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SIXTY MILESTONES
i^ OF PROGRESS ^
1859 1919
LADDe^TILTON BANK
PORTLAND
OREGON
AT LOS ANGELES
ROBERT ERNEST COWAN
ey
Sixty Milestones of Progress
mnniiiiiii
'"'"llllllHl
i &?
gE^
PRESENT HOME OF LADO tw TILTON EiANK
" "Tis not in mortals to command success,
But we'll do more, *****
We'll deserve it."
—ADDISON
EDIIED BY
MARTIN E. FITZGERALD
oj
LADD & TILTON BANK
PRINTED AND BOUND BY
JAMES, KERNS &■ ABBOTT COMPANY
PORTLAND, OREGON
7- y
Sixty Milestones
OF Progress
I 8 5 Q - I q I q
LADD & TILTON BANK
PORTLAND, OREGON
> . J ' ) J ■■■ >
» > > 1 > » 3 1
1 ■ , ' i ,; J J . ' » '
MEMBER
"FEDERAL RESERVE^
SYSTEM^
Co[yyngkt, 1919
Ladd <!ji TiUon Bank
< < * C ' « *
I L t
to
en
CONTENTS
Acknowledgment
Introductory
Sixty Milestones of Progress ....
Establishment of National Banking System .
The Federal Reserve System ....
Copartnership, Origin of Ladd & Tilton Bank
The Partners and Their Policy ....
Indian Troubles Retard Settlement
Simple Annals of Early Days ....
Shipments of Money and "High Cost" of Exchange
Character The Basis of Security
Mail Delivery and Other Transportation Handicaps
The Bank Increases Its Capital Stock
Civil War Days
East Side Shipyard
The Bank Moves to New Quarters .
Springtime and Peace
Portland Prospers
Ladd & Tilton Erect New Bank Building
Mr. Ladp Gives Free Home TO Library
The City Grows — River Steamers Multiply .
Panic AND Fire OF 1873, Great Disasters .
Mr. Ladd's Health Fails
After the Fire
Mr. Tilton Retires and Mr. W. M. Ladd Becomes Pari
Henry Villard and the Northern Pacific Railroad
The Portland Flouring Mills Company .
Mr. Ladd's Public Spirit
NER
Page
.X
.XI
I
4
6
7
8
12
13
15
lb
17
iq
iq
21
21
22
23
23
24
26
28
30
31
35
35
39
4^
\ //
28102^
CONTENTS— Continued
The Crises OF 1884 AND 1 8q3
A Definition of "Good Times"
East and West Sides Consolidate
Mr. Ladd's Broad Vision ....
Mr. Ladd"s Death Occurs Suddenly .
Mr. Cookingham Enters Bank's Service .
The Spanish-American War ....
The Lewis and Clark Centennial E.xposition
The Panic of iqoj
Bank Is Remodeled to Meet Growing Requirements
Incorporated As Ladd & Tilton Bank
Bank Secures New Home in Spalding Buildinc;
Statement of Condition of Ladd & Tilton Bank at Close of
Business, December 31, i85q .
Statement of Condition of Ladd & Tilton Bank at Close of
Business, May 12, iqiq ....
Mr. W. M. Ladd Retires and Mr. Cookingham Beco.mes
President
Page
43
4f
45
47
50
51
51
52
53
55
57
57
60
61
63
VIII
ILLUSTRATIONS
Present Home of Ladd & Tilton Bank
William Sargent Ladd
An Early Day View of Portland
Beaver Coins of Oregon's Territorial Days
Birthplace of Ladd & Tilton Bank
First Certificate of Deposit and Draft .
Some Early Checks
First Bank Advertisement Published in Oregon
The "Sierra Nevada," a Pioneer Mail Steamship
Westward, Ho !
The Lot Whitcomb, First Steamboat Built in Oregon
Ladd & Tilton Bank, First and Stark Streets .
Post Office with Central School in Bac:kground .
A Palatial Excursion Boat of Early Days
"The Veteran," a Hand Fire Pump of Pioneer Days
Portland in 1878
Front Street Looking North from Stark — about 1883
View from the I<Camm Building, Looking South, in the
Early Bo's
First Northern Pacific Train into Portland .
Arches 'Erected on First Street, September i i, 1883
Harbor Scene Looking North from Foot of East
Morrison Street, about 1883 ....
Portland Flouring Mills in the Early 8o's
First Bridge Across Willamette River at Morrison
Street, 1887
Monument Erected to Dead of the Famous "Second
Oregon"
Night View of Lewis and Clark E.xposition, 1905 .
William Mead Ladd, President, iqo8 to iqiq .
