Banking

            So rapid was the immigration into the beautiful Miami valley during the early years of the eighteenth century that the impulse given to trade soon necessitated the establishment of banks, for notes and specie were taking the place of skins and farm products as mediums of exchange.

            Under the name of the "Dayton Manufacturing company," the first bank in the settlement of Dayton was incorporated November (page 128) 11, 1813, by Messrs. Henry Brown, J. G. Burns, J. H. Crane, John Ewing, Philip Gunckel, Joseph Peirce, H. G. Phillips, William M. Smith, and Isaac Spinning, but no further action was taken until the following year, when a board of directors was elected consisting of Isaac G. Burnett, John Compton, Joseph H. Crane, William Eaker, John Ewing, Maddox Fisher, Chas. Russell Greene, David Griffin, George Groves, Fielding Gosney, D. C. Lindsay, Joseph Peirce, David Reid, N. S. Schenck, Benjamin Van Cleve, and John H. Williams ; Messrs. H. G. Phillips and George S. Houston were the choice of the directors for the respective offices of president and cashier of the new fiscal institution, with salaries fixed at the munificent sums of $150 and $400. The directors of this bank were men who started many of the successful commercial enterprises of the county seat of Montgomery county, and their business sagacity and energy, in numerous cases, have been handed down to their descendants who today are strongly identified, not only with the wide business activities of the Dayton of the twentieth century, but also with its progress along all lines of civic development.

            With a capital stock of $61,055, on the 18th of August, 1814, the Dayton Manufacturing company began its financial dealings with the people of Dayton and Montgomery county, in a stone house erected by it on a lot on the east side of North Main street, the location and building costing $2,800. The house stood for many years, an evidence of the commercial enterprise that was eventually to widen and strengthen until Dayton should take rank with the leading, commercially alert, cities of the middle west.

            Ten months after the Dayton Manufacturing company had opened its doors for business, it issued its first public statement, and it is interesting to read that its assets footed up a sum of $123,505.21; its individual deposits amounting to $19,171.51. Its   first large loan was a patriotic one of $11,120 to the national government for aid in the prosecution of the war with England. Like numerous other fiscal institutions in the early period of our history as a republic and a state, the Dayton Manufacturing company did not escape the nefarious skill of the counterfeiter's pen, and many of the small bills issued by it were fraudulently raised to notes of larger denomination. In the year 1831, the bank took a new charter under the name of the Dayton bank, and for twelve years longer continued to hold the confidence of the people of Dayton and Montgomery county; but the hostile attitude of 'President Andrew Jackson to the United States bank, and the refusal of Ohio's legislative solons to renew its character, led to the closing of its doors in the early winter of the year of 1843.

            Two things in the history of the first bank of Dayton are worthy of particular note. In the summer of the year 1837 it stood alone among all the banks then established in the United States, in its refusal to obey the treasury order of President Jackson ; and it was also one of three banks that, during that period of financial stress, continued to pay specie to its patrons. And, in addition, it has the honorable record of never having lost a dollar to either a depositor or note-holder.

            (page 129) The Winters National bank, located in its handsome rooms at the corner of Second and Main streets in the city of Dayton, proudly and it seems justly lays claim to being the "lineal descendant" of the old Dayton bank. There is no more prominent figure in Dayton's early financial history than that of Mr. Valentine Winters. A Pennsylvanian by birth, he was a child of only two years of age when, in the year 1809, his parents crossed the Alleghenies to found a home in the fertile, beautiful lands of the Miami valley. His first work was employment in a brickyard at Germantown, from which place he came to Dayton, taking a place as clerk in the dry goods store of Mr. Andrew Irwin, later serving in the same capacity with the mercantile firm of Harshman & Rench, where his ability won quick recognition and he was taken. into partnership. In later years Mr. Winters was a foremost figure not only in the banking circles of Dayton, but was also actively interested as organizer of the Ohio Valley bank in Cincinnati, and for nine years held the office of president of the Preble County State bank, and also found time to lend a hand in the organization of railroads not only in Ohio, but with Messrs. E. F. Drake and Jonathan Harshman built the first railroad in Minnesota, a short line connecting the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. A most interesting fact is associated with the establishment of the second Dayton bank, and which the Winters National bank asserts is trustworthy proof of what might be called direct ancestry.

            In 1843, the year preceding the closing of the first, original Dayton bank, it paid over to Mr. Jonathan Harshman the sum of $45,000, which amount was in lieu of his bank stock and deposits. The payment being made in silver, it necessitated the employment of a carrier, and in the darkness of the night this large amount of currency was removed on a dray by Messrs. Valentine Winters and Abraham Overlease to the safety of a vault under a room later occupied by Jerry Wollaston's cigar store, in an old building that stood where the present Callahan bank building is now located. Here, in             the very heart of the little city, it lay undisturbed until the year 1845, when a new organization, under the old name of the Dayton bank, with Mr. Jonathan-Harshman as president and Mr. Valentine Winters as cashier, announced its readiness and ability to conduct financial transactions with the community at large. The $45,000 of silver currency, which had remained so long secreted in the darkness of the vault, was used as a part of the capital stock of the new bank, which did its business in the little room destined in later years to be a cigar store. This bank took its charter under the independent law of Ohio.

            The death of Mr. Jonathan Harshman, sr., president of the Dayton bank, in the year 1850, brought about the closing of its doors in 1852. Its affairs passed into the care of the New Exchange bank, incorporated the same year by Messrs. Valentine Winters, R. R. Dickey, Jonathan Harshman and James R. Young, under the name of Harshman, Winters & Co., its location being at the northeast corner of Third and Main streets ; after several years of successful financiering, Messrs. Young and Dickey withdrew from the partnership, and the management of the bank passed into the hands of (page 130) Mr. Winters and his son, Jonathan H. Winters, under the firm name of V. Winters & Son.

