The Bottineau courant. (Bottineau, Bottineau County, N.D.) 1895-1929, 1918-03-07
TWENTY Y-FlFTH
ANNIVERSARY
The First National Bank of Bottineau
Celebrated Its Twenty Fifth Year
of Usefulness in this City on Mon
day of This Week.
SOUND FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
Careful and Conservative in Its BUSH
ness Methods 1t Has Grown to Be
One of the Strong Banking Insti-
tutiOns of the State.

ty-nfth anniversary OF the OrganiZa-
ton of the First National Bank Of
Bottineau, which was originally organ
lied as the Merchants Bank of Bot
tineau, and on January Z, 1902, was
changed by conversion into the First
National Bank of Bottineau. This
bank enjoys the distinction of being
probably the oldest bank in North
Dakota that has been officered con-
tinuously by the same set of officers
without any changes whatever. W.
H. Mcintosh as president, w. R. Nc.
Intosh, vice president and F. W..
Cathro, cashier, have been the first
and only officers Of the bank, hold
ing these relative positions and act
ing continuously without change from
the date of it's organization down to.
the present time. The same three
officers have continuously acted as
the Discount Committee. While it is
admitted there are other bankers in
North Dakota who have been in the
banking business over twenty-five
years, it is not probable that any
other bank has a record Of having no
change during that length of time
among the three principal officers and
the management of the First National
Bank of Bottineau is Justly proud Of
this distinction. a
The officers of the bank are thor
oughly appreciative Of the confidence
reposed in them by it's patrons,
whereby the success of the institu-
tion has been made possible, and hope
to continue to merit the confidence
and esteem of the community and
that the present cordial relations
may continue and that the bank may
be further enabled to aid in the sue
cess and prosperity of it's patrons as
we'll as Of the whole community.
Mr.. John T. Neville came to the
bank I'll Che fall of 1898, about six
months after the bank was organ
lied, as general helper and bookkeep-
er and afterwards was appointed tel
Ter an later Assistant Cashier, which
position he now holds and he has been
continuously with the institution for
nearly twenty-five years, except for
period of four or five years when he
organized and operated bank at
Westhope. After selling out his in
terests there he returned to this bank.
The bank originally organized with
a capital Of $1O,O0O.00 in 1893, in 1901
it increased it's capital to $25, 100000
and has now a capital of $50,000.0O,
surplus of $1O,OOO.OO and undivided
profits of $13,000.O0 invested in the
business. It's average annual divi-
dends for twenty-five years has been
nine per cent. It's stockholders are
worth upwards of half a million dol
lars.
The management prides itself upon
careful and conservative conducting
Of it's affairs. It's growth has not
been rapid and several times in hard
years it was passed dividends, never
theless, the growth has been constant
and progressive and the management
has always stood and labored for the
continued up-building of the commun-
ity it serves and feels that it has been
a large factor in the development OF
Bottineau county and it's own particu-
lar constituency. The agricultural in
terests Of Bottineau county have at
all times during the past twenty-five
years been promoted, stabilized and
made effective thru the activities Of
the First National and the high plane
occupied by Bottineau county among
the counties Of North Dakota is in no
small measure due to the continuous
efforts of this bank and it is with a
high degree Of pride, pleasure and
satisfaction, that the management
looks back over the past twenty-five
years and. views not only it's own sue
cess, but the general success and
prosperity Of the community it serves.
SUPPOSE YOU HAD TO SAVE?
Many people are asking now, for
the first time, how they can do with
out this, that, and the other thing
which hitherto they have imagined to
be essential to their health, comfort,
and pleasure. In other words, many
people in all classes Of society are