USA > Massachusetts > Worcester County > Worcester county; a narrative history, Volume II > Part 21
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The statistically inclined would have little difficulty in proving that while there had been an ebb and flood in the rise and fall of newspapers in the county, coincident with the ebb and flood of prosperity, the tendency through most of the present century has been towards the increase of dailies at the expense of weeklies, and that there has been a sharp decline in the number of weeklies published in the smaller cities and towns, a decrease particularly marked since the World War. In 1930 there were eleven daily papers in Worcester County and fewer than twenty secular weeklies. A list of the present newspapers in the county, not already named, together with the date of founding and editor in 1933 include: Athol, Chronicle (1866), H. Burr Eldredge; Transcript (1871), J. C. Hill, editor and publisher ; Clinton, Courant (1846), Evening Item (1893), H. F. Hartwell editing both papers until two years ago; Barre, Gazette (The Farmers' Gazette of 1834), Charles W. Pierce; Brookfield, Union (1891), and Leicester, Banner (1892) both edited and published by William J. Heffernan ; Gardner, News (1896), W. E. Hubbard; Leominster, Enterprise (1873), Nathan H. Gist; Milford, which had two dailies and three weeklies at the beginning of the present century, now has the Evening News (1877), W. D. Leahy, editor ; Millbury, Journal (1893), Charles F. Holman; Spencer, Leader (1891) W. J. Heffernan ; Southbridge, whose early papers included the Reformer and Moralist (Jan- uary 28, 1828), Register (1829) and Village Courier (1832), now has the Southbridge Press (1891), George Grant, and Evening News (1923), V. V. McNitt ; Uxbridge, Times (1929), Russell Krapp; Webster, Evening Times (daily from 1923 to 1934 and now bi-weekly), Laurence J. Daley, editor, who published the Webster Weekly Times, founded in 1859; Westboro, Chrono-
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type (1864), Harry H. Bloss; Winchendon, Courier (1878), H. Burr Eld- redge. There are several towns supplied by weeklies published outside the county. The fourth estate of the smaller places and infrequent publication has been a rich source from which has been drawn many leaders in the journalism of the larger cities of the State and the country. In these modern times of big business and financial depression the croix de guerre should be awarded to the gallant survivors, and laurels to the men of a former day who, undismayed by the failures of others, kept burning the "torch of journalistic light."
CHAPTER XLIV.
The Banks of Worcester County
Worcester County had no banking facilities of any kind, excepting as citizens might make connection with Boston banks, until the year 1804, when the Worcester Bank was established. In fact, until that time there was no bank, commercial or savings, in all Massachusetts west of Boston. Worces- ter was the county seat and centrally located. Therefore when a group of Worcester men secured a charter from the State Legislature to organize and conduct a bank, it was regarded as a county institution, and such it proved to be, for it had customers in all the important towns and agricultural dis- tricts.
A commercial bank in those days was not one where deposits cut an important figure. In 1805, a year after opening its door for business, the total deposits of the Worcester Bank were $166, while its loans and discounts totalled $185,645. Customers needed a bank for the financial accommodations it could give them, and these the rapidly growing manufacturing industries demanded. As for their cash, their own strong boxes took care of that. The importance of this bank in the business life of the shire may be realized from the fact it was the only bank for more than twenty years.
No better measure of the substantial growth of Worcester County can be found than in its financial resources. A little more than a century and a quarter ago, residents of the county had on deposit less than $200. Today deposits held by commercial mutual savings and cooperative banks, under normal conditions, are close to $500,000,000-nearly $1,000 per capita-for each individual man, woman and child, five times the total deposits of 1804.
These figures spell the business enterprise and success of those who have conducted the commercial and industrial interests of the county, and the thrift of those who have worked for and with them. It is an astonishing example of human progress.