            After a record of a quarter of a century of successful public service, this bank was reorganized as the Winters National bank, with Jonathan H. Winters as president and J. C. Reber, cashier.

            The present condition of the Winters National bank is a splendid testimonial to its integrity. as a trustworthy factor in the commercial activities of Dayton and Montgomery county, but equally well to the wondrous growth and increase of the business and efficiency which has added so materially, not only to the wealth and prosperity of both city and county, but likewise to that of the whole Miami valley and state. In the year 1888, the combined deposits of all the Dayton banks amounted only to $3,000,000. The deposits in the Winters National bank on the last day of December, 1918, amounted to $4,601,005.77. In the short space of nine months, September 12, 1919, the deposits aggregated $4,963,189.78. The total resources, on the same date, being $9,159,705.78.

            The present management of the Winters National bank is in the hands of Mr. Valentine Winters, president ; Messrs. Lee Warren, James and C. C. Bosler, vice-presidents ; Mr. Russell H. Tompert, cashier, and Mr. Harry O. Wachter, assistant cashier. Boards of directors, Messrs. Lee Warren James, Howard F. Marston, Frank Hill Smith, S. Rufus Jones, Frank B. Currigan, Robert R. Dickey, Joseph Herzstam, Ezra F. Kimmel and Valentine Winters. Names foremost in the early history of the commercial and financial activities of Dayton and Montgomery county are linked with the establishment of the Dayton National bank when, on the 21st day of May, in the year 1845, it was first organized as the Dayton branch of the State Bank of Ohio, with a capital stock of $300,000.

            Strange pictures come before the mental vision as one reads the life-story of the men to whom both city and county are indebted for their foundation of business integrity and achievement. On the first board of directors are found men who, today, are recognized as leaders, whose clear vision foresaw the wondrous potentialities of the beautiful Miami valley and, undeterred by their primitive environment of log cabins, stump-dotted streets, and deprivation of the thousand and one things now considered as essential to the comfort of modern life, projected and built not only their own financial success, but also "blazed a trail" of honest endeavor and compensating attainment for all following in their footsteps.

            Of this early board of directors, perchance, the most prominent was Mr. Peter Odlin. who held the presidency of the bank from its organization as a branch of the Ohio State bank in 1845, and after its re-organization as the Dayton National bank, until his death in the year 1872. A truly representative man was this same Peter Odlin: A lawyer of ability, as is seen in his respective partnerships with the Hon. Robert C. Schenck and John G. Lowe. Interested in politics, for not only did he sit as Montgomery county's choice in the Ohio state legislature, but was a delegate to the national convention at Philadelphia which gave the presidential nomination to General Taylor, and his name found place on the electoral ticket for John C. (page 131) Fremont. Eager for the development of Montgomery county and the whole Miami valley, Mr. Odlin embraced every opportunity to advocate the building of good roads, and was especially active in the construction of the Mad River & Lake Erie railroad, the first line to reach Dayton.

            The first public statement of the Dayton branch of the State bank, published in August, 1845, announced its assets as amounting to $83,542.98. The state of Ohio has been given the honor of leading in the organization of National banks. The National Banking law was enacted by congress in the spring of 1863, and in the middle of the ensuing June the First National bank of Dayton opened its doors to its patrons, and a week later the Second National bank was ready for business. Before the close of the year 1864, the Dayton branch of the State Bank of Ohio had swung into line under the name of the Dayton National bank. Its existence during its connection with the Ohio State bank was of singular credit and praiseworthy integrity. Never during the twenty years it so ably served the community did it suspend payment for a day, promptly paid its dividends, and had the gratification of dividing a handsome surplus before beginning its new experience as a National fiscal institution. For nearly half a century the Dayton National bank transacted business at the southeast corner of Jefferson and Third streets, but in the spring of the year 1906 moved into its present handsome and conveniently arranged offices in its own building, located at 19 East Third street, designed by Mr. Robert E. Dexter, a leading architect of Dayton.

            With a capital of $300,000 and surplus and profits amounting to $180,000, the Dayton National bank is pushing steadily forward, supported by the confidence of the community which it so ably serves. Its present officers are Mr. S. W. Davies, president; Mr. E. D. Grimes, vice-president; Mr. R. S. Wilcock, cashier, and Messrs. H. C. Hull and W. E. Enyeart, assistant cashiers. The following gentlemen comprise its board of directors : S. W. Davies, W. H. Simms, E. D. Grimes, C. A. Craighead, H. R. Simonds, Thos. Elder and A. M. Kittredge.

            In the short space of thirty years, the American National bank of Dayton has developed into one of the strongest and most reliable fiscal organizations in the upper Miami valley. Its incorporation papers bear date of March 29, 1889, and its three decades of experience have entrenched it deeply in the confidence of its patrons. The last financial statement of the bank, published June 30, 1919, shows assets aggregating $1,764,992.01. The officers and directors of the institution are men "whose word is as good as their bond," who manage and direct the affairs of the bank in strict conformity with unswerving business rectitude, thus retaining the confidence of their patrons and adding to their splendid financial credit. The officers of the American National bank at the present time are Mr. J. Edward Sauer, president; Mr. O. M. Poock, vice-president; Mr. F. W. Hecht, cashier, and Mr. R. E. Davis, assistant cashier. Assisting in the official control as members of the board of directors are Messrs. Fred Cappel, H. L. Ferneding, E. A. Leonard, L. S. Reibold and C. E. Underwood.

