The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-06-15
S|MONSON SENDS GLOWING REPORTS FROM NORTHWEST Finds Minneapolis Flourish ing and Banks Have
 Plenty of Money REPRESENTS THE
 WEALTH, OF FARMS Thinks Crops This Year Will Enrich the Country Considerably More
 Than Ten Billion
 Dollars
By HOLLAND

New York, June 4-tSpeciai )-About 12 years ago William A. Simonson, then as now vice president of the National City Bank of New York City, was able to say that his Investigations showed him that west of the Allegheny moun- tains some of the larger cities were be- coming centers of great financial power and resources. Of course, Chicago. St. Louis and also Cincinnati were not in- eluded in this statement, for these were at that time and had been for many years financial centers of recognized in- fiuenee not only throughout the Missis- sippi and Ohio valleys, but also by re- f1ected influence in the east
 Mr Simonson referred particularly to
 Pittsburg. Cleveland, Minneapolis and
 Kansas City Only few years before
 he made this statement these cities were
 to a considerable extent compelled to depend upon the eastern money market
 Henry C. Prick. then of Pittsburg had
 long been a heavy borrower in New York and his paper was always looked upon
 as fully as acceptable as any other paper
 offered. So also others in Pittsburg had
 constant recourse to the New York
 banks. So. too, Cleveland was more or
 less dependent upon the eastern money
 markets. and that was true of Kansas
 City, for the paper issued by some of
 the packers of that city was offered reg
 ularly and in large amounts in the east Minneapolis earlier than these other
 cities began to reveal evidences of finan-
 cial strength, but about 1902 all of these cities were possessing abundant financial strength and resources, and this explains
 in some measure the rapid growth and development of many parts of the Mis- sissippi valley
 Now Mr Simonson is making a per sonal study of business conditions and of the outlook for the farmers of the
 crop country, and this morning a com munication was received from him, writ ten in Minneapolis, which is about as en- couraging any news of a business character that has recently been received | from any section of the country west of the Allegheny mountains He is quail. l fled to speak by experience with very large financial propositions. He was one of the committee of national bankers who | supervised last fall the issuing of clear 1 inghouse certificates, and he also hao l part in the great financing by whict I s100 600 in gold for the relief of New York city and another $1O0,OO0O0 in gold | for the relief of American merchants who owed money on account in England but could not get the exchange with which | to pay their bills was raised.
 l Just before MT. Simonson started for l the Mississippi valley and the north. west. he had information respecting the | phenomenal increase in reserves and in | cash which was reported in recent statement of the New York banks Yet great as these local figures are and :nti-
 mately as he has been brought into as
 sociation with the very great financing Mir. Simonson, according to a communica. | tion received from him, Is even more
 greatly impressed by all that he has seer
 and learned in the Mississippi valley anc | in the northwest, This feeling is un doubtedly due to his belief that conditions which prevail there will surely, although
 it may be rather slowly. work their way east, thereby causing by and by grea business activity in that part of the coun l try which is east of the Alleghenies 1 What MT. Simonson in 1902 spoke of a. l gratifying and yet somewhat astonishins namely, the development of financia l strength and resources of some of tn, | cities of the west-he now finds confirmed
 and to an extent which he did not dream l of when formerly he spoke of the change. | then under way.
 What Bankers Report
 Throughout the Mississippi valley ther, was substantial agreement in the view O l bankers that a very important commer