Wor .- 38
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Worcester Bank Established-On the evening of December 18, 1803, a number of gentlemen met at Barker's Tavern, Worcester, with Isaiah Thomas presiding, and voted that it would be advantageous to the county to have a bank established at Worcester; and that as soon as one thousand shares should be subscribed for, at one hundred dollars a share, an applica- tion should be made to the Legislature for an act of incorporation ; and that the subscription paper should be opened at Barker's tavern on the first Tues- day of January following. Benjamin Heywood, Francis Blake, Isaiah Thomas, William Paine and Daniel Waldo, Jr., were chosen a committee to secure the subscriptions and call a meeting of the subscribers for organiza- tion.
Advertisements in the Aegis and the Massachusetts Spy, headed "A Coun- try Bank," set forth that "an association of gentlemen belonging to the town of Worcester, having contemplated the advantages which would accrue to the agricultural, commercial and mechanical interests of the county from the establishment of a bank in the town of Worcester," had appointed a com- mittee to invite subscriptions from the citizens of the county, and gave notice of the place and manner in which subscriptions might be made. The response to this call was so liberal, that it was found that one hundred and eighty- three subscribers had applied for a total of twenty-six hundred and twelve shares. These subscriptions were graded down to fifteen hundred by a committee, and application was made for a charter with a capital of $150,000, instead of the sum first proposed. The charter was granted March 7, 1804: "An act to incorporate Daniel Waldo and others by the name and stile of the President, Directors and Company of the Worcester Bank."
The corporators, besides the committee, were Daniel Waldo, Sr., Stephen Salisbury, Nathan Patch, William Henshaw, Nathaniel Paine, and Elijah Burbank. The charter which was to run for eight years from October I, 1804, provided that the whole amount of capital should be paid in before March 1, 1805; that the bank might hold real estate for banking purposes to the amount of $20,000 ; that neither their circulation nor their loans should at any time exceed twice their capital stock actually paid in and existing in gold and silver in their vaults. No bills could be issued of a less value than five dollars, and none between five and ten dollars; and the Commonwealth reserved the right to become an owner in the stock to an amount not exceed- ing $50,000 of additional stock to be created.
As there were no savings banks then in existence, it was also provided that one-eighth part of the whole funds of the bank should always be appro- priated to loans to the "agricultural interest," of not less than one hundred dollars or more than five hundred dollars each, and for a term not less than one year ; and the bank was bound to loan to the State, whenever required by
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the Legislature, any sum not exceeding $15,000, reimbursable in five annual installments and at a rate of interest not exceeding five per cent.
The charter was accepted at a meeting of subscribers to the stock, held April 10, 1804. At the same meeting Daniel Waldo, Benjamin Heywood, Samuel Flagg, Isaiah Thomas, Daniel Waldo, Jr., Theophilus Wheeler and Samuel Chandler were elected directors. Daniel Waldo was the original president, but a few months later his son, Daniel Waldo, Jr., succeeded him. The directors elected Levi Thaxter as cashier and Robert B. Brigham as accountant, with the understanding that they should "enter themselves at some bank in the town of Boston, to be instructed at their own expense, in the duties of their respective offices." It was voted to erect a bank building, Mr. Waldo was authorized "to contract with Peter Marsh and Tarrus King of Sutton, and Daniel Hearsy, of Worcester, bricklayers, to work at $1.581/3 per day, board and liquor included." A brick building was erected on the easterly side of Main Street, near the head of Exchange Street, on the site of what is now the Central Exchange Building. The structure was adorned with two belts of marble across its front, which was regarded as architectural splendor.
The rules and regulations under which the Worcester Bank began busi- ness are of importance as indicating the manner of commercial banking in the early days of the county.
I. That no discount shall be made for a longer time than sixty days.
2. That there shall be but one discount day in each week, which shall be Tuesday.
3. That office hours shall be from nine o'clock A. M. to three o'clock P. M. in Summer, and from ten o'clock A. M. to three o'clock P. M. in Winter ; excepting on Saturdays, when the Bank shall be shut at one o'clock P. M., and excepting on Fast days, and Thanksgiving days and Public Festi- vals, when the Bank shall not be opened.
4. That every note presented for discount shall have one or more endorsers, except when Stock is pledged as collateral security.
5. That every person other than the promiser offering a note for discount shall endorse it.
6. That every note presented for discount shall be attested by one or more subscribing Witnesses.
7. That every promiser and endorser shall fix on some place in the Town of Worcester where his notifications may be left.
