The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1916-08-01
TUESDAY, AUGUST l. 1916.
WILLIAMS INTERRoGATED AGAIN

The Morrisville Messenger of We'd
acsday, July 70, contains the Following
editorial:
will the Bennington Banner or the
Rutland Herald, ct ais, please state
vino has made any charges against
Senator Page 5 hanking methods, bank
advertising. etc, and where and when.
80 We have only seen an unsigned
letter in a small local paper, insinuat-
ing by questions etc, something of the
kind.
Neither the Herald nor the Banner
would print such letter.
Both would require the author to
: sign his name and print the letter, if
/ at all, over that signature.
. $50 would most reputable newspa-
/ pcrs.
''Why dignity such scurrilous com
muuications by editorial notice?
''liad anything. of the sort intimat-
( ed, ever been done we know State
Bank Commissioner Williams would
. have spoken right out in meeting.
''It implies that he does not know
his business or is not doing his duty
as bank commissioner.
ellis reports show absolutely moth
ING against this bank or its president.
- Dirty politics is all there is to
it.
Several of the newspapers in the
state have made editorial reference to
certain current charges concerning
Senator Page and the methods he en-
ploys in running his bank. 1t is al.
legged that the advertising which he
has been circulating has been mislcad.
ing in that it has given depositors OF
the bank and citizens of the state to
understand that their deposits in Sen
ator Page 5 bank were all invested il
! Vermont, while it is n fact that very
large portion of the funds belonging
to residents Of the state and deposite,
in Mr.. Pages bank are in fact invest
cd outside Vermont. Frank c. vii
liams, bank commissioner, has been re
peatcdly asked to state the facts $,
! the people might know the truth. S.
far ne has not seen fit to reply to tn,
| questions which have been asked him
The people are entitled to know tn,
truth, and we should suppose that tn,
bank and Senator Page himself woul,
| urge Mr.. Williams to inform the pub
| lie.
Whatever the truth may he abou
the advertising, it is generally under
/ stood by men in banking circles tina
for some time Senator Page used hi
bank ana certain other banks as a me
dunn to avoid the payment of Ioca
taxes ON bank stock. The rumor is ais
current that some of the directors O
the Lamoillc County Savings Bank
| Trust company have endorsed or guar
| antccd the payment of several hui
! dreds of thousands of dollars worth @
the bank 5 loans, invested in out {
the state mortgages. 1t is suggeste
that the fact that these out-of-th,
state loans are endorsed or guarantee
by the directors Of the bank, or other
u is the basis for Senator Page advert
- ing that all investments of his ban
were made in Vermont
To what extent is it lawful for d
rectors Of this bank to become cndo
p scrs and guarantors, Mr.. William.
Does such a situation exist, or has
existed? Is there no limit to the Ii
bilitv which a director of a bank ma
- incur with his own institution?
49, The Morrisville Messenger, speaki1
% for Senator Page, recently denied tn
his bank had advertised "all inves
!. ments in Vermont since Senator Pa,
" went to Washington. The Messeng
is mistaken, for in the fall of 1912,
cd advertisement appeared in which Sc