt that the institution
 would weather any gale and it was in the sense of self preservation that he declined
 to join the gold pool. Yet 20 years earlier,
 when the government at Washington was
 in distress because of lack of gold he withdrew from his vaSilts E, ,500,0 GOO in gold l for the purpose of eEabling John G. Car
 lisle, then Secretary of the Treasury, to obtain $50, 0.000 in gold which was needed | for preventing the treasury from lapsing
 to the silver basis.
 | A Great Merchant Banker
 l Although MT. Parish adhered steadfastly
 to the methods and principles of banking | with which he became familiar more than l 50 years ago, nevertheless he has in recent years shown himself to be one of the great
 merchant bankers of New York city. His
 transactions were of kind which always | justified the late J. P. Morgan in speaking
 of himself as a merchant exactly as the bankers of an early day at Amsterdam regarded themselves as merchants. There
 is excellent authority for reporting that
 recently and within a single year MT.
 Parish bought commercial paper the az gIegate of which for the year was s54 0O0,- GOO. Curiously enough, this Is exactly the
 sum reported by President Sabn for his l institution of the acceptances recently
 written upon bills of exchange by his insti- tuition.
 l Of this $54000.000 of commercial paper which President Parish bought in a single year, every dollar was paid at maturity.
 Modern banking can make no better re- port than this nor are there many institu- tions which would be able to report that | in,one year there was purchase of $54,- 100000 of commercial paper.
 l But there was another peculiarity about | these nsactions and this distinguished
 Mir. Parish from the great body of mod ern bankers. Every item in the form of
 commercial paper bought by him passed
 under his eye. Therein he revealed him
 self to be a master among the credit men
 of the United States. The modern banker l IA