HomeMy WebLinkAboutZurich Herald, 1947-10-30, Page 4ZURICH, ONTARIO
Canada's First Money
At the very outset, the young
ibany issued its own bills in small
denominations and, later, copper
tokens. This money, indeed, was the
first real Canadian currency. The in-
novation did much to stabilize and
speed up commerce and industry,
which had hitherto been subject to
the varying rates of exchange of
'the several currencies in use.
This was but one aspect of the
bank's major contribution to the
Canadian economy. That contribut-
ion amounted to nothing less than
ending the chaos in which business
was transacted and organizing the
first domestic system of Canada.
So well did the bank succeed that
this system has since evolved without
ever losing its stability. no matter
how critical the times or how rapid
the country's growth. Thus, through
more than a century and a quarter,
the Canadian economy has survived
two major wars and several minor
ones, as well as periodic depressions
and civil unrest. It has expanded
mane- times since 1817 and has won
world recognition for its rare com-
bination of dynamic growth and
steadiness.
Much of the notion's economic
strength derives from another princ-
ipal which the • bank introduced in
Canada. This was the branch banking
system. Within a fortnight of the on-
enine' of the first office in Montreal,
an agency was started in Quebec
'City. In the following year the B of
M opened a branch at York - the
Queen ('itv'e first hank - and another
at the garrison town of Kingston.
Spreading Branches •
As the years passed,: the bank
spread •its branches all over Canada.
During the early 180's it opened
branches at Bytown, now Ottawa. at
'St. Thomas. Belleville, St. Catharin-
es, Brockville, Hamilton and London
In the opening of the West which
the B of M faciliated by placing its
resources behind Canada's first
transcontinental railway, the Canad-
ian Pacific. its branches went hand
-in hand with the pioneers and were
established at key points from coast
to const at an early date.
The hank contributed vitally to
many phases of home -front activit-
ity in both world wars. In peace as
well as war the • strength, swift pro-
gress and high standard of living of
the young country can be attributed
in unique degree to the policies of
its oldest hank. And the B of M has
grown with the country.
The hank began with a capital of
8250,000 and a staff of seven. At
the present time its capital and re-
serves amount to 878,000.000. Its
resources are close to the two -billion
mark and its staff numbers .more
than 8,000. It has over 500branchee.
ianlvadiaayu•- e.eReCe,_._,.._:: 1v'e�+rroilndland,
New York, London, Chicago and San
Francisco. Its depositors number
more than 1,509 - about one out of
every five bank depositors in the
nation.
Thus, the bank that nine colonial
merchants started in such a modest
way 130 years ago, has become. in-
deed an integral part of the Iife of
the nation.
Local Office Has
39 -Year History
The Zurich office of the B of' M,
re -opened on full-time basis two
years ago after spending three war
years as a sub -agency, began busin-
ess nearly 40 years ago. Originally a
branch set the Molsons Bank, long
since merged with the B of M, the
office opened on February 14, 1908.
The bank's original quarters, Tater
occupied by Brown's shoe store, soon
proved inadequate to meet the town's
growing need for banking facilities
and so, in 1910, the branch moved to
the Merner Block, When the disas-
trous fire in 1924 destroyed this
structure, the bank erected its pres-
ent premises on the site of the old
building,
3
f yf
C.C. "Mac" Mc>aaehern, local man-
ager for the past few months, came
here frons Trenton where he had
been accountant at the bank's office
since 1939. A banker of 28 years'
experience. Mr. McCachern already
has taken a keen interest in many
of the town'e activit`.e-w He euceeedecl
Gordon G. Sewell, who re -opened the
bre ,.',r here !a 19 ' 7) and now hae
$C1 -%1,1r,• (If the 1,t. nk s 1'r'r. frig o ii e
A. 1 1 t: i of 11 rtlsintair.�
.'�.".••. ,','n .n'iiti;ag."17:,:t mt of
ZURICH t,1 ..".
