The coastland times with which is combined the pilot and herald of Belhaven and Swan Quarter., 1959-12-11
BIG TURNOUT FOR HEARING
ON NEW BANK EXPECTED in
MANTEO MONDAY DEC. IA
Some so Citizens To Petition for Additional
Bank in Dare County; Opposition Expected
From Manteo Bank Before Banking Commits
sioner; Hearing Begins at $3.50 In Dare County
Courthouse.

SOUI tlONSGs
The only meeting of its kind
ever scheduled for Dare County
promises to be a long remembered
one on Monday, December 18th,
when a group of some $50 citizens
will appeal to the State Banking
Commission for authority to etab-
hsh a new bank in Dare County to
be called the Peoples Bank of
Dare.
Ben R. Roberts, Commissioner of
Banks will hold the hearing $50
am. being the opening time, and
indications now are that a large
crowd representing many parts Of
the county will come to Manteo to
signify their interest. Strong OPP
position from the Bank of Manteo
is expected at this meeting. It's
attorneys, Willis Smith Jr., and
Jim Dorsett of Raleigh have been
spending some time in the locali-
ty, going over the county to de-
velop support for the campaign of
the Bank of Manteo to hold the
field without competition.
In opposing the establishment of
a new bank, the Bank of Manteo
through its cashier has issued a
statement in which the following
claims are offered: The bank has
operated So years and no depositor
has lost any money in it; that Will
lis R. Pearce who has been Cashier
or % years will continue as an
"officer" of the Bank it is stated
the bank paid it's stockholders no
dividends until 1916; that the
Cashier and assistant Cashier are
the only salaried officers of the
bank; that directors receive no
salary.
The Bank states further that the
owners of the Bank are Dare
County minded; that stock in it is
available to responsible Dar e
County citizens; the bank is eager
and able to grow with Dare County.
1t says the real issue is to preserve
for Dare County one sound bank
rather than to create two unsuc-
cessful ones. And in this last state
ment it doesn't manifest the usual
optimism for the future growth
of Dare County that is expressed
in so many quarters elsewhere.
The group who would organize
the new bank is represented by j.
Melville Broughton Jr., of Raleigh
and w. H. McCown of Manteo.
Leaders in this group are M. L.
Daniels Jr., Archie Burrus, Julian
Oneto, Frank White, R. Bruce
Etheridge who sold stock and help
ed organize the bank of Manteo
over so years ago, and who was
it's cashier for over a quarter of
century. Other subscribers are
Julian Oneto, Andy Griffith,
Ward Daniels, ]. E. Baum, E. r.
White, Dan Oden, Donald Dough,
and many others.
The organizers of the new bank
contend the county has grown by
leaps and bounds until there is
definite need for more banking fa-
cilities at home. They have con-
tended that $14 have been bor-
town, by Dare County people in the
town, for each dollar borrowed at
home by Dare County people in the
past two years, not mentioning
much more that come from other
sources. This they consider ample
proof that another bank is needed,
for they show from the statement
of the Bank of Manteo itself that
all its loans now total less than
three quarters of million dollars
while having close to two and a
half millions on deposit
The new bank group contends
that a bank controlled largely from
Raleigh, and owned in one family
cannot be as responsive to the
needs of the people as a bank COM
posed Of home people and whose
directors win live in the several
communities of Dare County.
To offset the claims of the new
bank group, officials of the bank
of Manteo have recently started a
campaign TO indicate their willing
ness to sell some Of the stock of
the bank to local people and 10
name some local directors. They
have also recently announced their
willingness 10 enter the small loan
field a deficiency heretofore con-
cerning which, the new group has
made capital on their promise to
give attention to small loans.
Recently the Bank of Manteo
has made application for permis-
sion TO open a tellers window in
Buxton for the purpose Of receiv-
ing deposits and making change,
whereby a long hoped-for convent
ence win be provided an area which
has greatly needed banking facili-