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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 28, 1960)
ILoff Beekman Bank's Balance Sheet Had No loans' Much has been related re cently about historical Jack sonville, particularly concern ing efforts to restore some of the buildings. The Siskiyou Pioneer Sites Foundation has a fund estab lished to help finance restora tion of the U.S. Hotel, and the Southern Oregon Historical Society now owns the C. C. Beekman Bank of Jackson ville. But no matter how much restoration is made, little of the actual life itself-the way business was conducted, how the people actually lived-can be restored. That remains in te personal touch of the past, scattered through histories of the town and state. ;Sora of that personal touch, as O. K. Burrel, pro fessor of finance, University of Oregon, has noted, is in the footnotes found at the bottom of the page in a history text. Color In History They are the color in his tory, the facts and stories which make history more per sonal, and it is some of these facts which Professor Bur rell has brought together as a "footnote" to Oregon bank ing, which has yet to be writ ten. In the January issue of Ore-; gon Business Review, Profes sor Burrell writes: ."The 'footnote illustrative epidsoes . . . contribute little or nothing to the orderly de1 velopment of banking history. It is hoped, however, that they may yield something of the savor, something of the feel of the years when bank ing in Oregon, at least outside the larger cities, was small scale local enterprise." Such an enterprise was the Beekman Bank of Jackson ville. Professor Burrell writes: Unique In Ways ' "The C. C. Beekman Bank of Jacksonville was unique in many ways; the most as tounding thing about it was that, so far as the reports of the State Banking department show, it never made any loans. ; "Beginning In 1908, the an nual reports of this agency show the balance sheets of all state banks. The C. C. Beekman Bank, from the first balance sheet in 1908 to the last In 1914, showed 'Loans and discounts-none.' The as sets side of the statement in cluded cash items and bonds fold CHAIRS - s mom tfUDSON'S..PHARMACY 4J 3 E. MAIN PH. SP 3-5345 Z Opwt Sundays & Holidays ' : 10 A.M. to 9 P.M. Weekdays 8:30 A.M. to 10 P.M. BANK INTERIOR Signs of another day adorn the walls of the pioneer Beekman Bank in downtown Jacksonville where it served the financial needs of miners and early settlers about a century ago. The bank and warrants' only. The lia bility side of the statement showed the usual items of capital and deposits. But there was ' never any 'loans and discounts.' "Jacksonville, a pioneer settlement in Oregon, was a center . of gold mining. In 1853, as a very young man, Mr. C. C. Beekman entered the employ of Cram, Rogers and Company of Yreka, Cali fornia, as an express messen ger. Fargo Competitor "This company was affili ated with Adams and Com pany, an early competitor of Wells Fargo. Mr. Beekman continued in the employ of Cram Rogers and Company until that firm went out of business. "He then took the line on his own and carried many mil lions in gold dust and nuggets from Jacksonville to Yreka and Crescent City. Despite In dian wars, bandits, and the natural hazards of traveling over the Siskiyou mountains in all seasons, there is no rec ord of any loss. Perhaps this is because he traveled only at night. "In 1863 when Wells Fargo extended their service to Portland he was offered and accepted the Jacksonville agency.: He operated this agency in connection with his bank until his death in 1915. "Just when he began a bank ing business is unknown. Be fore 1907 entry into the banking business could be quite casual and free of red tape. It was not necessary to incorporate. It was necessary only to hang up a sign Bank and begin operations, and it might not be absolutely es sential even to have a sign. Private Banker "A man could become a pri vate banker gradually and without deliberate plan. It is quite possible that Mr. Beek man did .not know exactly when banking operations be gan. "From some time in the 1880's until 1907, Mr. Beek man was associated with Thomas G. Reames in the Beekman and Reames Bank, successor to the original Beekman Bank. No financial was closed in 1915 when Beekman died. The bank is furnished much as it was in the 1850 s and 1860's, with the exception of the electric cord. The picture was taken by the Oregon State Highway commission. HEAR in CROWDS : New, hear twice ; as well WITH : BOTH EARS! T0WSSS I Enjoy : 9Enr Uanrinn : with New iHe(o Glasses ; HEARING AIDS BY MAICO! 820 E. Main Henry Myhre (owner) . Medford Phone SP 2-7418 ; Conventional Hearing Aid $100 and us. ; 4 Transistor A f Hearing Glasses, for Both Ears $372.30; ; Single $205.00. 