History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 19

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756

USA > Alabama > History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I > Part 19

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1874-5-J. D. Driesbach.

1875-6-J. D. Driesbach.

1876-7-R. C. Torrey.

1878-9-R. C. Torrey.

1880-1-W. Y. Titcomb.

Perdido Station

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

1882-3-W. Y. Titcomb.

1884-5-J. M. Davison.

1886-7-J. M. Davison.

1888-9_Daniel Williams.

1890-1-Daniel Williams.

1892-3-W. B. Kemp. 1894-5-W. B. Kemp. 1896-7-C. S. Lee.

1898-9-C. S. Lee.

1899 (Spec.)-C. S. Lee. 1900-01-D. D. Hall.

1903-Daniel Dillon Hall.

1907-O. O. Bayles.

1907 (Spec.)-O. O. Bayles.

1909 (Spec.)-O. O. Bayles, deceased; and district not represented.

1911-E. M. Lovelace. 1915-H. H. Holmes.

1919-Riley Kelly.

Representatives .-

1819-20-Thomas Carson.

1820-1-Joseph Mims.

1821 (Called)-Joseph Mims.

1821-2-Elijah Montgomery.

1822-3 __ Lud Harris.

1823-4-Samuel Haines.

1824-5-Silas Dinsmore.

1825-6-Edward J. Lambert.

1826-7-James F. Roberts.

1827-8-Origen Sibley.

1828-9-David Mims.

1829-30-David Mims.

1830-1-James F. Roberts.

1831-2-Joseph Hall.

1832 (Called)-Joseph Hall.

1832-3-Joseph Hall.

1833-4-Joseph Hall.

1834-5-James L. Seaberry.

1835-6-Joseph Hall.

1836-7-Lee Slaughter.

1837 (Called)-Lee Slaughter.

1837-8-Cade M. Godbold.

1838-9-Cade M. Godbold.

1839-40_David Mims.

1840-1-Gerald B. Hall.

1841 (Called)-Gerald B. Hall.

1841-2-Richard Singleton Moore.

1842-3-William H. Gasque.

1843-4-Richard Singleton Moore.

1844-5-Gerald B. Hall.

1845-6-J. H. Hastie. 1847-8-Reuben McDonald.

1849-50-Reuben McDonald.

1851-2-William Booth.

1853-4-William Wilkins.

1855-6-P. C. Byrne.

1857-8-Joseph Nelson.

1859-60-T. C. Barlow.

1861 (1st called)-T. C. Barlow.

1861 (2d called)-Reuben McDonald.

1861-2-Reuben McDonald.

1862 (Called)-Reuben McDonald.

1862-3_Reuben McDonald. 1863 (Called)-R. B. Bryers.

1863-4-R. B. Bryers.

1864 (Called)-R. B. Bryers.

1864-5-R. B. Bryers.

1865-6-G. W. Robinson.

1866-7-G. W. Robinson.

1868-A. L. Holman.

1869-70-A. L. Holman.

1870-1-O. S. Holmes.

1871-2-O. S. Holmes.

1872-3-James M. Vaughn.

1873-James M. Vaughn.

1874-5-Joseph Nelson.

1875-6-Joseph Nelson.

1876-7-W. H. H. McDavid.

1878-9-Louis Dolive.

1880-1-J. H. H. Smith.

1882-3-H. A. Tatum.

1884-5_James M. Vaughn.

1886-7-Dan Williams.

1888-9-H. A. Tatum.

1890-1-Richard A. Moore.

1892-3-H. P. Hanson.

1894-5-R. H. Moore.

1896-7-C. W. Joseph.

1898-9-J. H. H. Smith.

1899 (Spec.)-J. H. H. Smith.

1900-01-George H. Hoyle.

1903-David Crawford Byrne.

1907-S. C. Jenkins.

1907 (Spec.)-S. C. Jenkins.

1909 (Spec.)-S. C. Jenkins.

1911-S. C. Jenkins.

1915-I. B. Thompson.

1919-Sibley Holmes.

See Bay Minette; Blakely; Bowyer; Fort; Daphne; Daphne State Normal School; Fort Mims Massacre; Little River; McIntosh Bluff; Mobilians; Montgomery Hill; Mont- rose; Morgan Fort; Spanish Fort; Stockton; Tensas; Tensaw River.

