Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-03-25
LARGEST BANKING
UNITS NOW IN j. S.
First and Second Institutions
in World Located in
New York.
By JOHN F. SINCLAIR.

By JOHN F. SINCLAIR.
Special Dispatch to The Star.
NEW YORK, March 25.-Wiggin
McHugh. Mccain, Aldrich are the Dig
V four" in the $2,800,000,000 Chase Ma
tional Bank.
Before the recent merger the Chase
National Bank was the sixth and the
Equitable Trust the twelfth among the
:. thirteen ST. 900 ,000,000 money organiza-
tions in existence When the sixth and
) the twelfth merged, it made the Chase
~ the biggest bank in the world, with an
2 other New York Bank. the National
City, second. Two London banks the
Midland and Lloyds, are third and
fourth. with fifth place held by the
Guaranty Trust of New York.
-. But what about the men who dlrect
- its banking policy? Albert H. Wiggin, 81,
chairman of the governing board ana =
preachers son, was born at Meonelo'
=. Mass, went to work early and has been
&, a banker all his life. When he joined
:. the Chase National Ban its resources
4. were but $50, 1000 900. To this aggressive,
ambitious man must go much OF tne
credit for the ChaSe's leadership, A
member of Is clubs, hard worker when
he works, Mr.. Wiggin is widely known
and well liked.
.Tohn McHugh, 81, born in Bellville,
Canada, in1migrated at 26 to the United
States. He gained his early banking ex-
Derience in IoN as president OF the
as FIRST National Bank Sioux City
Fifteen years ago he left Iowa 10 pc.
0s come president of the Old Metals and
a9f Mechanics Bank in New York. When II
merged with the Chase, he became
president Now, one of the solid bankers
Is of the Street he continues as chairman
of the executive committee.
Charles S. Mccain, 49, born at PINE
- Bluff, Ark, received his early scno0llns
1904. and was a Phi Beta Kappa man.
He returned to Little Rock and advanced
To the presidency of the Bankers IruSt
Co. there. He entered New York as
vice president of the National Park
Band, and within ten years became It's
president. 49,
Chase merged with the National PARK
ait gained two important assets-money
and Mccain" This Southern banker
moves into the craftsmanship OF the
board of directors of the new Chase
Bank.
winthrop w. Aldrich, a, son of the
late Senator Nelson w. Aldrich of Rhode
Island, brother-in-law OF John "
Rockefeller, is a Harvard graduate IN
both arts and law. He came to new
York in 1912 and, except for year In
thu Army, he has practiced law ever
since. He is director OF many corpora
y.
these railroads may be mentioned the
Western Maryland, Western Pacific ana
Dsnver g. Rio Grande. But more lntl-
mately, Mr.. Aldrich, who becomes the
new president, represents the vast
Rockefeller interests.
This record aggregation of nearly So
OOO. OO0, 900 of banking resourceS-what
does it portend? How big can banks
grow? Francis H. Sisson of the Guar
anty Trust Co. probably answered 1t as
we'll as anybody when he said:
"A bank can be as big as IT Is usefui.
Growth in size is accomplished only
through growth in the work to be done.
From the talk one hears, there are
many more bank mergers in the making.
"a specialist in apprehension" is what
one financial editor calls Representative
McFadden of the House committe on
banking and currency.
When Thomas w. Lamont. Morgan
partner, announced that about one
fourth ofthe $500, 900 900 Of PREPARATIONS
bonds. when issued, will be sold In the
United States, Chairman McFadden re-
Joined that he believed such bonds 70
be legally defective"
Here is Representative McFaddens
reason for thinking so:
The German reparation bonds to be
sold are q tax upon railroad gross re-
ceipts: But the German Reichstag has
no power TO pledge the railroads, because
they belong to the German states, ano
the states never have consented 10 tne
ARRANGEMENT, So German courts can
cancel such confiscation authority and
the bonds, when issued, will be subject
to Reputation.
Inportant. if true. But these bonds
do not depend exclusively upon the
railroad receipts, because the basis OF
security for the payment OF the annul-
H. fne
German government, to which no fur
ther guarantee can add anything what
soeyer," says the Young report:
Granting Chairman McFaddens po'
sition in regard to railroad receipts, tne
bonds to be offered are direct obi.
are Just as valuable as any other oon.
cation of the German government itself
and no more.
Making progress! This is the size-uT
of the Julius H. Barnes report OF tns
National Business Survey Conference
issued yesterday. Favorable signs
Easy long and short term credit; ar
increase in savings; life insurance
building and loan activity.
A revival Of construction in its mani
fold forms has for first requirement
ADEQUATE and reasonably priced creolt
saws Mr.. Barnes. This is already mere
Some businesses, however, are not VI
to the record of the preceding year
Building construction, carloadings, ship
ping. telegraph and cable, radio coal
steel automobiles, chemicals and textiles
While newspaper advertising in IL
leading newspapers showed a decreas'
of about per cent over February o
last year, radio advertising shows re
rnarkable increased per cent In March
What about retail and wholesal
trade?
In a word, retail sales in Februar,
and the first half of March are less
dollar value, but because OF lower-prlce'
commodities the volume aboutI equal
that of last year.
This Barnes survey is comprehensive
not colored, but frank, even courageous
in spots. With Spring here, the mex
national business survey should sho'
progress in much more substantis
way.
(Copyright, 1880, by North American News
paper Alliance
SHORT-TERM SECURITIES.