            (page 132) The activities of the Third -National bank of Dayton began with the demise of the Second National bank of the city, which was established June 22, 1863, in a room at 28 North Jefferson street, where, for six years, it daily added to its reputation for sound business methods and financial integrity. Its capital stock was $100,000, and its officers and directors men connected with many of the thriving commercial interests of the growing town. Its first president and cashier were, respectively, Messrs. Jonathan Harshman and D. C. Rench; the former, son of the man who, as farmer, miller, distiller and merchant, soon became one of the wealthiest men in the history of Montgomery county, and in the middle of the century was strongly identified with the banking interests of Dayton. Mr. D. C. Rench was of a "well-to-do" family, his father at one time being a partner in the mercantile business with Mr. Jonathan Harshman, sr., the firm also controlling a number of boats on the canal route between Cincinnati and Dayton.

            The first board of directors of the Second National bank were men of staunch business probity and actively engaged in forwarding the commercial enterprises of Dayton and Montgomery county. Mr. William P. Huffman, whose grandfather built the first stone house in the town, which stood on the site now occupied by the Beckel house on the corner of Third and Jefferson streets ; T. S. Babbitt, L. R. Pfoutz, James Perrine, one of the city's most successful merchants and still held in remembrance by Dayton's oldest citizens for his "high integrity, truthfulness and honesty;" Robert Chambers, George W. Kneisley, N. B. Darst, Jonathan Harshman and D. C. Rench.

            An interesting incident connected with the history of the Third National bank during its existence under the name of the Second National bank is associated with the Civil war. It was at the time of the John Morgan raid, when all of southern Ohio was terrified at the daring of the doughty invader. Two things were badly wanted by this buccaneer southerner, money and horses, and in order to disappoint him in his first desire, should his boldness bring him to Dayton, the cashier of the bank carried its funds to a bank in Toledo. On the 27th day of April; 1882, the bank was re-organized as the Third National bank of Dayton, many of those connected with its former life as the Second National bank still remaining at the head of the new organization. Mr. W. P. Huffman was honored with the office of president by the directors, and Mr. Charles E. Drury elected cashier.

            The late theory advanced by Dr. Osler that men were unfit for business activity after they had touched the sixtieth boundary line of human existence, was disproved in the election of the third president of the bank in the year 1909, when Mr. Rufus J. King was intrusted with the duties involved in that high office, although the summers and winters of ninety years had already been counted by him. Living up to its motto, "Courtesy with service," the Third National bank of Dayton is today one of the strongest fiscal institutions of the upper Miami valley. Its resources, according to its financial statement, published in the month of May, 1919, amounted to $3,450,171.92. Its officers are Mr. Chas. J. Moore, president; (page 133) Mr. J. S. McIntire, vice-president; Mr. J. F. Mueller, cashier; Mr. W. C. Gerber, assistant cashier; Mr. J. A. Wessalosky, assistant cashier.

            The Third National bank ere long will meet its friends and patrons in one of the handsomest, most modern buildings in the city of Dayton, having purchased property on east Main street, between Second and Third streets, for which it paid $325,000. The location being 195 feet in depth, with a frontage of 116 feet, permits the erection of a building elegant in exterior and furnishing ample room for all fiscal business, and also for the modern office structure that will be erected in connection with the new bank.

            The fiscal institution known in the business activities of Dayton and Montgomery county as the Fourth National bank, was incorporated January 12, 1888, and first opened its doors to its patrons on the northeast corner of Jefferson and Third streets.

            The present offices of the bank are on the first floor of the handsome new building recently erected on North Main street by the Dayton Savings and Trust company, and no bank in the city has more elegantly equipped or conveniently arranged offices for transaction of business. The officers of the bank today are Mr. F. A. Funkhouser, president ; Mr. W. F. Hockett, vice-president ; Mr. G. A. Funkhouser, jr., cashier, and Mr. A. H. Callahan, assistant cashier.

            With its resources of $2,211,671.88, the First Savings and Banking company of Dayton transacts its business at 25-27 South Main street of that city. Its officers are Mr. Obed W. Irvin, president, and Mr. Francis W. Gruen, cashier, who are also members of the board of directors.

            In the year 1870, the increasing financial interests of Dayton and the fast growing prosperity of the entire county, was sufficient guarantee to a number of Dayton's moneyed men, to warrant the establishment of another bank, with the result that on February 15, 1871, the Merchants' National bank announced to the public that it stood ready to serve their interests. The officers and directors of the new bank were men of wealth and possessed the confidence of the people of the upper Miami valley. Mr. John Powell was the first president and Mr. A. S. Estabrook cashier of the new corporation. For two years Mr. Powell served as presiding officer, but in 1873 was succeeded by Mr. D. E. Mead, who held the position until his death in the fall of the year 1891, and thirty-four years was the long period of Mr. Estabrook's faithful and efficient connection with the bank in the capacity of cashier. Mr. Charles W. Slagle, the present president of the Merchants' National bank, first entered its service as cashier in the spring of the year 1906, but his thorough comprehension of monetary affairs brought promotion to the responsible duties connected with the highest office of the organization. Mr. Slagle is ably assisted in the control of the bank by Mr. E. S. Reynolds, vice-president; Mr. Owen Britton, cashier, and Mr. A. C. Wolfe, assistant cashier. The authorized capital of the bank is $200,000; its surplus $100,000.

            Steady and very sure has been the growth of the business of the East Dayton Savings and Banking company since its opening (page 134) day, November 1, 1912, with a paid-in capital of $60,000. In the short space of seven years, to September 12, 1919, its total resources have reached the high-water mark of $900,000, with surplus and undivided profits amounting to $30,000.

