The Birmingham age-herald., 1917-06-29

most clever bit of legislative strategy,
 was able to organize the Bank of the
 Manhattan company The Hamilton bank
 was federalistic. The Burr bank was
 democratic, Business men in New
 York believed that the time had come
 when another bank should be established
 which would be free from the political
 bias which distinguished these two older
 banks. They, therefore, with some diff hculty obtained charter and when or ganized the bank was the third of the
 banks of New York to be established.
 PURSUING A QUIET WAY
 Always this institution has been re- garded as very sound and has flourished
 although it has seemed not to keep pace With the tremendous strides taken by other banks since 1892. Its management
 has been cautious, but not narrow and
 the institution has moved along in a quiet, inconspicuous manner apparently to the full satisfaction of it's stockhold- CTS. After Senator Burton retired from the United States Senate, several op- portunities came to him for important service, but he made choice of the pres idency of the Merchants bank If it was his expectation and that of the stockholders, greatly and speedily to in crease the business of the bank, then at
 the time of the purchase of the major iity of stock by the Royal Bank of Can !, ada that expectation was not realized although there were reasons for believ- ing that in time Senator Burton might 1 bring the institution such an amount of business as he and those who made him president of the bank hoped he would be able to do
 A NEW OPPORTUNITY
 | Now, in most unexpected manner an opportunity has arisen for greatly in- creasing the business, the deposit line
 and the resources of this institution, but ir is Canadian capital that is to do this. Our financial relations with Canada are So great and are so likely to continue to be very large, even after the war is closed, that banking capital of Canada perceiving an opportunity for entering New York city's banking field at last negotiated for the purchase of one share more than one-half of the capital stock of this institution. The Canadians paid
 $2, ,S6O,0 ,0O0 for this stock. They should be able within a short time to bring de-
 posits to this bank greatly in excess of the amount of money they paid for the control of the capital stock.
 The Merchants National bank remains an American institution. The Canadians have simply bought the majority of the stock. It must conform 10 the statutory laws, but the new ownership does rep resent that community of interest be- tween Canada and the United States, for 1 it is a community of interest due all
 most entirely to the exigencies suddenly created by the European war. The Lon don market was closed to Canada after the war began, but the American market was open, and no Canadian approach to this money market was ever rejected. The result is that Canada owes the United States several hundred millions on account of loans of all kinds made in this country since the war with Germany
 began. So it is presumed that after the war is ended Great Britain will be for a long time fully occupied with domes- tic financial problems, entailing thereby continuation of the financial relations between the United States and Canada. The Merchants National bank, though from one point of view it is now Can adian institution, although it is not le- gally that, should speedily reflect these great financial transactions. In that way ar opportunity opened to Senator Bur l ton, of which he could have had no con- ception when he accepted the presidency l of this institution.