6 Transistor Hearing Glasses, for severe loss. '. m 7 Transistor midget barrett snodel to wear in the hair, very strong. Behind the Ear Model. ' You are invited to come in and discuss your hearing problem. - Mr. Henry Myhre hold a certificate of registration to practice .' fitting and dealing in hearing aids in the state of Oregon. Also member Hearing Aid Dealers and Consultants Assn. of Ore. 14 MAIL TRIBUNE, Medford, Or. A Sunday, Feb. 28, 1960 he never turned me down yet.' Low Point Noted "But the low point in the affairs of the bank was ap parently passed in 1893. In the following year Reames' letters were more cheerful. The turn in fortune was not so much concerned with an improvement in the banking situation as it was with a betterment in their business of buying gold dust. "He continued to report difficulties in collections on certain mortgages held by the firm; but on several occasions he reported that the dust busi ness was good. On May 7, 189,4, he wrote that he had purchased $1,600 in dust in a single day. This was evident ly much in excess of normal. "In 1907 Mr. Beekman be came the sole owner of the business and the name was changed to Beekman's Bank ing House. In this same year a banking statute was enact ed and Mr. Beekman was compelled either to cease banking operations or to com ply with the new statute. Balance Sheets "He elected to do the latter, and consequently annual bal ance sheets of the bank are available from 1908 until shortly before the final liqui dation in 1915. "Just why did this bank never make a loan? The avail able evidence suggests that while the bank made no loans from 1907 until liquidation in 1915, Mr. Beekman made many loans. Mr. Beekman was not just a small town banker with all of his re sources tied up in the bank. "He was a man of substan tial property and affairs. He had been defeated for the governorship in 1878 by only 49 votes; he was a long time regent of the University of Oregon; he was an active par ticipant in statewide affairs. Interest in Bank "He had an interest in the Commercial National Bank of Portland which was con trolled by the Wells Fargo C. C. BEEKMAN The above picture of the owner of the C. C. Beekman Bank of Jacksonville was taken by well-known Jacksonville photographer Emil Britt. Date of the picture is not known. statements of Beekman and Reames are available since it ceased operations before bank regulations and examinations began in 1907. "But information concern ing its affairs is included in the Beekman Papers recently acquired by the University of Oregon library. Mr. Beekman traveled extensively; he made at least one tour of Europe and frequently visited Cali fornia, and his former home in Dundee, New York. Report on Business "Mr. Reames wrote to Mr. Beekman while he was away, reporting in detail concern ing business affairs, personal matters and politics in Jack son county. "Political developments in Jackson county interested the firm of Beekman and Reames because of its extensive hold ings of 'county script,' which in later years became known as county warrants. More over, the firm had land hold ings and was concerned with the problem of taxation. "Mr. Reames evidently took a dim view of politicians and taxation, especially dur ing the period of populist control of Jackson county in the 1890s. On one occasion, after reporting failure to get assessments reduced he wrote, 'Damn the taxes. XXX.' On another occasion he reported, 'the equalization board re fused to reduce the assess ments on the Bybee land, hence we will have to grin and pay it.' Felt Depression "The firm felt the effects of the depression of the 1890s although it was apparently never in real danger. On Oc tober 22, 1893, Mr. Reames wrote, 'Our business contin ues about the' same as when you left. Collect very little; think about as fast as we are losing deposits. Making no loans. Have not sued the My ers family yet, but will soon if they do not walk up and pay-' "On November 29, 1893, he again . reported a decline in deposits, 'Our deposits are growing less day by day-yet I am meeting the decrease as fast as it comes . . . When tax paying time comes perhaps we can sell our county script . . . have no fears of us get ting cramped. "Borrowers and prospective borrowers may have regard ed Mr. Beekman as a more generous lender than Mr. Reames. The latter wrote on November 28, 1893, that a would - be borrower whose loan application was denied was more than a little indig nant and said, 'Where is Old Beek? I know if he was here I could get it from him . . Pickin' Pears News and Notes From Camp White By WALTER TOWNSEND Daryl s School of Dancing recently presented a variety show in the station theater. Some 20 performers of the junior department of the dancing school werw brought from Grants Pass under the sponsorship of VFW post at Camp White. The children were - young, and serious actresses. Each' ; was well trained for her danc j ing part, but a few of them ! made mistakes. Another group of DarvTs Dancers will come from northern California March 18 and entertain at the station theater at 8 p.m. The show will be sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Camp White. There will be an election of officers