8. That no written or printed acknowledgment shall be given for money or anything else left at the Bank merely for safe keeping.
9. That all mistakes made by the Officers of the Bank must be discovered and stated before the persons leave the Bank, or they cannot be enquired into or allowed.
IO. That dividends shall be declared due to the Persons in whose name the stock shall stand on the Books fourteen days previous to the first day of April and the first day of October annually.
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II. That no person shall have his note renewed for more than four-fifths of the original sum, and at every renewal one-fifth of the original sum or first loan shall be paid in.
12. That all loans on Bond and Mortgage be made for one year with interest payable at the expiration of that time.
Renewing the Charter-The original charter was to expire in October, 1812, and in May of the preceding year the stockholders voted to petition the Legislature for a renewal and for permission to increase the capital to $400,000. The petition itself throws much light on conditions in Worcester County at that time, particularly the development and increase of manufac- turing industry. To quote a portion of it :
"A scrupulous regard has been had to the management of the Institution upon the strict and known and approved principles of Banking. The specie capital has been exclusively appropriated to the redemption of the bills issued upon it. The bills, in every instance, have been redeemed upon demand, and with a promptitude and cheerfulness which has left nothing for just com- plaint to the applicant. The accommodation of the Bank has been alike extended without partiality or prejudice to every individual whose occasions have required, and whose responsibility has justified the credit of a loan. The stockholders themselves have been among the smallest borrowers of the Bank. As they had no other inducement, so they have received no other consideration for the investment of their money than its security and the legal interest it has borne.
"In its operation, the Bank has been attended with all the advantages to the public which could have been anticipated in its incorporation. With a very restricted capital, and from its local situation exposed to repeated drafts, it has, notwithstanding, uniformly maintained a character and credit, which among the country banks, is almost peculiar to itself. It has increased the wealth, the resources, and the business of the county of Worcester; it has facilitated the progress of useful arts and manufactures; it has aided in the establishment of others, which otherwise must have languished for want of capital. It has been highly beneficial in the common intercourse of business, by rendering credit less necessary, and thereby it has diminished the number of lawsuits. It has enabled the prudent farmer to extend his improvements by anticipating the value of his crops. These are among the most obvious of its effects, but to every class of people, and to every kind of business within its influence, it has communicated some share of benefit. It has given spirit to enterprise, and patronage to laudable exertion.
"Had the capital been greater, the accommodation to the public would have been proportionally increased. The demand for money within the county has constantly exceeded the ability of the Bank to loan; and the
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recent establishment of many manufactories for various useful branches of business, has for sometime past greatly augmented the number of applica- tions. The experience of the last twelve months has evinced that the pro- posed capital of Four Hundred Thousand Dollars might be employed with the same expense to the stockholders, and greater accommodation to the public. Manufactures and the consequent occasions for money are rapidly increasing. The arrangements of the Bank are better and more generally understood, and the confidence of the community is becoming daily more attached to the Institution.
"The evils resulting from the expiration of the charter without renewal, are too many and too obvious to escape the discernment of the Legislature. A considerable proportion of the debts are with the Yeomanry of the County. More than one hundred and seventy thousand dollars is usually due to the bank. The embarrassment, the perplexity and the positive distress which would be produced by a sudden demand of this amount, are incalculable. Suits would be indefinitely multiplied, and an immense sacrifice of property must be the inevitable consequences."
Boston Banks Are Hostile-Yet the Legislature was antagonistic. Hostile interests developed in Boston. The banks of the Hub resented the establishment and prosperity of a country bank. Perhaps they feared the effects of the example as promising other similar institutions. As events turned out, this was a well justified foresight. The opposition was powerful, and the petition of the Worcester bank was refused. But the officers and directors were not discouraged. They went at it again at the May session of the Legislature of 1812. This supplementary petition contains a further analysis of industrial condition in the county, when it said :
"It has cherished and encouraged the manufactures of the country ; it has contributed to improvements in agriculture ; it has supported the credit of trade ; it has multiplied the resources of business ; it has diminished the num- ber of lawsuits. The county of Worcester justly boasts of her mechanics and her artificers; the extent of her workshops, and more especially of the ingenuity of her labors in the fabric of cloths and of paper, and in the greater importance of her manufactories in iron. A sum beyond the calculation of your petitioners is constantly employed as a capital in a multiplicity of mechanical engagements. Loans are urgently applied for and readily granted to these important interests, and your petitioners are authorized in the assur- ance that the existence of the bank and the continuance of its accommoda- tions are indispensable to their preservation.