REFERENCES,-Toulmin, Digest (1823), in- dex; Brewer, Alabama, p. 114; Berney, Hand- book (1892), p. 268; Riley, Alabama as it is (1893), p. 205; Northern Alabama (1888), p. 230; Alabama, 1909 (Ala. Dept. of Ag. and Ind., Bulletin 27), p. 73; U. S. Soil Survey (1911), with map; Alabama land book (1916), p. 28; Ala. Official and Statistical Register, 1903-1915, 5 vols .; Ala. Anthropological Society, Hand- book (1910) ; Geol. Survey of Ala., Agricultural features of the State (1883); The Valley re- gions of Alabama, parts 1 and 2 (1896, 1897) and Underground Water resources of Alabama (1907).

BALLAST. See Road and Ballast Mate- rials.

BANK, THE STATE, AND BRANCHES. See State Bank and Branches.

BANKERS' ASSOCIATION, THE ALA- BAMA. A voluntary association of banking institutions of the State "to promote the gen- eral welfare and condition of banks and bank- ing institutions, and to secure uniformity of action, together with the practical benefits to be derived from personal acquaintance, and from the discussion of subjects of im- portance to the banking and commercial forces of the State of Alabama, and especially in order to secure the proper consideration of questions regarding the financial and com- mercial usages, customs and laws which affect the banking interests of the entire State, and for protection against loss by crime." Any bank, banker, or trust company of the State of Alabama may become a member of the

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

association upon payment of the annual dues prescribed by the by-laws; also the officers of the various clearing-houses in the State. Member-banks may send delegates to the meetings of the association, who are required to be officers or directors of the institutions they represent. The present constitution and by-laws, adopted when the association was reorganized in 1902, provide an organization consisting of president, vice-president, secre- tary-treasurer, and eight second vice-presi- dents, each a chairman of a group of mem- bers from a district composed of from 10 to

15 counties. The administration of the affairs of the association is vested in a coun- cil known as the "Council of Administration," composed of the chairmen of the eight groups, together with the president, vice-president, and secretary-treasurer as ex officio members. Standing committees upon various subjects of interest to bankers are maintained. At the annual meetings of the association, the dele- gates who are also members of the American Bankers' Association, elect the vice-president of that organization for the State of Alabama.

The association was first organized in 1890, but became somewhat inactive and was reor- ganized at a meeting held in Blount Springs August 11, 1902, at which time the present constitution was adopted. In addition to the regular order of business, addresses, speeches and discussions of the various professional and general questions of conduct and management, both national and state, are given special consideration. It was due to the activity of the Alabama Bankers' Association that the present State banking law, by which the bank- ing department was created, was enacted. The association has taken an advanced posi- tion in regard to practically all business ques- tions, giving especial encouragement and assistance to the development of the State's agricultural interests. An example of active assistance given the farmers was the conven- tion of bankers, called by the superintendent of banks, at Montgomery, October 31, 1914, to devise plans for the temporary or perma- nent relief of the cotton situation as it then existed. A large attendance and a hearty re- sponse were given by the bankers, and as a result of their deliberations, measures for the relief of the serious conditions confront- ing the cotton planters on account of the European War were put under way.

PUBLICATIONS. - Proceedings, 1900-1914, 7 vols .; Convention of Alabama Bankers, Pro- ceedings, Nov. 17, 1914.

See Banks and Banking; Banking Depart- ment; State Bank and Branches.

REFERENCES .- Publications listed above.

BANKHEAD HIGHWAY. A transconti- nental highway, starting at the "Zero Mile- stone" in Washington, D. C., and ending in San Diego, California, passing through the states of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Ten- nessee, Arkansas, Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. The prac- ticability of such a route is due to climatic conditions prevailing the year around, and

the low grade that could be maintained, free- dom from snow blockade and steep mountain climbs, open to travel every day in the year. The Highway was inaugurated and named at a meeting of leading good roads advocates assembled in Birmingham, October 6, 1916, to formulate plans for the establishment of a Southern transcontinental highway from Washington to the Pacific Coast. The High- way was named as a tribute and later as a memorial to John Hollis Bankhead, "father of good roads in the U. S. Senate," the man who secured the first Federal aid in building good roads in every state in the Union. In the fall of 1917 the pathfinders appointed to locate the route made their selection from Washington, D. C., to Memphis, Tenn., and reported to the United States Good Roads Association, at the convention held at Little Rock, Ark., April, 1918, when the recommen- dations were approved. The route from Mem- phis to El Paso, Texas, was reported and adopted at the convention held at Mineral Wells, Texas, April, 1919. At the convention held at Hot Springs, Ark., April, 1920, rec- ommendations of the pathfinders and the board of directors, fixing the route from El Paso to San Diego were ratified.

