Newspaper Page Text
Vol. 6; No; 30. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH, APRIL 6, 1907 Price 5 Cents. H
M
Sail LaKe BanKers
TIic bankers here have instituted
what may be called a "licw depart
ure," in this town. This new depart
ure has. been heralded by the daily
llapers 'and upheld by them for the
simple reason that there isn't a daily
paper, in this town that isn't con-1
trolled -by sonic of the banks: with
n
the possible exception of the Descret I
News, which by reason of the posi-1
tion it occupies as representative of J
the Mormon church is greatly re1- r
spected by the bankers. Tljq bankers '
have issued a pronunciamento through
the pr.css that no customer, no matter
how great his resources, will be al
lowed tooverdraw his account at the
bank. . That is all right. The banker
is under, no obligation whatsoever to
,lend money to anybody for a day, an
Hour or a minute or at all. The aim
of a banker is to do business on other
people's capital and to that mark he
generally shoots true. The public de
posits its money in the bank often
without interest, the banker lends it
out at from 6 to 20 per cent per an-
I mini or as much more as he can get
j and pockets the profit. Some of the
5 largest banks in this town have a
'. 4- paid up capital of only $250,000, but
" the public flocks in and deposits mil-
, lions of dollars with each of those
concerns. The banker uses the money
it and keeps. the profit, investing it out-
1 1 side of the banking institution, which
is an incorporated co .cera, the stock-
holders of which are not legally liable
A for the debts of the banking company
X to any sum greater than the par value
'm of the stock they hold. The banks
, are very anxious to be the custodians
) of public funds. When a treasurer
R for a city, county, state or any other
a person who has charge of public funds
lB is to be elected, the banks have their
! candidates on any and all tickets. The
banker who is secretly behind the
H candidate who happens to win, fur-
X
nislics the bond directly or indirectly
and of course the patriot who has just
been elected to office deposits with
out interest the public funds under
his charge with his banker friend and
rcaeives in consideration therefor an
amount of money fully equal tp the
salary allowed him by law.
Banking is a very profitable busi
ness. The public furnishes the sin
ews of war, takes all the risks and the
banker takes the profits. The bankers
in this town arc a rather cheap lot.
The wonder is that so many very
ordinary men got into the banking
business at all, that is, in other words,
that people are so easily worked.
Those remarks may apply to bankers
generally. Some bankers, howevei,
in various places and in various coun
tries have something in their natures
that is designated as "public spirit."
Those of Salt Lake are entirely de
void of that, sentiment, shall we call
it? What has any banker here ever
done for this city in the way of public
improvement? Has any of them ever
erected any buildings worthy of note,
with one exception, the McCornick
block? Has any of them done any
thing towards the development of the
state or the city? Has any of them
done anything but sit down and make
"schent per schent" for themselves
on other people's money? Not that
anybody knows of.
All the banks with one or two ex
ceptions, out of the dozen or so in
town, themselves occupy little old
shacks only large enough to admit
the fellows who furnish the sinews
of war for tliem to do business on,
when they come in detachments. The
bank buildings are no credit to any
city with metropolitan pretentions.
Woe betide the merchants who get
into the power of the banker. They
are his slaves to the end of their com-
mcrcial lives. They may work all day
and lie awake all night, but they arc
doing it for their banker. The bank
ers arc the .leeches of the community.
They produce nothing: only suck the
blood of those who do and like the
daughter of the hors.e .leech constantly
cry give, give, give. In years gone
by Truth said a few things about
Banker Dooly. Mr. Dooly in some
respects was not much worse than a
good many others who are in ithc
banking business right now, cither as
far as commercial integrity, personal
morality or public 'spiritcdivess is con
cerned. They fatten on the public
and give nothing in return. The
bankers' union, which they call the
clearing house, recently came to the
conclusion that allowing customers to
overdraw their running accounts was
wrong and immoral and that any
merchant needing even a short ac
commodation would have to make
special arrangements for it, give se
curity for the money, pay a high rate
of interest for it and at other times
leave his money on deposit at the
bank without interest.
There is nothing personal in all
this. The writer of this has no over
draft, doesn't expect any, and doesn't
want any. It's only a mere state
ment of facts. The bankers of this
town as a whole arc selfish, unpatriot
ic, narrow "schent per schent" fel
lows. o ,
THE BIGGEST PRESBYTERIAN
PUMPKINS. .
1 ditor Truth:
There is hardly a book, tract, or pa
per published by the Presbyterian
Board of Home Missions or a Pres
byterian preacher or lecturer that arc
not throwing bouquets at themselves
fcr what they and the Presbyterian
Missions have clone tc redeem Utah
fiom crime, treason and heathenism,
"the Rev. S. E. Wishard, superinten
dent of the Presbyterian Missions in
Utah, said in his last annual state
ment: "If the Christian Missionaries
had not come to Utah will' Christian M
schools and the church of Christ, she Hi
vould have gone into barbarism in M
the next forty years." Hi
These Christian Missionaries go so Hi
fi'i as to say their were no public Hi
schools in Utah till their schools Hi
came and, that the very high standing HI
of the Utah public schools come from M
the Mission schools. Merc bouquet.;.
'die Woman's Board of Home Mis- Bfl
sions of the Presbyterian church 156 M
th avenue, New Yrrk, arc sending M
nut a little tract entitled: "Mission M
Day Schools Among the Mormons,"
in which is stated in a slimcy under-
handed John D. Nutting way, that the fl
Utah public schools teach treason, M
blasphemy, impurity of the home and M
disrespect for the flag. .This pamph-
let slaps our public schools and teach- Bfl
ers in a treacherous. way by stating M
that Presbyterian Mission schools M
are needed in Utah, because: M
1st, "The Mission schools must he
maintained, that the Mormon youths M
may have an opportunity to learn pa-
triotism."
2nd. "The Mission schools must Bfl
be loyally supported in this hardest M
mission field in the world, where our M
missionaries arc honoring the flag of M
our republic and upholding the banner M
of the Kingdom of our Lord and M
Savior Jesus Christ."' M
3rd. "The Mission schools must be M
maintained to teach the beauty and M
sancity of the Christian home." M
4th. " A's patriotic Christian women M
let us put forth every effort for in- M
creasing and maintaining the Mission M
day schools in Utah." Bfl
This little tract of eight pages is BJ
one of the most deceptive liccnsious, H
and misleading tracts ever issued. It H
is full of calumny and hatred, and it M
is calculated that the awful false- Vl
hoods it contains will bring in more Bj
money to support the Presbyterian H
Mission Schools in Utah. Let us see VJ
what the Presbyterian Schools have H
done in Utah, " By their fruits ye H
shall know them." The farmer at the I