            The officers in charge of the bank at the time of its incorporation were Mr. J. J. Laymon, president; Mr. William J. Focke, vice-president, and Mr. W. E. McGervey, cashier. The election of new officers in September, 1919, placed in the president's chair Mr. W. E. McGervey, who since the inception of the bank has been its most efficient and faithful cashier. It was a promotion that will insure even larger service of the bank to its patrons. Associated with Mr. McGervey in an official capacity are Mr. William J. Focke, vice-president; Mr. L. B. McAdoo, cashier; and Mr. H. S. Jack, assistant     cashier.

            Located at the corner of Third and Williams street in the city of Dayton, the Farmers' and Merchants' bank of Dayton conducts a steadily increasing business, as is seen in their last published report on June 30, 1919. Its resources amount to $943,455.79. The sum total of its deposits, $853,699.33, expresses the public trust in its financial integrity. The present officers of the bank are the Hon. John W. Kreitzer, president ; Mr. W. O. Horrell, vice-president ; Mr. C. S. Billman, cashier; and Miss Ida M. Ruse, assistant cashier. The Dayton Savings and Trust company, located in its splendid new building at 25 North Main street in the city of Dayton, perchance leads the building and loan associations of the city in financial standing, as the last published statement, June 30, 1919, gives the total assets of the company at $14,853,097.80. Its total deposits at that time were $13,747,537.18. The company was organized by Messrs. A. J. Conover and Grafton C. Kennedy in 1903, and the first of the ensuing year began its monetary transactions in a room at 108 South Main street with Mr. A. J. Conover as president and Mr. William R. Craven, secretary and cashier. The present official roster of the company is as follows : Mr. W. R. Craven, president; Mr. Adam Lessner, vice-president ; Mr. H. C. Kiefaber, vice-president; Mr. W. F. Hockett, vice-president; Mr. B. B. Brady, vice-president and secretary; Mr. H. B. Baichly, treasurer Mr. A. S. Weusthof, assistant treasurer ; and Mr. R. M. Gifford, assistant treasurer.

            The City National bank of Dayton, Ohio, might, perchance, be termed a composite institution, as it was established upon the disorganization of several banks preceding it. The First National bank of Dayton was incorporated June 22, 1863. Mr. Simon Gebhart was elected president, and G. B. Harman intrusted with the duties of cashier. Seven years later the bank surrendered its charter, and continued business as a private bank under the direction of Messrs. Simon Gebhart, G. B. Harman and W. B. Gebhart, and was known in financial circles as the Gebhart, Harman & Co.

            In January, 1883, Messrs. Simon Gebhart, Walter Brown Gebhart and Gabriel B. Harman determined to re-organize under national control, and with articles of association signed by fifty-three share-holders, approved a month later by the comptroller of the currency, the City National bank of Dayton began its financial (page 135) activities in February, based upon a paid-in capital of $200,000. Messrs. Simon Gebhart and G. B. Harman were elected respectively president and cashier. Mr. W. P. Callahan and Mr. William Huffman were subsequently added to the list of directors, the former occupying the president's chair upon the resignation of Mr. Gebhart. Mr. Harman was connected with the bank as cashier until his death in the year 1894.

            The present officials of the City National bank are Mr. H. H. Darst, president; Messrs. Walter G. Davidson and R. C. McConnaughey, vice-presidents; and Mr. H. E. Whalen, cashier. In August, 1911, as an auxiliary to the City National bank, was organized the City Trust and Savings bank, with the same officers and directors, with the exception that the combined offices of secretary and treasurer have been held by Mr. W. W. Bishop since the incorporation of the bank. Mr. Bishop is assisted in his duties by Mr. W. L. Scharrer. Both banks are connected in their activities, occupying the entire ground floors of the Callahan bank building and the City National bank building at the northeast corner of Third and Main streets.

            At its present location, northeast corner of Richard street and Wayne avenue, on the first day of December, 1909, the Market Savings bank of Dayton was ready to meet its friends and patrons. With a capital of $50,000, the decade that embraces the activities of the bank has been a period of continual good luck, or, more accurately speaking, a term of years that shows wise management on the part of the institution and expressed confidence of the people of Dayton and Montgomery county. The last statement of the condition of the Market Savings bank of Dayton, published September 12, 1919, gives its total resources at $1,801,014.78; its savings deposits amount to $889,800.78.

            The present officials of the bank are Mr. T. H. Lienesch, president; Messrs. J. C. Dressler and W. M. Adelberger, vice-presidents; Mr. W. H. J. Behm, cashier, and Mr. Jess W. Nesmith, assistant cashier. The splendid condition of the commercial activities of the city of Dayton and Montgomery county can be read in the bank clearings from July 16. 1919, to the sixteenth day of the ensuing, month, amounting to $21,621,12; as compared with the same period in 1918, when the total clearings were $17,295,106, an increase of $4,326,021, equal to 25 per cent.