Edward Cookingham, President
Portland of Today
Showing How We've Grown
Page
Frontispiece
2
3
6
8
q
10
14
18
20
21
25
27
28
iq
32
33
34
37
37
3Q
41
46
52
53
5 b
58
62
64
IX
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
In the preparation of this article, reference
was had to such works as: Wilson's "Epochs
of American History;" Hart's "Social and
Economic Forces in American History;"
Hepburn's "Contest for Sound Money;"
Gaston's "The Centennial History of Oregon;"
Bancroft's "Chronicles of the Builders;"
Seligman's "Crisis of iqoy in the Light of
History;" early City Directories, and files of
the "Weekly" and "Daily Oregonian."
Special thanks are also due to Mr. George
H. Himes, of the Oregon Historical Society,
for valuable information and assistance.
If, in any case, specific credit should be
found lacking, the omission must be attributed
to an oversight rather than to any desire on
the part of the editor ibr an unmerited literary
reputation.
— Editor
X
INTRODUCTORY
The difficulty one finds in attempting an historical
sketch of the Lacld & Tilton Bank is not the lack of
material at hand, but rather, the superabundance
of it; not so much what to say, as where to begin,
and where to leave off.
The archives of the institution, so carefully
preserved from the far-off day when its unpre-
tentious door was first opened for business to the
present time, contain much that might interest,
amuse and instruct one with an archeological turn
of mind. For, with all due respect for the industry,
zeal and earnestness of the founders of the bank
and their contemporaries of pioneer days, it is
apparent to any one delving into these records,
that the feverish haste, so characteristic of the
present-day business man, which leaves him so
little time for attention to matters outside his
particular sphere, was no trait of theirs. Their
calm philosophy of life is reflected in the bank's
earJy correspondence files, which reveal many a
sidelight on the history not only of Oregon, but
also of the entire Pacific Northwest, with which
the bank was so closely identified. These make
interesting reading.
In presenting this little souvenir of our Sixtieth
Anniversary, we are conscious of the inadequacy
of these brief pages to do justice to the memory
and the deeds of the founders of this bank, of w hom
it might truly be said: "They builded better than
they knew."
M
Sixty Milestones of Progress
Sixtieth Anniversary
Ladd & Tilt on Bank
Sixty years! Not a very long time, viewed in the light
of the aeons of ages that have elapsed since the world began.
An insignificant interval in the thousands of years from the
dawn of Creation to the Christian era. A short link, as one
might say, in the long chain of centuries stretching back
from our modern civilization to the ancient dynasty of the
Caesars. Threescore years! Somewhat less, indeed, than
half the number of years that have passed since that fateful
day when the flag of our beloved country was unfurled to
the breeze — its starry folds reflecting the first faint vision
of a world democracy that was to rejoice the heart of man-
kind!
But, brief as such a period is, comparatively, when re-
viewed in the light of world history, it is a long time in the
life of an individual — or of a business enterprise. How few,
alas! are left among us, whose minds carry them back to the
days of 59 ! To the days when Portland was a village of con-
siderably less than 3,000 inhabitants; when the present site
of its imposing business blocks and majestic skyscrapers was
a part of the forest primeval ; and when, instead of the smoke
ascending from its railroads, factories and shipyards, and
the roar and din of traffic attesting its industrial activities,
there issued thence naught but the curling blue smoke from
some domestic fireside or Indian camp, the sound of the
woodsman's axe, the roar of the mountain lion, or the raucous
cries of his fellows of the wild, and, as yet, almost trackless
forest.
Sixty years! A very considerable period, indeed, if we
measure it by the events that loom as so many important
One
SIXTY M ILESTONES
fe^CVssVh .-■ - . •
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W illiam Sargent LaJJ, Foundtr LaJd & I illon Bank
epochs in each decade of this golden cycle of the world's
progress. What marvelous achievements in the political,
social, scientific and commercial life of the nation it has wit-
nessed ! The dawn of this period saw the beginning and the
end of the world's greatest civil war; heard the shackles fall
from 4,000,000 slaves; and then, when "the great battle of
Two
L A D D & T I L T O N BANK
human rights and American unity" was ended, this era saw
the Nation go steadily forward with ever quickening strides
until in our own day, in the providence of God, its great
moral influence, virile manhood and immeasureahle resources
of every description, made it the deciding factor in the great
World-War for human liberty — the powerful and victorious
champion of the principle that right and not might shall
govern the affairs of all nations, whether great or small.
