The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1921-05-21
"a E N, w ON EN-
A ND THIN C S

- was pledSure TO meet pdhheIS AiS-
all parts of the state who came here to
tho annual convention of the Alabama
Bankers association which met at the
Tutwiler on Thursday and adjourns to-
day. l have always felt a great interest
in bankers. My grandfather was banker
in the good old days of the State bank in
Georgia, when the bank at Washington
occupied one-half of the building, while
the other was used as a residence. My
father was born in bank and my
brother for years was banker, and
served my apprenticeship on leaving
school in one.
The word ''bank'' in the economic sense
covers various meanings, which all ex-
press one object, a contribution of money
for common purpose. Thus Bacon. in
his essay on "Usury.' while explaining
avoided and the commodities retained
refers to bank or common stock" as
an expression with which his readers
would be familiar.
III not go deep into the etymology OF
the word bank" but content myself with
calling attention to several accounts of
its derivation. Originally connected. says
one authority, with the idea of a mound
o. a bank of earth, hence with that of a
monte, an Italian word describing a
heap, the term has been gradually ap-
piled to several classes of institutions es-
tablished for the general purpose of deal
ing with money.
There are some who trace through the
French, banaue; italian, banca, meaning
a bench, hence money dealers table,
counter or shop. Jerry Taylor in the
Great Exemplar speaks of "Exchangers
OF money made the temple to be the mar
ket of the banks" Arnold in his His
tory of Rome says: These established
their banks or tables in the forum, like
ordinary bankers" 1t would be interesting
to follow the development in banking and
bank architecture from the mere chang
ms of money to the magnificent homes in
which they now do business.
Banking in many of its forms was
Greeks and the Romans. Roman banks
received money on current account, pay
ing it out to their customers written
order; or on deposit account, repayable
yet modern banking must be regarded as
having had an Independent origin in the
reviving civilization of the middle ages.
Ir the twelfth century almost the whole
trade of Europe was in the hands of the
Italian cities. and in these the need of
bankers was first felt. The earliest pub
lie bank, that of Venice, established in
iii, and existing down to the dissolution
OF the republic in 1897, was for some time
a bank of deposit only, the government
being responsible for the deposits and
the whole capital being in effect a pub
lie loan.
In the early period of the operations of
this bank deposits could not be with
drawn, but the depositor had a credit at
the bank to the amount deposited, this
credit being transferable to another per-
son in place Of money payment. Subse-
quently deposits were allowed to be with
drawn. the original system proving in
DIARIES. Some claim however. that the
Banco di Rialto. established by the acto
of the Venetian Senate of 1854 and 1887,
was the first public bank in that city
and in Europe.
The great trouble about investigating
too closely any historical question comes
from the fact that about as soon as you
think you have arrived at the facts, up
bobs something to unsettle the question.
According to Macleod, the Bank of Venice
was in the first instance merely trans
fer office of national debt, and that it
took several centuries for it to become
in any sense entitled to be called bank
in the modern sense. He makes an in
teresting story out of it which is by
far too long to put down here.
Macleod maintains in view of the limi-
tations of the Bank of Venice BOUNDED,
according to him, in 1857, instead of I'LL,
as given above) that the origin of mod
ern banking is more properly attributable
to the money lenders of Florence who, in
the middle of the fourteenth century,
were famous throughout Europe, es-
pecially the houses of Pitt. Medici, Bardi,
Peruzzi and others The latter two in
1916 failed for large sums Edward III
of England owed them 100000 gold flor
ms. which he could not repay,
But the principal function of modern
bark. that of keeping depostors' money
safe but accessible was perhaps first un-
dertaken on large scale by the Bank
Of Amsterdam, founded in 1909 1t Is not
my purpose to go into twentieth century
banking. and therefore l will close by
saying Birmingham was proud to have
been host to the Alabama bankers, a
body of splendid and far-seeing men who
are doing so much to conserve and up
build every interest of the state.
eamK1MMAansl1