            A large number of banks in a town is proof positive of its sound financial condition, and the steadily increasing commercial activities of Dayton was plainly indicated when, in May, 1912, a new fiscal institution, known as the West Dayton Commercial and Savings bank, was incorporated. The board elected as offers, Mr. F. J. Hoersting, president; Mr. M. J. Beeghly, vice-president; Mr. 0. E. Bowman, secretary, and Mr. Geo. F. Kem, cashier; and the same official force directs the management of the bank at the present time. The splendid financial condition of The West Dayton Commercial and Savings bank is apparent in its published statement on September 12, 1919. Its total resources were given as $635,158.41. The confidence of its patrons was read in the total deposits, which amounted to $596,697.38. (page 136)

Dayton Banks and the Liberty Loans

            The patriotic upholding of the National Government by the people of Montgomery county during the recent World War, was plainly shown by the magnificent subscriptions and sales of Liberty bonds made by the banks of Dayton. A condensed statement is as follows :

            American National bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $100,800; subscriptions, $77,600. Third Liberty loan, quota, $157,950; subscriptions, $341,950. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $249,850; subscriptions, $360,200. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $192,400; subscriptions, $297,000.

            City National bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $328,350; subscriptions, $616, 750.  Third Liberty loan, quota, $485,900, subscriptions, $726,150. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $937,250; subscriptions, $1,119,850. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $817,750; subscriptions, $819,250.

            Dayton National bank, first Liberty loan, allotment, $148,150; subscriptions, $173,150. Second Liberty loan, quota, $191,700; subscriptions. $283,000. Third Liberty loan, quota, $233,050; subscriptions, $352.000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $418,700; subscriptions, $462,150. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $354,800; subscriptions, $368,250.

            Dayton Savings and Trust company, second Liberty loan, quota, $804,850; subscriptions, $980,500. Third Liberty loan, quota, $930.850: subscriptions, $1,263,900; Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $1,821,000: subscriptions, $2,069,100. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $1,991,050: subscriptions, $1,822,450.

            East Dayton Savings and Banking company, second Liberty loan. quota, $61,650; subscriptions , $98,250. Third Liberty loan, quota, $74,950; subscriptions, $104,800. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, 147,600; subscriptions, $157,600. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $119,600; subscriptions, $92,800.

            Farmers and Merchants bank, second Liberty loan, quota, and $45,450; . subscriptions, $60,000. Third Liberty loan, quota, $45,350; subscriptions, $190,000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $142,200; subscriptions, $204,650. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $142,750; subscriptions, $168,400.

            First Savings and Banking company, second Liberty loan, quota, $146,850; subscriptions, $100,000. Third Liberty loan, quota, $146,950; subscriptions, $175,000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $350,600; subscriptions, $350,000. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $299,950; subscriptions, $195,000.

            Market Savings bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $93,450; subscriptions, $58,550. Third Liberty loan, quota, $104,800; subscriptions, $127,000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $220,600; (page 137) subscriptions, $150,600. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $217,550; subscriptions, $118,000.

            Merchants National bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $155,250; subscriptions, $206,650; Third Liberty loan, quota, $187,500; subscriptions, $348,300. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $346,050; subscriptions, $498,850. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $284,700; subscriptions, $403,400.

            Third National bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $221,300; subscriptions, $455,450. Third Liberty loan, quota, $218,250; subscriptions, $406,000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $469,800; subscriptions, $546,500. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $497,400; subscriptions, $455,650.

            West Dayton Commercial and Savings bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $36,750; subscriptions, $21,000. Third Liberty loan, quota, $37,850; subscriptions, $40,000. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $88,300; subscriptions, $52,000. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $72,350; subscriptions, $33,000.

            Winters National bank, second Liberty loan, quota, $196,200; subscriptions, $573,250. Third Liberty loan, quota, $201,050; subscriptions, $423,700. Fourth Liberty loan, quota, $398,500; subscriptions, $1,159,950. Victory Liberty loan, quota, $700,900; subscriptions, $1,249,200.

            Building and Loan Associations. It has been authoritatively asserted that the city of Dayton leads all the cities of our great Republic in the popularity and success of its Building and Loan associations. This statement is a most surprising one when the size and population of Dayton is compared with many of the municipal centers that are scattered between ocean to ocean in our vast national territory ; and yet, on the other hand, when one is cognizant of the number of associations in this thriving city of the Miami valley, and the vast amount of capital which they represent, there is less unwillingness to accept the statement as made. In the death of Mr. A. A. Winters, who at the time was filling the very responsible office of General Manager of the Mutual Home and Savings association of the city, Dayton lost a man to whom, not only the city but the state as well, ascribes ideas and methods which tended so largely to the greater success and growth of the business to its investors, that as a visible evidence of appreciation, the State Building Association League which convened at Dayton shortly after his death, erected a stone fountain to his memory in Cooper, now Library, park.

            Under the name of the Dayton Building association the first organization of the kind took form in the city over half a century ago, March 23, was the date of its birth, in the basement of the

            German Reformed church, located at the corer of Cass and Clay streets. No matter how much stock was held by a member, he was only entitled to one vote, and another curious provision of its constitution was, to the effect, that no matter when a payment was made, it had to count back to the date of the organization. The life of this association embraced sixteen brief years, and the dividends declared at the time of dissolution, gave fifty-four (page 138) cents per share to each member, over and above his original investment.

            One year from the day of the organization of the Dayton Building association the Concordia Building association was formally organized, but like its predecessor, its existence was short, as in April of the year of 1875, it merged its membership into the Germania Building association which had received its charter in the spring of 1873.

            At present there are fifteen Building and Loan associations in Dayton : the Fidelity Building, Central Building, American Loan and Savings, Washington Building, Buckeye Building and Loan, Gem City Building and Loan, Homestead Loan and Savings, Permanent Building and Savings, Montgomery County Building and Loan, Mutual Home and Savings, Ohio Savings and Loan, Franklin Savings and Loan, Miami Loan and Building, Union Building and Loan, and the West Side Building and Loan associations.