in VFW Post, it Camp White, Tuesday, March 1, at 7 p.m. For all members there is bowling at 1:30 and 4:30 pjn. Sundays, Frank J. Glonning chief of special services has announced. Former Professor Likes Janitor Role Westerville, O h i o (UPD Former Professor John Franklin Smith is now a jani tor at Otterbein College here and enjoying it. Smith, 79, once an instruc tor in speech and drama, re tired m 1950 after a 33-year academic career. But he did not want to leave the school. Tm busy earning the de gree of master of mainten ance," he explained. "I think a man can dignify any job." Agile, alert, cheerful and friendly, Smith takes care of the college gym. Students pre sented him with a red sweater carrying a big white Otter bein "O" on it and he wears it while he shines the floor with a big mop. though unfortunately not as well protected as it would be in a museum. There is a vault and long counter more remi niscent of a gold rush express office than a bank; on the walls are such signs as 'Gold Dust Shipped to the Atlantic States:' 'Gold Exchanged Here for Coinage,' and 'Wells Fargo Drafts on Paris'; on the counter are the large gold scales that have weighed out many millions in gold dust and nuggets." Professor Burrell noted that general background in his "footnote" is from stand ard sources of Oregon history, especialy A. G. Walling' History of Jackson, Joseph ine, Douglas and Coos coun ties, 1884. Other sources were a brochure published for tho Jacksonville Gold Rush Jubl le, 1953; the Beekman Papers at the University of Oregon, and reports of the Oregon State Banking department, .1908-1915. BANK TODAY Standing much the same as it did. about 100 years ago when it served southern Oregon as the area's leading finan cial institution is the Beekman Bank of Jacksonville. The bank building is now own ed by the Southern Oregon Historical So ciety. The picture was taken by the Oregon State Highway commission. company. When this bank was reorganized in.the 1890s he was one of those consid ered for the presidency of the institution. The Commercial National bank later became part of the United States Na tional Bank of Portland. "It seems probable that Mr. Beekman simply elected to make loans from his per sonal resources rather than from bank funds. After 1907 banking operations were sub ject to regulation and exami nation and it is entirely pos sible that Mr. Beekman want ed to avoid more than mini mum scrutiny by bank exam iners. . "Only an individual with ample personal resources could operate in this fashion. Moreover, it is possible that he regarded the banking busi ness as only an adjunct to his gold buying and express business. He was willing to accept deposits as a conveni ence to customers but they were not essential to his oper ations. "Deposits declined rapidly after 1912 but this in no way reflected a loss of confidence in Mr. Beekman or his bank. On this year he issued a public statement of his intention to retire from the banking busi ness and asked customers to withdraw their deposits. But apparently he did not insist upon withdrawal of deposits by old and valued customers and the bank was not formal ly liquidated. "When Mr. Beekman died on February 22, 1915, the bank doors were closed and locked, and to this day the building and fixtures remain as they were on the day of his death. "Since there were no loans 36 Democratic Party Representatives File For Precinct Posts to collect, liquidation was simple, and those in charge of the estate quickly sold the assets, chiefly 'bonds and warrants,' and paid off the depositors. As a matter of fact, payment to depositors, which was completed on May 1, 1915, probably did not ne cessitate liquidation of 'bonds and warrants.' The final bal ance sheet for 1914 showed cash items in excess of de posits. "The "banking office' re mains a museum piece al- I1J.B. COFFEE Instant 6-or. i m hUl I ttifft I Jar S Vacuum Pack 2-lbs. 35 l ib. 68c Christian's Market Corner Stewart & Lozier Lane Thirty-six Democratic party precinct representatives have filed for precinct committee man or committeewoman to have their names appear on the primary ballot. The closing date for filing for the post is March 11, K. C. (Swede) Wernmark, organ izing chairman, said. Jackson county has 1 13 pre cincts which will require 226 men and women to fill the offices. Precinct committeemen are the official party representa tives and spokesmen for their districts and are voting mem bers of the Jackson County Central committee, which for mulates policies of the party. The precinct committeemen and committeewomen organ- Vets Have Options for Dividends on Policies More than a million veter ans who have GI life insur ance policies are using their regular annual dividends to guard against the loss of their insurance, S. T. Brannock, contact representative, VA Domiciliary, Camp White, said Friday. The VA insurance center recently announced that $253,500,000 i n dividends would be paid during 1960 to more than 5 million veterans