The Bankhead Highway was at first largely a series of connecting county roads, but has gradually become through official action of the legislatures and highway commissions of the States through which the route lies, an inte- gral part of the several state highway systems. In the majority of States, federal aid is provided by the Bankhead road measure. By 1920 more than three fourths of the high- way was being improved under the direct inspection of the government. More than a thousand miles at that date was improved with either permanent paving or hard sur- face, and more than $40,000,000 was avail- able or in prospect for construction of perma- nent links in the Highway. More than a thousand miles of the Highway runs through the State of Texas, and the Highway Commis- sion of Texas, and counties which the road traverses, have appropriated and voted bonds to the amount of $27,405,000 to build their respective links, which are to be permanent and hard surface roads. California has voted bonds to the amount of over $40,000,000 to build a paved link of the Bankhead Highway from the Arizona line to San Diego, a distance of over 200 miles.

The Bankhead Highway is not only a prac- tical route for touring, but also for hauling of freight. It connects the principal cities of North Carolina with Washington; it links Atlanta, Birmingham and Memphis, and it also serves the principal cities of the west all the way to San Diego and the Pacific Coast.

Army Convoy .- The War Department sent a U. S. Army Convoy over the route during 1920 thus giving government recognition to the Bankhead Highway, definitely establish- ing it as the most important Southern trans- continental route. The Convoy, following an impressive ceremony at Zero Milestone on June 14th, left Washington, D. C. with Col.

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

John F. Franklin, U. S. Army, as expedition- ary commander, and J. A. Rountree, Secre- tary of the Bankhead National Highway As- sociation as field director, under appointment of the War Department and by the Associa- tion as representative and spokesman. The convoy was composed of forty-four trucks, four of which were 10 ton size, seven auto- mobiles and four motorcycles. The personnel consisted of twenty officers and one hundred and sixty enlisted men. The convoy landed in Los Angeles October 6th, after traveling 4,000 miles.

The convoy, received an ovation from the start to the finish. In every city, town and village through which it passed receptions with banquets, barbecues and chicken dinners were served. Public meetings were held and the people addressed by members of the con- voy during which a half million people heard the gospel of good roads. It is the present expectation of the promoters of the route that the Bankhead Highway will be one of the first highways to be taken over by the Federal Government as one of its transcontinental post and military roads.

The Bankhead Highway is recognized as one of the great routes for tourists from the north and east to the south and west, and is prominently shown on the map of the Ameri- can Automobile Association and other tour- ists' maps. It is estimated that the total cost of the Highway, when completed will be above $100,000,000.

Road of Remembrance .- It is the inten- tion of the Bankhead Highway Association to make of the highway a road of remem- brance. Fruit and nut trees, flowers and shrubs will line the route, planted as memo- rials to heroes of the States and localities through which the highway passes. Monu- ments and markers will also mark the route.

Woman's Auxiliary Board .- A woman's auxiliary board was authorized by the board of directors at Birmingham, February 5, 1920, "to have charge of beautifying the Bankhead National Highway."

Features of Interest on Route .- The capi- tol and public buildings at Washington, D. C .; battlefields and historic points in Virginia; tobacco fields and King's Mountain in North Carolina; cotton mills in South Carolina; Stone Mountain in Georgia, Camp McPher- son, Atlanta; iron and steel plants and coal fields at Birmingham; cotton plantations in Mississippi; crossing the Mississippi River at Memphis; Hot Springs, in Arkansas; oil fields of Texas; copper mines in New Mexico; Roosevelt Dam in Arizona; Indian and game reservations in Oklahoma; orange groves and orchards in California and on the Pacific Coast. See Zero Milestone, and sketch of Senator John H. Bankhead.

REFERENCES .- Archives of the United States Good Roads Association, and the Association's bulletin; letters from J. A. Rountree and S. M. Johnson, in the Alabama State Department of Archives and History.

BANKING DEPARTMENT. A State exec- utive department, originally created March 2,

1911, and reorganized under act of February 15, 1915. It is "charged with the execution of all laws relating to corporations and indi- viduals doing or carrying on a banking busi- ness in the State of Alabama." The title of the act declares the legislative purpose to be "through this department to regulate, ex- amine and supervise banks and banking, to punish certain prohibited acts relating there- to, to provide for the seizure and liquidation of banks, to provide for the levy of an assess- ment upon State banks for the support of the banking department [so] created."

The chief officer of the department is the superintendent of banks, appointed by the governor, with the approval of the State sen- ate, for a term of four years. He must be a man of good character, familiar with bank- ing transactions, and neither directly nor in- directly interested in any banking business. His salary is $3,600 a year. He takes an oath of office, gives a surety bond of $25,000, and may be impeached for "neglect of duty, mal- feasance, misfeasance, extortion or corruption in office, incompetency, or intemperance in the use of intoxicating liquors or narcotics . . or for any offense involving moral turpitude." He is authorized to employ four persons as examiners, at monthly salaries of $150 each, one office assistant at $83.33, and a stenographer at $75 a month. The neces- sary traveling expenses of the superintend- ent, examiners and office assistant are paid by the State. The department maintains an office in the capitol.