The Press of Dayton

            In terms of world history a century does not seem such a very long period of time, but in relation to the history of Dayton's press it is sufficiently long to have obscured the earliest newspaper in the mists of antiquity. All that is known of Dayton's first paper is the year in which it both came into existence and died-1806-and the name of its owner and publisher, Noah Crane of Lebanon.

            The name of the paper along with the few copies which were published has vanished.

            The Repertory, first issued in September, 1808, lived long enough to gain a place as the real forerunner of Dayton's present press, although its brief existence covering fifteen months was interrupted for five months during which time it changed hands. It was a weekly paper publishing chiefly foreign news, which not only lacked the appeal of local items,-but was months old before it appeared in the paper. The Ohio Centinel followed The Repertory, making its appearance in 1810. Ohio at that time had ten newspapers, and The Centinel was one of the ten, circulating as far north and west as Detroit and Chicago. Its existence was terminated by the War of 1812 which drew both the office staff and the patrons into the army. Next on the stage appears The Ohio Watchman, 1816, which through numerous changes of name and ownership, existed until 1826. Subscribers paid for the paper in such commodities as wheat, wood, whiskey, chickens, cotton, rags, feathers, and sugar. Previous to 1826 a second paper made its appearance, The Miami Republican and Dayton Advertiser, which in 1826, along with The Watchman, was bought by William Campbell of Pennsylvania who merged the two papers into The Ohio National Journal and Dayton Advertiser. At the same time Mr. Campbell sold the press from the offices of the Watchman and some materials from the offices of the Republican to R. J. Skinner, who with this outfit began the publication of the Miami Herald and Dayton Republican Gazette. From these two rival papers finally came the present journal and News, respectively, so that by a rather (page 139) circuitous route both papers today can claim descent from Dayton's first known paper, The Repertory.

            Each of Dayton's daily newspapers passed through many vicissitudes before becoming established in the present form. The Ohio National Journal and Montgomery and Dayton Advertiser of 1826 became in the next year The Dayton Journal and Advertiser. From 1828 to 1834 the paper passed through the hands of such men as Peter P. Lowe, John W. Van Cleve, Richard N. Comly. In 1834, William F. Comly and Richard N. Comly became the proprietors and the paper, a four-page, seven column sheet, became the largest in Ohio. After several subsequent changes in ownership, the arrest of Charles L. Vallandigham brought about the destruction of the Journal plant in May, 1863. The destruction was promptly followed by the raising of six thousand dollars by Daytonians, and the Journal began anew under the editorship of Major William D. Bickham. He had been selected by President Lincoln to compel Vallandigham to withdraw from Dayton, and after a single inquiry as to the safety of his children in Dayton, Major Bickham undertook his task. "Absolute fearlessness was the order of the day. An editor said what he thought and said it hard if he risked all he owned in the saying, and if it hurt where it hit, so much the worse for those who stood in the way. During the Civil war when party feeling ran high, an editor was not sure when he started for his office in the morning if he would reach there alive." Such an editor was W. D. Bickham. He owned the journal for thirty-one years, until the time of his death in 1894. In 1904 it became the property of a stock company. At the present time it is owned by The News Publishing company, and is under the managing editorship of Clarence Greene.

            The Herald, a daily evening paper, now ' owned by the News Publishing company, had as its predecessor The Dayton Evening Record, which was first issued in 1881, with Ferdinand Wendell as owner. It is said that this paper was the first in Dayton to issue an "extra" edition. "Mr. Wendell was a keen- newspaper man and took advantage of every opportunity to push the paper to the front when Guiteau was to be executed in Washington for the murder of Garfield, he went personally to Washington, secured cuts of the scaffold and surroundings, which were all set up ready to `shoot' with the story of the execution as soon as the word from Washington was received. On this occasion, newsboys selling on the street were used for the first time. The extra was in the hands of the public a few minutes after the hanging and Mr. Wendell was complimented for the first big Dayton `scoop.' 

            The Herald, first published on Fourth street was compelled, on account of growth, to move to the southeast corner of -Second and Jefferson streets, where the floor space of the offices and the equipment underwent considerable expansion. Mr. H. H. Weakly bought the paper and under his ownership growth continued until a further move was made necessary and the Herald expanded into its quarters on the southwest corner of Second and Jefferson streets: At the time of Mr. Weakly's death in 1906, Charles J. Geyer became manager of the Herald.

            (page 140) As has been said before, the Dayton Daily News, as well as the Journal, claims descent from the Repertory. The Miami Herald and Dayton Republican Gazette, first published in 1826, became the property of E. Lindsey in 1829, under the name of The Dayton Republican. In 1834, this paper ceased to be published and was succeeded by The Democratic Herald, which in turn gave place to The Western Empire. In 1863, the paper was suppressed and the editor, William T. Logan, was arrested for objecting to the arrest of C. L. Vallandigham. A new paper under the same name was soon started, however, and continued until 1867 at which time it became the Daily Ledger. Still later, under the ownership of John G. Doren, it became the Herald and Empire, and still later, in 1876 the Dayton Democrat. Years later this paper passed into the hands of Charles Simms and F. T. Huffman, also owners of the Evening Monitor, and the new owners began to publish the Morning Times and the Evening News. In 1898, the Dayton News company purchased these papers and still later Mr. James M. Cox became the sole owner of the stock of the Dayton News company. Since that time Mr. Cox has twice been governor of the State of Ohio. The Dayton Daily News is now housed in a beautiful up-to-date building on the northwest corner of Fourth and Ludlow streets. Another paper, long since passed into oblivion, is worthy of mention because of one particular episode in its career. It existed for only ten years, but during the last year of its publication it was owned and published by William S. Howells, father of William

Dean Howells, who came up from Hamilton where he had been managing a paper. William Dean Howells both did the typesetting and took the paper to subscribers. Even his efforts could not make the paper a success, and in 1850 it was discontinued.