ONTARIO and the
1 of NI Have
Grown Up Together
Business by barter, travel by
stagecoach ... such was the
order of the day when the
Bank of Montreal began
business in Upper Canada.
' 'ithin eight months of its
founding in November,
1817, the B of 5I—Canada's
first -established bank—
opened agencies in the garri-
son town of Kingston and
the trading settlement of
York. Typical settlers of the
time, the thousand citizens
of York lived by farming,
lumbering, and trading with
the Indians.
Since that far-off day,
Ontario has become the most
populous and highly indus-
trialized Canadian province
. and theB of M has built
up its largest representation
here. Soon, the new 16 -storey
B of M building will be
numbered among Toronto's
many beautiful edifices .. ,
typical of the progress On-
tario and the Bank of Mont- -
real have made together.
Today, the B of M serves
the people of this modern -
minded province through
189 branches and is constant-
ly adding to this number.
YBAN
ft
Thursday, October 34th,. iitift
TO A M/LI/ON CANADIANS
fM
PROVE
7CHEIR
FAITH IN Ct81QALA.
# 0130 Years Ago
An 'exhausted Europe — torn by de-
cades of war—was breathing more
easily ... two years before, the
Napoleonic Wars had at last ended at Waterloo. In the
New World, the three -year. -old Treaty of Ghent had
:ended an attempted invasion from the south ... and, the
peoples of North America began a friendship that is the
admiration of the world today.
INTO this scene came nine men of
1. vision ... nine English and Scottish
merchants who realized that, without a
solid financial foundation, the colonies
could never reach.natiouhood. Together,
they determined a course of action. With
their own money and the backing of
209 other pioneeriaig citizens, these nine
men founded the Bank of Montreal,
which opened its doors for. business On
November 3rd, 1817. Never once since
theb. has the leek wiled to open on a
business day.
fiUT',all was, not easy. There were
JJ hard, trying days ahead—each de-
cade had its ups and downs. From 1836
to 1840, Canada experienced a succes-
sion of bad harvests, political convul-
sions, commercial changes and failures.
Rebellion had depreciated the value of
property and seriously hindered' the im-
provement and further settlement of the
country. The Bank of Montreal survived
only by the most careful use of its re-
sources and the confident loyalty of its
depositors.
1817 ... Sturdy colonists of British North America- half
a million of them—were scattered over as many square
miles. To the west and north lay another two million
square miles, unsettled and untouched. Merchants and
traders did their business by barter and } fie:
r
with a hodge-podge of foreign currencies, ,, A -X.
whose changing values spelled chaos.
Trade development languished.
AT the very outset, the Bank issued its
own bills and coins. Here was
Canada's first real money. The currency
won immediate acceptance ... goods
moved more quickly...and th e stability the
nine men hoped for came rapidly. The
people proudly welcomed this Canadian
currency—and, as its circulation spread,
so did the reputation. of the new bank.
Within a year of its founding it became
the Government's banker, and its currency
officially replaced the British moneqused'
by the Government up to that time.
RECOVERY was rapid during the
middle years of the 'century. Then
came 1867 ... and a nation was born.
But a trans -continental railway was a
condition of Confederation, and now the
Canadian Pacific had to be pushed
through. To speed the construction, the
enterprise was placed in private hands.
The work went fast, and' the last spike
was driven five years earlier.. than ex-
pected. With faith characteristic of its
nine founders, the B of M had hacked
to the limit this great national project.
11 CT?
"[UST two weeks after the Bank started, .
Canada's first branch bank was
founded ... the B of M's Quebec agency
opened—and, thus, the Canadian branch
banking system began. The following
year saw agencies opened at Kingston
and York, now Toronto, and branches ,'
spread as the years went on. Hailed
throughput the world for its strength.
and flexibility, this system of branch,
banking—begun 130 years ago—has.
proved ideal for a country vast in area.
and small in population.