The jurisdiction of the department extends to every bank in the State, other than na- tional banks; and it is the duty of the super- intendent, either personally or by competent examiner appointed by him, to visit and ex- amine, under oath if need be, every state bank at least twice in each year in order to ascertain its condition and resources, and whether the requirements of its charter and of the law have been complied with. He is authorized, with the concurrence of the bank- ing board, to take charge of and close any bank found to be insolvent or improperly managed, and retain possession until it can resume business or shall have been finally liquidated as provided by law. In case of liquidation, he may appoint an agent, at a salary not exceeding $200 a month, payable from the assets of the bank, to assist him in closing its affairs. He must require of all state banks at least two reports each year showing the details of their condition and business in the manner prescribed by him, and himself make an annual report to the governor covering the business of the depart- ment, which is published as other State docu- ments. He may withhold a certificate of incorporation for a proposed bank until the proper assurances and documents are filed with him.

The department is supported by an annual license tax based upon the aggregate capital, surplus, and undivided profits of every bank doing business in the State, graduated from $25 on a total of $25,000 or less, to $200 on a total of $500,000 or more. A penalty of

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

$5 for each day the tax remains in default after the time fixed by law for its payment is prescribed, and it is the duty of the super- intendent to enforce collection. The consti- tutionality of the tax was attacked in the case of Lovejoy v. City of Montgomery, but the supreme court upheld the law.

The constitution of 1875 declared that no banks should be established otherwise than under a general banking law, but no such general law was enacted until 1903. This omission is explained mainly by the fact that for many years the United States Govern- ment, in order to assist the development of the national banking system, exacted a tax of 10 per cent upon the issues of state banks, making the profit of such enterprises too small to be attractive. In 1894, Gov. William C. Oates recommended a banking law, in the belief that the Federal tax would be repealed. The legislature at that session sent a joint resolution to Congress, asking its immediate repeal, but passed no banking law. The mat- ter seems to have rested thus until October 10, 1903, when a law "providing for the exam- ination and regulation of the business of banking in the State of Alabama" was ap- proved. This law required reports in detail of resources and liabilities; contained provi- sions for the regulation of capitalization, cash reserve, character of loans and discounts, and methods of procedure in cases of impair- ment of capital; and authorized the governor to appoint a bank examiner, at $2,000 a year and necessary traveling expenses. On Au- gust 26, 1909, the appointment of a state bank examiner and two assistant examiners was authorized, so that at least two examina- tions of every bank might be made every year.

In 1911, Gov. Emmet O'Neal recommended to the legislature the establishment of a sep- arate State banking department, to be under the control of an officer with ample authority backed by adequate penalties. He said, "The growth of the banks of Alabama, both in numbers and in deposits, has more than kept pace with the expansion of the State in population and industrial development. Un- fortunately this growth has been marred in the recent past by some failures of a most inexcusable and disgraceful description, and through the shameless violation of the com- monest rules of sound banking. I am per- suaded that these failures and all the harm to many hundreds of depositors, could have, and would have been prevented by a depart- ment of banking properly equipped "and clothed with authority and charged with re- sponsibility."

Acting upon this suggestion, the legislature created a banking department, March 2, 1911. The governor appointed Alexander E. Walker, of Florence, superintendent, and he was com- missioned to succeed himself in 1915. The policy of the department has been construc- tive, yet conservative, calculated to place the business of banking in the State upon a firmer basis, and to enhance its standing and influ- ence in the financial circles of the country. Special efforts have been made to bring about a better understanding and a more effectual

cooperation between the banking and the agri- cultural interests of the State. An example of the work done in that direction was the calling by the superintendent of a convention of all the bankers of the State at Montgom- ery on November 17, 1914, for the purpose of devising means to relieve the trying situa- tion of the cotton planters brought about by the European War and the abundant crop of that year.

Examiner (old law) .- Thomas J. Rutledge, 1904-1911.

Assistant Examiners (old law) .- Ralph W. Garner, 1909-1911; L. P. Hosmer, 1910-1911. Superintendent (new law) .- Alexander E. Walker, 1911-

Members of Board (new law) .- Edward J. Buck, 1911-1915; George A. Searcy, 1911- 1915; W. W. Crawford, 1916 -; J. W. Little, 1916 -.