and servicemen who hold par ticipating GI insurance. The proportionate share of the national 1960 dividend total to be paid to Pacific Northwest veterans is $4,011, 150 to an estimated 79,626 in Washington; $2,893,800 t o 57,582 in Oregon; $936,000 to 18,743 in Montana; $834,600 to 16,714 in Idaho; and $148, 200 to 2,989 in Alaska. Dividends Held GI policyholders may have the annual dividends held with interest-by the VA as a credit to pay premiums monthly if the policyholders fail to pay them before the end of the 31-day grace per iod, Brannock stated. This procedure is followed automatically if the policy holder does not request other disposition of his annual divi dends, Brannock explained, but the policyholder has two other options. He may use his annual div idends to pay policy premiums in advance, or he may request the VA to pay his dividends in cash. Holders of permanent plan policies have a third option. They may authorize the VA to hold annual dividends on deposit with interest and sub ject to withdrawal on request. If not withdrawn, the money and accrued interest will in crease the value of the policy, Brannock added. A policyholder who wishes to change his dividend option should write to the VA dis trict office which services his policy, Brannock said, mak ing sure to include his insur ance number and to state his new option. ize committees In their dis tricts to get all eligible per sons registered and to get out the vote on election days. Urges Filing The Democratic Central committee has urged all can didates for precinct posts to file before the March 1 1 dead line. Filing forms and infor mation may be obtained by calling Democratic Headquar ters, SPring 3-4777 or by stopping at 232 West Fifth st., Medford. Filings to date include: Precinct 22, W. E. Davies, SE Eagle Point; 25, Arthur Lewis, Shady Cove; 28A, Victor J. David, North Med ford; 29, Hazel W. McMahan, North Medford; 29A, James T. Pool, West Medford; 31, Harp er F. Edwards, West Medford; 32, Irene O. Ostrander, West Medford; 34, Norma L. Pur- cell, Northwest Medford; 35, E. C. Tex Phillips, Southwest Medford; 37, Charles A. Lang ston and Inez M. Holcomb, Northwest Medford; 41, Mar garet McGinty and Clarence J. Woodard, West Medford; 43, Glyndon O. Loomer, East Medford; 46, William V. Deatherage, East Medford; 47B, Evalyn L. Johnston and Roy M. Johnston, Southwest Medford; 49, Mary Greiner Kelly, West Medford; 56, James C. Collins, East Med ford; 57A, Cecil M. Norris, Southeast Medford; 58, George H. Watson, West Medford; 59, Zelma Heeter, South Pacific Highway; 61, Henry A. Wil son, Southeast Phoenix; 62, Carl W. Timmons and Pearl B. Timmons, Tolman Creek rd., Talent; 64, Clarence H. Redmond and Edith Pace Rode, Griffin Creek; 67A, Ray R. Picard, West Medford; 70, K, C. (Swede) Wernmark, Cen tral Point; 73, Walter L. Townsend. Camp White; 74, Norman R. Matteson, Table Rock; 77, Henry G. Corbin, Rogue River; 82, Boyd D. Hamilton, Applegate; 85, Wan da Louise Kane, Talent; 86, E. M. Madden and Marjorie E. Madden, Phoenix. Last Sunday night the Cen tral Point Community Baptist church held religious services in the station theater at the request of Chaplain Roger A. Pryor. The American Legion aux iliary, department of Oregon, presents a contest called Halt the Music every Tuesday at 1:55 p.m. on the stage in the theater. Polly Offut, VAVS repre sentative; and Lela Lamb VAVS alternate, conduct the program. Open For Business We are nozv ready to serve you with complete FUNERAL SERVICES in our new and Modern Mortuary MEMORY GARDENS MORTUARY SP 3-7338 Mortuary , Cemetery Mausoleum Cremation Phoenix Students Compete in Tourney Phoenix - Rod Fowler, Phoenix High school, placed third in the junior men's ex temperaneous. speaking con test during the annual invita tional speech tournament at Linf ield college, McMinn ville, last week end. Jack Hoffbuhr, also of Phoe nix, tied for fourth place in the senior men's impromptu class. Students Joyce Stock still and Kay DeMers placed in the preliminary rounds of humorous and serious inter pretations. All the Phoenix students took part in the de bate. Phoenix speakers are now preparing for the district tournament held in March, according to Bob Myrick, Phoenix High school speech coach. The students will enter debate, extemperaneous, im promptu, after-dinner speak- j IRRIGATION PUMPS to 60 H.P. From 29 50 up H.P. Shallow Well $ggoo 12 H.P. DEEP WELL With 42 Gallon Tank and Air Charger 15450 Complete Siskiyou Hardware Ph. SP 2-2939 22S W. Main MEDFORD, OREGON We Give S&H Green Mampe WESTINGHOUSE PORTABLE TV WITH A CONSOLE CHASSIS ' r u- Picture sharpens itself electronically. Tube Saver saves repairs! Automatic Sta tion Selector for best possible reception on each channel. Telescoping antenna. Stepped-up bright ness control for daytime viewing! Full 17" . screen (overall diagonal measurement). Reg. $189.95 True Value Priced Trowbridge & Flynn 159 214 West Main Ph. 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