1900 -the century opened with.
a new flood of prosperity'
which lasted for more than a decade.
Two more trans -continental railway
systems ... a great influx of new settlers
... abundant crops ... thousands of new
industries—and then... World War I!
Through the trying times which followed
. the inflated days of the 20's and the
,depressed days of the 30's—through a.
second World War in our time ....,
Canadians worked and fought, and._
• Canada became a world power.
nen
. —Peace ...new plans ... new hopes... rehabilitation. Life in
' j/���� Canada still takes work, courage and, above all, vision...
cr', ' the kind of vision 'which spurred nine men to pioneer the
L
' nation's economy 130 years ago. From a corporal's guard in
1817, the staff of the B of M has grown to an army eight
thousand strong ... working closely with Canadians and
their
lifeblood industries
of cin n hundreds
dLeds
of communities from coast to coast ... supplyingne
o an
expanding nation .. , seeking always—through sound counsel and friendly service—to
give practical help to the million and a half' customers who put their trust in the Bank.
What ofT1on2orroiv.. , ? Just as history foreshadows the future, so the record
of Canada and of her first -established bank working together gives promise
for the brightof to
morrows for the nation. "The twentieth century belongs to Canada"
future
we pledge ourselves anew to work constructively with Canadians in every walk of life.
BANK F MoTREAL
Canada's First -established Bank
B. C.GARDNER, Vice President and General Manager
GEORGEW. SPINNEY, C.M.G., President
AUCTION SALE
COMMUNITY STOCK YARDS,
WATFORD
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 1st.
At 2 o'clock, Sharp
•Usual number mixed Cows and
Calves,
100 Head Mixed Stockers.
Number of Fat Cattle.
150 Mixed Pigs.
Please note, sales will she held every '
Saturday until further notice.
TERMS—CASH
G. Hollinghworth, Auctioneer,
AUCTION SALE
)f lioesehnld I•,fr
't't.. Th iY,hr i
signed Auctioneer has bei: instruct;,
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r.
ed to sell by public auction, on t he toilet set, mats, wringer, window
premises of Thomas Hoperoft, in screens, stove pipes, set flat irons,
mops, boiler, wooden tub, 2 galvan-
ized tubs, Brantford electric comb-
ination water heater and washing
Commencing at L00 o'clock, p.m, machine, ,25 -gallon crocks, small
3 -piece Chesterfield suite, bureau, crocks, sealers, large lard can, 2
beautiful combination China cabinet iron pots, dishes, sausage grinder and
and bureau, 2 large .oak dining room press, 2 small frying pans, aiumer-
tables C leaf; cherry kitchen- table, ' .ous kitchen utensils, pails, storm
kitchen cabinet, oak parlor table, lib- doors, lawn mower, garden scuffles,
rary table, 10 dining room chairs, 130 -gal. steel barrel, spades, hoes,
arm chair, oak rocker, leather rocker ' scythe like new, small scales, and
book stand, organ stool, paper rack, numerous other articles. Pure bred
mirrors, 2 wooden beds, springs and 'German Police pup 4 % months old,
mattress, dresser, trunk, ;2enfrew very intelligent,
kitchen range nearly new; Wingham i TERMS --CASH
kitchen range in good condition, el- Alvin 'Wiper, Auctioneer.
eetrie stove, 2 electric hot plates, 1liiford Merner, Clerk,
els'!'rie ilxl.ures, 2 lamps, lantern', Henry Hopf, Proprietor..
DASHWOOD, on
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 8th.
an
FLOOR TILE
FOR
The Best In Master Tile Floor
GET
TILE TEX
ALSO CLEANERS AND WAXES
Manufactured by The Flintkote Company, ti
Toronto, Ont.
See Your Local Agent
�i
JOHN M. TURKHEI1Vl Phone Zurich 174
LAID AND MAINTAINED.. Free Estimates Gladly Given
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