            In addition to the News, Herald, and journal, there are numerous other publications in Dayton today. Among the class and trade papers are the Miami Valley Socialist, a weekly, owned by Local Dayton, Socialist party, and the Labor Review, a conservative weekly controlled by members of organized labor. It is not the official organ but the mouthpiece of the labor unions, and is devoted to the interests of business as well as labor. in addition to the foregoing are the Railroad News Weekly, published by the Railroad News company, and Better Roads and Highways, published by a company of that name and published in the interest indicated by its name.

            The foreign press is represented only by a German paper, Gross Daytoner Zeitung, owned by Paul Gruner. Formerly it was a daily publication, but has recently been issued weekly instead. Although there is a large Hungarian population in Dayton, no success has attended the various attempts to publish a Hungarian paper. There is a large group of religious publications, prominent among which are the Religious Telescope, the Herald of Gospel Liberty, and the Watchword. The Religious Telescope, published by the United Brethren company, was started in 1853, and has the distinction of being one of the oldest religious papers in the country.

            The Herald of Gospel Liberty. is the official organ of the Christian church, and the Watchword is the young people's paper of the (page 141) United Brethren church. In addition to these papers there are twenty-five other religious publications.

            One of the most interesting chapters in the journalistic history of Dayton is comprised within the days immediately following the great flood of March, 1913. As everyone who experienced that eventful week will remember, the waters which inundated the city were no quiet back waters but a raging torrent that swept over the levees from all directions and advanced through the streets like towering walls. There was no time to save anything, and consequently the newspaper offices were completely submerged and the presses flooded. But newspaper men are not so easily discouraged as to let a flood stop publication. In the offices of the Daily News one handroller proof press had been salvaged and was carried to one of the upper floors above the reach of the waters. The roof of the building turned out to be an excellent vantage point from which to gather news, and the material thus secured was set up by hand and issued on galley-proof paper.

            The Herald and the journal had to resort to different methods. An arrangement was made with the Richmond (Ind.) Palladium whereby a Dayton paper could be printed in its offices, and a representative, dispatched at once to Richmond, received news items over the wire from Dayton. The paper published in this way was then sent to Dayton.

            At the same time, the National Cash Register company threw open its general offices to all newspaper people. Mr. John H. Patterson secured a Western Union wire for the use of the journalists, and for three months from ten to seventy-five newspaper men gathered every day to collect news. in a very real sense the National Cash Register plant became the newspaper headquarters for the city of Dayton, for which Mr. John H. Patterson provisioned all visiting men and women for the period of their stay. The upper floors of the building were filled with beds, the dining room was open to every one, and everything that a hotel could supply to its guests, including a barber shop and bootblack stand, was put at the disposal of the representatives of the great papers of the United States quartered in the building.

            The spirit of readiness to meet an emergency and of ingenuity and perseverance is characteristic of the press of Dayton.

            Dayton possesses one real historical curiosity in the way of a newspaper whose yellow-brown pages may still be consulted in the Dayton Public library. It was only published for six months but in that time did yeoman political service. It was called The Log Cabin and was put out to favor the candidacy of William Henry Harrison for the presidency in the campaign of 1840. That campaign was notable among all others. Public feeling ran high at all times, but at that particular era it boiled. Martin Van Buren, the opposition candidate, who had won over Harrison in the campaign of 1836, had come under the charge of un-Democratic extravagance in his term of office. Republicanism versus Democracy in those days meant luxury versus economy-"highbrow" against the plain people-making an issue of class distinctions which was sure to rouse all the inherent antagonisms of human (page 142) nature. Van Buren's adherents unfortunately gave a handle to their opponents which the last were not slow to make use of. The Baltimore Republican, attacking the plain habits of Harrison, said of him editorially : "Give him a barrel of hard cider and settle a pension of $2,000 on him and our word for it he would sit the remainder of his days contentedly in a log cabin." This was enough and plenty and was just what the Democrats wanted. A good slogan is half the battle and when the Log Cabin Candidate was announced the phrase caught the popular taste and spread like wild-fire. The Log Cabin campaign was the hottest and the livest that the United States had ever seen. Dayton was the center of the biggest rally of the fall of 1840. John Van Cleve announced a newspaper on which to build the success of the Democrats. It was. called The Log Cabin and had a rough wood-cut of a cabin and a barrel of cider on the front page. It came out in the spring and continued publication until after election in the fall, printing campaign songs, speeches, calls for "cabin raisings" and all the news of the political field. Here is a typical announcement printed in the June issue, 1840:

            "To the Log Cabin Boys of Greene, Montgomery, Miami, Champaign, Logan, Union and Franklin counties :

            "Be it known that your Log Cabin brethren of Clark county propose to raise `Old Tip,' a new cabin in the Springfield `diggins,' on Thursday, the 18th of June, and, as you are the chaps that know the right way to carry up the corers, just come over and give us a lift. The Harrison papers in the counties above named will please give this notice an insertion.

            "(Signed)           THE COMMITTEE.

            "William Henry Harrison and Thomas Corwin will be on the ground to assist in the raising."

            Montgomery county planned great things as its contribution to the campaign, but what they were was not divulged until the paper came out on July 25. It contained this astonishing invitation. It must be remembered that Dayton was at that time but a small town, scarcely more than a village. We have no exact census, but we know that there were only seven hundred houses in town. So the audacity of this invitation "To the People of the United States" may be appreciated.

