The Sentinel=record., 1915-04-23
STATE BANKERS
 ARE IN SESSION
ALL RECORDS OF ATTENDANCE ARE REPORTED TO HAVE
 BEEN BROKEN.

Little Rock, April 22.-There is an average of one representative from each bank in Arkansas in attendance at the twenty-fifth annual convention of the Arkansas Bankers Association, which opened this morning. More than 300 had registered before Ii o'clock and half as many more reached the city between that hour and this afternoon.
 The auditorium of the Hotel Ma rion, where the sessions are being held, was limited only to registered delegates, each of whom was given a card for admittauce to sessions. The action was required because of the big attendance. Eight clerks experi- enced in handling card index systems and three special stenographers were kept busy throughout the morning taking care of those who wanted 10 register. The first official roster. in- cluding names of all who registered to II o'clock, was returned from the printer at noon, showing that the first mornings attendance had broken all records of previous annual gather ings Of bankers
 Delegates were seated in groups. corresponding to the groups compris- ing the state association, numbered from one to seven.
 The morning session, the only one today, was called to order a half hour late owing to the fact that the regis tration booth had been unable to take care of the big number of visitors President George W. Rogers of Little Rock raDped for order and the Rev. J. II. o. Smith of the First Christian church was introduced. and asked to open the convention with prayer.
 The first annual occurrence, if it could rightly be termed such, and perhaps one of the few instances in the history of Arkansas conventions, was in a brief statement made by the minister before he offered prayer.
 Before you arise for the prayer, wish to say a few words" he rv, marked Half the delegaton was standing.
 The Rev. Mir. Smith said that he did not believe in the formal prayer at the opening the prayer alone He said he believed members of the asso- ciation should think of Divine guid- ance in their work. not only in the convention but in all their endeavors. Prayer should be taken seriously and not looked upon as just a mere matter of formality.
 It was perhaps the first time in the lives of any present that they had heard prayer offered preceded by an of the sort, yet the Rev. Mir. Smith did not hesitate to in- clude into his remarks a story.
 T opened a session of the Indiana prayer and l had scarcely uttered Amen before fifteen or twenty men were on their feet shouting at the top of their voices, MT. Speakerl Mir Speaker! One of the papers the next morning remarked that it seemed that the Reverend Gentleman had scarcely completed his supplication for peace, when hell broke lOose.'
 A banquet tonight ended the first days session of the twenty-fifth an nUal convention of the Arkansas Bank CTS Association. The only speakers were James Schemerhorn, pubisler of the Detroit Times of Detroit. Mich, who spoke on The Soul of a City,"| and C. F. J. Mooney of Memphis, Tenn, managing editor of the Mem phis Commercial-Appeal, who spoke on The Destiny of Arkansas"
 Former United States Senator J. N. Heiskell, editor of the Arkansas Gazette, was toastmaster. Other speeches were eliminated to make way for vaudeville and moving pie, lures.
 Tomorrows two sessions will close the convention. The principal speak CTS will be B. A. Ruffin of Richmond, Va. William McChesney Martin of St. Louis, and Bradford A. Knapp, head of crop diyersification field ex- tension work of the United States de- partment of agriculture.