PUBLICATIONS .- Annual reports, 1911-1916, 6 vols. These contain full statistics of the bank- ing business of the State during the period cov- ered. Reports compiled by the examiner under the laws of 1903 and 1909 were not separately published, but appear in the Annual reports of the State treasurer.

See Banks and Banking.

REFERENCES .- Constitution, 1875, 1901; Code, 1907, secs. 3538-3561; General Acts, 1903, pp. 483-487; 1909, special sess., pp. 232-233; 1911, pp. 50-89; 1915, pp. 88-103; Lovejoy v. City of Mont- gomery, 180 Ala., p. 473; Gov. William C. Oates, "Message," in Senate Journal, 1894-95, pp. 231- 232; Gov. Emmet O'Neal, "Message," in Senate Journal, 1911, p. 142; Convention of Alabama Bankers, Proceedings, 1914.

BANKS. Corporations, firms, or individ- uals engaged primarily in making loans and caring for deposits, and secondarily in vari- ous other activities, such as dealing in domes- tic and foreign exchange, the investment of funds, the buying and selling of securities, and the issue of notes for circulation as money. Incorporated banking institutions have been provided for in the laws of Alabama since the organization of the State. A law was passed by the legislature of Mississippi Ter- ritory, December 11, 1816, incorporating the Planters' and Mechanics' Bank of Huntsville. The legislature of Alabama Territory passed an act February 13, 1818, to establish the Tombeckbe Bank in the town of St. Stephens, and another, November 20, 1818, establishing the Bank of Mobile. When the State consti- tution was adopted in 1819, provision was made for the establishment of one State bank with such number of branches as the legisla- ture might from time to time deem expedient. Regulative provisions were included in the act establishing the State bank, but most of the details of organization were left to the discretion of the legislature. Among other provisions of the constitution, was one to the effect that after the establishment of the State bank, the private banks in existence might be admitted as branches thereof, but banking institutions other than the State bank were not permitted. In accordance with the constitution, the legislature, December 21,

HISTORY OF ALABAMA

1820, passed an act establishing the State bank, the details of whose history are given under the title State Bank and Branches.

So long as The Bank of the State of Ala- bama existed there were no other banking institutions chartered; but after its suspen- sion several other private banks were incor- porated. Data concerning such institutions previous to 1865 will also be found under the title State Bank and Branches. Banks and banking since 1865 are discussed under that title.

For discussions of national banks, Federal reserve board, farm loan board, etc., see the titles listed below.

See Banking Department; Bankers' Asso- ciation, The Alabama; Banks and Banking; Farm Loan Board; Federal Reserve Board; National Banks; State Bank and Branches.

BANKS. Post office and station on the At- lantic Coast Line Railroad, in the central part of Pike County, about 8 miles southeast of Troy. Altitude: 599 feet. Population: 1900 -198; 1910-307.

BANKS AND BANKING. The organiza- tion and operation of banks in Alabama are under the supervision of the State banking department, which has wide regulative pow- ers. The present banking system was inau- gurated by the act of October 10, 1903, "providing for the examination and regula- tion of business of banking in the State of Alabama." There are, however, certain fun- damental principles with respect to banking laid down in the present constitution. Sim- ilar provisions, not quite so broad in their scope, nor comprehending so many adminis- trative details, were incorporated in the con- stitution of 1875.

The banking law of 1911, enlarged and elaborated the existing laws, and superseded all previous enactments on the subject. In addition to creating the banking department, described under that title, this act, with its amendments, provides that banks organized under State laws shall pay, through the bank- ing department, stipulated fees proportioned to the amount of their capitalization. It reg- ulates by specific provisions all matters of capitalization; cash reserve; maximum allow- able loans to one person, firm or corporation; and the increase or reduction of capital stock. It also provides penalties for banking officers who receive deposits when a bank is known to be insolvent; declare unearned divi- dends; make changes in capital stock without authority from the superintendent of banks; conceal loans from the board of directors; permit overdrafts by officers or employees, etc. In many respects the provisions of the law are similar to and quite as stringent as those of the national banking laws.

Before the establishment of the present system, provision was made for the incorpo- ration of banks, designated as free banking institutions, the same as other commercial or industrial corporations; and certain fea- tures of their organization and business transactions were regulated by law. Such de-

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History of Alabama and dictionary of Alabama biography, Volume I, Part 19

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869- Publication date: 1921 Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company Number of Pages: 756

Author: Owen, Thomas McAdory, 1866-1920; Owen, Marie (Bankhead) Mrs. 1869-
Publication date: 1921
Publisher: Chicago, The S. J. Clarke publishing company
Number of Pages: 756