"So solicitous indeed was the public mind on the subject of a renewal of the charter, at the last session of the Legislature, that petitions for that
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object were spontaneously proffered from almost every important town in the county. To these unbiased testimonials to the credit of the corporation, and its salutary operations, now on the Legislative files, your petitioners would respectfully refer, in recommendation of the prayer of their petition. On this subject there are no conflicting claims. Men of all parties, classes and situations in the county are satisfied with the present application."
This petition the Legislature could not refuse. But it compromised. The renewal of the charter was granted, but the capital stock we fixed not at the $400,000 asked for, but at $200,000.
The Suffolk Bank Episode-The Worcester Bank had one experience which at the moment threatened serious consequences and even a technical failure. The Suffolk Bank of Boston adopted coercive measures to compel the Worcester Bank to keep all its Boston deposit in that institution, and by a sharp, premeditated trick caught the local officials unprepared.
It was for the interest of the State banks to keep their bills in active cir- culation, and they were not allowed to pay out any bills except their own. This proved an embarrassment to the banks in the larger places because the country bills came in from their depositors, and must be sent, at considerable expense and loss of time, to the issuing bank to be redeemed. The Suffolk bank of Boston, at some time previous to 1825, offered to receive at par the bills sent in to them by such banks as would keep an adequate deposit with the Suffolk. The cashier of the Suffolk bank made an offer to this effect to the Worcester bank on December 8, 1825.
"On an inquiry from Mr. Jennison, the Worcester cashier, if it was required that the whole of its Boston deposit should be kept at the Suffolk, it was answered that it would be so expected and wished. The Worcester bank kept its deposit with the New England bank and declined the proposition. Then the Suffolk bank said that if the Worcester would instruct the New England to redeem the former's bills over its counter they would consider it a favor,-otherwise they would be "compelled to adopt the old system of requiring specie for them." The Worcester bank answered that they would not consent to negotiate under an attempt at coercion.
Mr. Waldo, under date of April 25, 1826, formally communicated to the Suffolk bank the proposition: "That whenever the Suffolk bank should have collected such an amount of the Worcester bills as should be agreed on, the cashier of the Suffolk bank should give the cashier of the Worcester bank notice in writing, when a cheque on the New England bank should be sent by return mail. The sum thus received by the Suffolk bank to be then credited to the Worcester bank, the bills to be put under cover, sealed up, marked, and returned at the expense of the Suffolk bank, but not debited
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until they had actually been received at the Worcester bank, and in no case were the bills to be detained more than - - days after payment."
The plan of Mr. Waldo was not accepted. The Suffolk bank continued to ship the Worcester bills to the home bank, demanding and receiving specie, and after about two months resorted to a measure which, it would seem, must coerce the Worcester bank if it did not even cause its suspension.
On the morning of July 26 a messenger from the Suffolk presented two packages of bills, said to contain $38,000 or more than half the entire circula- tion, at the Worcester counter, and demanded specie. It must have required considerable time and effort to accumulate so large a sum. The Worcester bank had $39,000 to its credit at the New England bank, and tendered a draft in payment. The messenger replied that he would accept the draft if this bank would agree to keep its deposits and redeem its bills at the Suffolk. His offer was refused. He was paid $28,000 in specie, and a messenger was despatched to Boston to pay the balance over the Suffolk's counter.
The tender was made to the Suffolk the next morning, but the latter bank refused it and despatched a sheriff at once to Worcester to attach the real estate of this bank, "in security for the payment of bank bills for which the specie was offered before the process was issued."