An Early Day View of Portland
During these sixty years the population ot the United
States has more than trebled, and its wealth has multiplied
twelve times. Within this period sixteen states, w ith an area
of i,88q,ioi square miles, or a trifle more than one-half the
domain of the entire country, ha\e been admitted to the
Union; while the whole territory west of the Missouri ri\er —
which at the time of the organization of this bank constituted
the western frontier — had become so well settled, as far back
Three
SIXTY MILESTONES
as twenty years ago, that the only frontier then in evidence
was the Pacific ocean. These years have seen farm and fac-
tory machinery brought by successive steps to the highest
degree of perfection. They have witnessed the great indus-
trial development that divided a nation of farmers into a
variety of occupations in which farming still has an honored
place, but one by no means so conspicuous. In the course of
these years we have seen the railroads of the country, which
in i860 aggregated 30,626 miles, develop the stupendous
proportions of 262,218 miles.
Establishment of National
Banking System
It is to this period, too, that we owe the establishment of
our national banking system. For, although various systems
of a more or less experimental character, including the First
and Second Banks of the United States, had been in operation
for many years, it was not until 1863 that Congress, on the
recommendation of Mr. Chase, the Secretary of the Treas-
ury, passed a law creating a national banking system "based
substantially upon the 'free banking' system originated in
New York in 1838." Perhaps no other question, if we exclude
the slavery question, has more agitated the minds of our
nation's law-makers than has that of the establishment of a
national banking system. From the days of Andrew Jackson,
who denounced the Bank of the United States as "an un-
necessary, useless, expensive, un-American monopoly, always
hostile to the interests of the people, and possibly dangerous
to the government as well," every attempt to extend the
privileges of banking institutions, and widen their sphere of
usefulness, has been regarded with the utmost suspicion and
attended by all manner of opposition. And, although the
Four
L A D D & T I L T O N BANK
banking law of 1863 was none too liberal in its provisions,
an Act the following year had the effect of thoroughly revis-
ing the measure first adopted. In its revised form "it helped
the go\ernment very much while the war lasted, and it
proved the foundation of an admirable financial system."
By this Act a new Treasury bureau was created, under a
Comptroller of the Currency, whom it "authorized to permit
the establishment, for a term not exceeding twenty years, of
banking associations consisting of not less than five persons,
with a minimum capital, except in small places, of one hun-
dred thousand dollars. Such associations were required to
deposit with the Treasury Department, United States bonds
to the extent of at least one-third their capital, for which
there should be issued to them circulating notes in amount
equal to ninety per cent of the market value of their bonds,
but not beyond ninety per cent of the par value of such
bonds. The issue of currency made in this manner was not
to exceed three hundred millions, that amount to be appor-
tioned among the States according to population and bank-
ing capital. It was intended that state banks should take
advantage of these Acts to obtain national issues; but very
few o'f them did so until after the passage of the Act of
March 3, 1865, which put a tax of ten per cent on their cir-
culation. After that, hundreds of state banks were at once
converted into national banks, and national bank notes
superseded all others."
With the return to normal conditions (1870- 1876), there
was a revival of banking legislation. The country was rapidly
outgrowing the limitations of the so-called "greenbacks."
The Act of July 20, 1870, authorizing the organization of
national gold banks, was followed during the succeeding two
decades by various amendments and new Acts, through
which it was sought to ease the financial strain that periodi-
cally threatened disaster to the country. It early became
Five
SIXTY MILESTONES
apparent, howexer, to students of economics, that a radical
change in the banking system — something that would afford
greater elasticity than the existing system was capable of —
was imperati\ely needed. Three periods of extreme financial
depression emphasized this need. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act
remedied to a great extent the conditions that brought about
the panic of iqc/, when the people of Portland and other coast
cities were put to the necessity of accepting clearing house cer-
tificates in lieu of gold, which they so long had been accustomed
to receive from their banks. At length, as the outgrowth of all
these experiments and experiences of past years, there was
evoK'ed the brilliant scheme of the Federal Reserve System-.
The Federal Reserve System
The Federal Reserve System has no more staunch advo-
cate than Mr. Edward Cookingham, present executive head
of the Ladd & Tilton Bank, v^ho gave much time to a pains-
taking, critical analysis of the economic principles underlying
its construction. Being thoroughly con\inced that this ex-
cellent system embodies the soundest deductions which
many years of banking legislation have adduced, and that it
affords every practicable safeguard against the recurrence of
panics in the future, application was made in November, iqi 7,
for the bank's admission to membership. To Ladd &i Tilton
Bank belongs the distinction of being at present the largest
so-called "state" bank in the Twelfth District of the Federal
Reserve System, of which San Francisco is the headquarters .
BEAVER COINS OF OREGONS TERRITORIAL DAI S
Collection of Ladd & Tilton Bank
Six
L A D D & T I L T O N BANK
The foregoing are some of the important events — the
ones chiefly relating to our subject — which point to the
period beginning with the establishment of the Ladd &
Tilton Bank, and included within the era of its growth, as
the most progressive age in the history of the country.
