The Washington herald., 1919-02-14
b0STONCAPITAL
AIDED PIONEERS
and Telephone
System Financed by
Loans in Hub City.

Loans In Hub City.
Announcement was made yesterday
that in Boston there are now fifteen
national banks. nine of which are in
the city proper and six in the SUD-
urbs. Attention has been called 10
the list which contains the names OF
the banks of Boston which are MEM
bers Of the Clearing House AssocIa-
tion. chiefly because a few years ago
the number of banks In Boston was
nearly fve times as many as 1t Is
now. Within a comparatively short
time the ffty-three banks which at
one time constituted the membership
OF the Boston Clearing House Assocta-
tion have so shrunken in numbers
that the list OF fifteen. nine Of which
are In the city proper makes up the
total OF the national banks IN tina;
great and very rich community.
One explanation which Is given for
this falling on in the number tells OF
frequent consultations. Probably in
proportion to Its size and financial In
fiuence Boston stands frat in the
number OF bank consultations. Then,
too. a number OF foundations have
FnaQes ALMOST all lDA lllE lAA po1S
of surrenderins national bank char
tiers and taking out state charters as
trust institutions. According TO the
understanding in New York. the Bos-
ton Clearing House Association ad-
nits none but national banks to meHI-
bership I'm the association Consolida-
tions have resulted in remarkable en-
Arsrgement of several of the banks IN
Boston 80 that some Of them now pos
sess millions of capital and resources
their possessions of this kind being
great enough. in fact. to have occa-
stoned surprise had it been possible to
report similar figures only a few
years ago.
Trust Company Privileges.
The tendency toward the surrender
Of national bank charters and reor-
gsniZation as trust companies under
state bank charters. is probably due
to the fact that under the Massachu-
setts law. trust companies possess
greater privileges and opportunities
than do the national banks. 1t may
be that by and by many of them will
be tempted to join the Federal reserve
system, although disposition Of that
kind has not yet been made so evil
dent as is the case in New York.
Boston has abundance Of capital,
and especially the kind of capital that
is available for banking purposes. Her
citizens and her banks stood almost
pTe-eminent among the cities of the
United States for subscriptions to the
liberty loans. Nevertheless il Is OBJ
served that gradually but surely Bos-
ton is losing the prestige which was
once her own. as a center Of powerful
railroad interests, great Industrial
corpora tiou interests and OF late the
position she long held as the central
copper market of the United States.
Before Boston lost the supremacy
which she held for years in these Va
rious affairs. she had already lost
much Of her China and other foreign
trade That trade was the foundation
OF the great fortunes and powerful
financial resources which centered in
Boston. Not competition, however.
but the ocean cable was responsible.
q great measure at least, for the
loss OF the prestige Boston OBJ
tained = long ago as the early days
OF the republic. s the leader in the
China and Far East trade, and also
the West India trade. The ocean ca
BILE. with its means of furnishing az
most instantaneous intelligence. cut
deeply into the foreign trade. which
had long been established in Boston.
Boston capital furnished, in the
early days Of railroad development,
the means by which the construction
OF VARIOUS railroads could be COM
pIeted II was there that the pro-
moters Of the Atcheson. Topeka and
santa Fe Railroad obtained. after con-
sidera bic struggle, firm footing. SO
also the Michigan Central and the
Burlington systems under the leader
ship Of John VI. Forbes were regarded
as disinctiveIy Boston institutions.
The Union Pacific was likewise es-
teemed a Boston institution and Bos-
ton men under the leadership OF
Charles Francis Adams. controlled II.
The Mexican Central Railroad system
was for some years a Boston institu-
ton Now such a distinction as lead
ership in these railroad properties
has passed from Boston to New York.
The Telephone System.
1t was in Boston that at first the
germs and then the Arm foundation
upon which the American telephone
system is built were secured. Today
lyossibly the largest number of stock
kolders In that corporation live in
New ENGLAND. But gradually Boston
supremacy in this institution, so far
as Leadership and executive and
financial MANAGEMENT are concerned,
passed to New York.
When AgassiZ. with skill and Cour-
age not vet surpassed by any of the
L leaders in mining industries, brought
to success the great copper properties
Of Michigan. il was inevitable that
Boston should become the central
market for the copper industries or
the United States. The Calumet ana
Hecla was the first great copper indus
try in this country. That relation
was maintained until recently. Now
all the evidence points to the passing
Of that leadership from Boston to
New York. The greatest OF the cop
per Industries of the United States,
excepting the Calumet and Hecla, are
now maintaining their official head
quarters in New York. justly so be-
cause much Of the capital needed for
the development OF these properties
was obtained in New York. For a
few years the remark has been fire.
quently made that OF all the varied
Boston leaderships in industries
and mining. only two
remain. one being the copper indus
try and the other wool. Now it can
not be affirmed with perfect accuracy
that Boston is maintaining the pest
tion long held as the central copper
market of the United States.
Occasionally efforts have been made
to take from Boston the pre-eminenr
position she has always maintained