There is no authentic information as to what followed. The bank's rec- ords are silent on the subject. But there was lively controversy in the news- papers, in which the president of the Suffolk bank defended his bank's action, and matters were adjusted, so that no permanent harm was done. Later, after several banks had been established in Worcester, they united in sending a daily messenger to Boston, who took down notes and drafts for collection, and supplies of foreign bills to redeem those which he found ready to be returned to the banks at Worcester.
The original National Banking Act required that all national banks be known by a number, a provision of which we have reminders in the titles of some of the banks of today. But many of the old State banks resented relin- quishing their old names, and the Worcester bank was one of these. The act was amended and in 1864 the State charter was surrendered and the change made to the Worcester National Bank.
The Establishment of Other County Banks-With the passing of the years the business interests of the county grew rapidly, and with them grew the need of more convenient banking facilities. The south county was first to respond with the establishment, in 1825, of the Blackstone National Bank at Uxbridge and the Northbridge National Bank at Northbridge. In 1832 the Fitchburg National Bank was organized, and in 1836 the Southbridge
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National Bank. Other important towns one after another established their own commercial banks, and most of these are doing business today.
Bank Consolidations Have Been Many-In Worcester, as in all other large American cities, great changes in commercial banking have come with consolidation of the smaller banks into larger institutions. In 1903 the city had eight commercial banks-the Worcester National Bank, Central National Bank established in 1829, Quinsigamond National Bank, in 1833; Citizens National Bank, in 1836; City National Bank, in 1854; First National Bank, in 1863; Mechanics National Bank, in 1865; and Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Company in 1868.
In the year 1903 and the period immediately following, six of these were consolidated as the Worcester Trust Company-the Central, Quinsigamond, Citizens, City, First National, and Worcester Safe Deposit and Trust Com- pany. Instead of eight commercial banks, there were three. To these, in 1905, was added the Merchants National Bank, and 1916 the Park Trust Company.
Then, in 1917, came a most important merger of banking interests in the consolidation of the old Worcester National Bank, the oldest commercial bank in Massachusetts west of Boston, and the Worcester Trust Company, the oldest trust company in all Massachusetts. The former's national bank charter was surrendered, and the combined bank became the Worcester Bank and Trust Company. The number of commercial banks was now four. Then in 1922 the Merchants National Bank bought the assets of the Park Trust Company, which went out of existence, and there were three banks. In 1922, the number was raised to four again by the organization of the Ban- croft Trust Company, which closed its doors in 1931.
In 1927 the name of the Merchants National Bank was changed to the Worcester County National Bank. In that year the bank bought control of the Fitchburg Bank and Trust Company, which became the Fitchburg Branch of the Worcester County National Bank. Two years later, in 1929, the Worcester County National acquired the ownership of six county banks- the Second National Bank of Barre, Clinton Trust Company, North Brook- field National Bank, Spencer National Bank and First National Bank of Webster. The Fitchburg Bank and Trust Company went out of existence as a banking unit and became the Fitchburg Branch of the Worcester County National Bank. The five town banks retained their charters and their bank- ing individualities.
The final act in this long banking drama was the coming together of the Worcester Bank and Trust Company and Worcester County National Bank in an affiliation of interests, under the common stock ownership by the
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Worcester Bank and Trust Company. Each of these large banks retains its own banking entity. They are conducted as separate institutions, each with its own officers and corps of employees. But the affiliation of interests has worked to the advantage of both the city banks and their county affiliates.
The last commercial bank to be established in Worcester was the Skandia Trust Company the outgrowth of the Skandia Credit Union, which opened for business in 1930.
Fitchburg, too, has seen many changes among its commercial banks. First to be organized was the Fitchburg National Bank in 1832, and there followed the Rollstone National Bank, chartered in 1849, and the Wachusett National Bank, chartered in 1875. In 1906 the Rollstone National absorbed the deposits of the Fitchburg Trust Company, and changed its name, under a State charter, to the Fitchburg Safe Deposit and Trust Company. In 1914 this bank absorbed the Fitchburg National Bank and changed its name to the Fitchburg Bank and Trust Company. In 1927 it was consolidated with the Worcester County National Bank and became the Fitchburg Branch of that bank.
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