Volume 2 - ElectricCanadian.com

1901 TO 1914 247passed away in June, 1910, after twenty-seven years' serviceas a director. At the commencement of 1910 the day of theweekly meeting of directors was changed from Tuesday toFriday, the change taking effect after the annual meeting.During 1909 the bank had installed safety deposit boxesat a number of city and country branches, to test the popularityof the accommodation thus afforded. It proved soacceptable to the public that early in 1910 the managementannounced its readiness to equip in a similar way any branchwhere the extent of the business to be obtained might warrantit. Since then these boxes have been installed in many partsof the country, and in the opinion of most managers haveproved themselves to be a valuable part of the service renderedby the bank to its customers, as well as a profitable feederto its general business.The decrease in the production of gold in the YukonTerritory was followed by the closing on September 30, 1910,of the branch at Skagway, Alaska, which had served theconvenience of miners and traders going to and from theYukon. In August the bank's field of operations had beenwidened by the opening of a branch in the city of Mexico.The year 1910 was marked by two bank failures, that ofSt. Stephen's Bank, a small institution at St. Stephen, N.B.,and that of the Farmers Bank, which had head-quarters inToronto and many branches in the province of Ontario. Thespeculative propensities of the men who controlled the managementof the latter bank had brought the institution into such ashocking condition that it was quite out of the question forthe other banks to come to the rescue and assist in its liquidationwith open doors. Its very existence had been regarded withapprehension by experienced bankers, as from the outset noattempt had been made to conduct it on legitimate lines.Adverse reports had been circulated even before it openedits doors; and its whole course had been marked by evasionsof the Bank Act. Had the provisions of that Act beenproperly complied with, it either would never have opened its