            "LOG CABIN CANDIDATES:

            "For President-WILLIAM HENRY HARRISON. "For Vice-President-JOHN TYLER.

            "For Governor of Ohio-THOMAS CORWIN, the Wagon Boy.

            To the PEOPLE OF THE UNITED STATES, generally, and more particularly to those of the WEST and most particularly to all in the MIAMI VALLEY: You are invited by your fellow citizens of Montgomery county, Ohio, to convene with them in a GRAND COUNCIL at Dayton on the anniversary of our gallant (page 143) Perry's Victory on September 10, 1840, to deliberate on the best means of reviving our NATIONAL PROSPERITY and a saving from destruction and decay our CIVIL LIBERTIES.

            "COME ONE, COME ALL !"

            How the invitation was accepted by no less than one hundred thousand guests, how Dayton took care of them by private hospitality, is not a part of this story. But the -newspaper story of the campaign rally, the procession and the speeches is. The September 18th issue contains it and the description passes the point of merely local interest and becomes a part of the national history of journalism.

            It describes the procession four miles in length which went west on the Springfield pike to meet Harrison and Corwin, the guests of honor. The names in the local and state committees include those who appear elsewhere as making the history of that day. The procession consisted of militia, cavalry, decorated wagons carrying girls in white, a series of floats which must have been remarkable without making any allowances for the simplicity of those days. A crowd of fervent campaigners had rolled a ball as big as a two-story house all the way from the top of the Allegheny mountains, Pennsylvania, to the Miami valley and announced that it portrayed the states rolling up for Harrison. One large wagon carried the ubiquitous log cabin and barrel of hard cider. Another carried a cage with a live wolf in it, typifying the hypocritical designs of the opposing party. The bands, banners, speeches, fireworks, are all described by a well-wielded pen, probably that of Van Cleve himself, and never did reporter have a better subject. In spite of the passing of nearly eighty years and a bath of food mud into the bargain, the pages of the few remaining numbers of the Log Cabin may still be easily read and form an interesting chapter in the history of journalism in the Miami valley.

            Dayton has possessed at least two outstanding figures in journalism. One half’s already been referred to, but he deserves much more than a mere reference. William D. Bickham was selected by President Lincoln to keep public opinion inflamed against Vallandigham, who was at the time bitterly opposed to the war and voiced his opposition eloquently. He was felt to be a dangerous figure in politics, inasmuch as difficulty in recruiting was being strongly felt by the government. If Vallandigham could be got rid of indirectly it was better for all concerned. As it happened the indirection did not succeed. Vallandigham stayed and had to be taken away by force. Which led to the riots which burned the journal office, and is another story.

            Bickham's task was a dangerous one, but he loved the game of politics and in it nothing pleased him more than a fight. A fight it was from start to finish and Bickham kept it up with fearless demeanor and a caustic pen. In those days newspaper publishing was a one-man affair. It was that man who controlled everything, said what he pleased and stood by his convictions. There was no absent owner to dictate a policy, there was no business office to check up on editorials which might injure generous advertisers-in short, it (page 144) was both a profession, a vocation and a thrillingly interesting game.

            Bickham played it to the limit.

            One advantage our papers now possess which they owe directly to Major Bickham, is the Associated Press Service. Just after the war of the Rebellion the eastern papers had facilities for news service which ours in the west entirely lacked. They held a monopoly of control excessively irksome to a man like Bickham, who disliked to take what was left over in the important matter of news. So he, with seven other editors in the western states, made a united fight for news service which ended successfully in establishing what was then known as the Western Associated Press Service which brought the news of the day directly to our doors. The other outstanding figure was John G. Doren. He stood in Democratic political circles as the head of an unsuccessful party. That he took a paper that was moribund, in a district that was overwhelmingly Republican, made the first grow and prosper and turned the second into one overwhelmingly Democratic establishes without further question his force of character and vigor of action. He came to Dayton in 1869 unheralded and unknown and entered into that conflict so much more bitter than the actual war, into which the throes of the Rebellion had thrown the country-the era of reconstruction. He was assailed by ridicule, prejudice, unfair competition, and the opening warfare between capital and labor. He kept right on, weathered all the storms, pleased nobody but a few kindred souls, held to the highest ideals, fighting heatedly against intrenched wrong, never faltered, took the part of the under dog and got no credit (then), and laid down his work without knowing that many of the wise but unpopular projects which he furthered finally came into their own. It is something for the traditions of Dayton newspaperdom to have had such a figure in its ranks as John G. Doren.

            Not quite so pronounced a nature but a strength always was William F. Comly, editor of the Journal from 1834 to 1862. It was really he who set the paper on its feet as the dominant organ of the Republican party in the southern district of Ohio. He was a journalist by instinct and by training, knew "the ropes," gave the people of this valley a paper that ranked with the best in the same degree of population in the east and left his mark on the business world of Dayton that is not by any means yet forgotten. In conclusion there is this to be said severally and collectively for the newspapers of Dayton that whatever else they may have lacked it has not been public spirit and that when any measure was up for the benefit of the community they have dropped partisan issues, forgotten professional rivalry and given of their printed space unstintedly and generously. Not one public need has ever gone to them in vain. To look back on the projects which have been pushed into notice, favored in every way by both the journal, the Herald and the News, would be to glimpse a whole history of our civic advances in the last half century. During the war every patriotic activity was given full space to make its needs felt and it is difficult to see how the reconstruction of Dayton after the food, the great conservancy plan, the Red Cross activities, both hospitals, (page 145) the Associated charities, city welfare, not to mention hundreds of other necessities, would have accomplished what they did if it had not been for the whole-souled support of the newspapers of Dayton.