Copartnership Origin of Ladd & Tilton Bank
Sometime in 1S53, three years after his arrival in
Portland, Mr. William S. Ladd, who by his industry, tact
and inherent business ability, had already attained an
enviable standing in the pioneer community, began the
erection of the first brick building in Portland. It was a
small, one-story structure, near the corner of Front and
Stark streets, '"opposite the Ferry Landing,"" as the adver-
tisements of that day were wont to proclaim, lliis building
served for a number of years to house the mercantile business
in which Messrs. Ladd & Tilton were engaged, prior to the
organization of the bank, under the firm name of Ladd &
Tilton. Known as 105 Front street, the structure is still
in existence, occupied by one of the numerous commission
houses located in that quarter of the city. In 1857 a second
story *was added to the structure ; and it was here, in an upper
room, on June ist, 1859, that Ladd & Tilton Bank had
its origin in a copartnership entered into by William S.
Ladd and Charles E. Tilton, with a capital stock of $50,000.
When these gentlemen decided to engage in the banking
business, there appears to ha\e been some indecision relatixe
to a name for the new enterprise. It is noticeable that the
bank's letter sheets — which like those of many other local
concerns at a period when job-printing w as in its infancy on
this coast, were just plain sheets of writing paper, unadorned
by the engraver"s art — are variously headed, in the neat
•A third story was added in lalcr years.
Seven
SIXTY MILESTONES
longhand writing of Mr. Ladd himself: "Banking Office of
Ladd & Tilton;'" "Office Ladd & Tilton, Bankers;" "Banking
House of Ladd & Tilton;" and "Ladd & Tilton Bank of
Oregon." But, although the first printed checks and drafts
bore the title "Ladd &' Tilton Bank of Oregon," it was not
long until the title of "Ladd'6^ Tilton, Bankers" — by which
from the beginning all their correspondents were in the habit
of addressing them — was definitely adopted.
The Partners and Their Policy
Birthplace'of
Ladd & Tilton
Bank
Eight
Between Mr. Ladd and Mr. Tilton, both of whom had
migrated from the same part of New England, there existed
that endearing and enduring friendship, which boys raised
together and growing to manhood in companionship, are likely
to experience throughout the later periods of their lives.
Mr. Ladd was, from the
fi r s t , the active manager
of the bank's business in
Portland ; while his partner,
Mr. Tilton, who had other
interests in San Francisco,
and maintained his resi-
dence there, kept in touch
with its affairs by corres-
pondence. In these cir-
cumstances, as may be im-
agined, the letters that
passed between the two
men, were, quite naturally,
intimate and voluminous.
Here and there throughout
this mass of correspon-
dence, so painstakingly
conducted in the longhand
LADD & TILTON BANK
^ J/ ,y ""-' ' ~ " - ^
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*»
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Time Certificate of Deposit
1^
%\ f
Dollars
First Draft Issued by Ladd & Tilton
^2-. ^ ^^^ *' Tfl'To^
«'
of Oregon
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First^Certificate of Deposit
Nine
SIXTY MILESTONES
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SOME EARLY CHECKS
Ten
L A D D & T I L 1 O N BANK
method of that day, one may easily discern the high am-
bitions and lofty ideals by which these two young men
were inspired in the establishment of an enterprise that
was destined to prove a powerful factor in the development
of Portland and of Oregon. In one of the first of these let-
ters, dated at San Francisco, just two weeks after the open-
ing of the bank, Mr. Tilton gives expression to the follow-
ing sentim.ent :
Let us take a safe and straight course in all our busines^
dealings. Tell a man what we can do, and will do; tell
it to him after our minds are fully made up, and then
stick to it! Such a policy appeals to every one, and makes
friends; and, as we are now starting in the banking
business, let us try to gain this reputation for the bank.
We must be prompt in meeting every obligation — wc
must be jealous of our credit at home and abroad. It is
a pleasure to do business with a man who is cautious
of his credit, but very disagreeable to have relations
with one who is slack and careless in this respect. These
are matters, I think, for us to regard with seriousness,
and to observe with greatest care at this time. You
know how easy it is to create an impression, either
favorable or otherwise, at the start. And people are
governed largely by their first impressions.
Many excerpts of a like character might be produced,
but the foregoing amply illustrates how thoroughly the
founders of this bank recognized the justice and wisdom of
fair dealing, and how highly they valued character, an
element that is \ital in any business deserving of success,
but which is the very essence of banking — the keystone of
its entire structure. That their insistence on these principles
has been faithfully observed throughout the sixty years of
the bank's existence, is attested by the manner in which the
institution has withstood the disastrous financial storms that
have periodically swept the country; in the confidence
manifested by its myriad depositors in the security it affords
them, and in the nation-wide reputation it has achieved,
through consistent adherence to the policy prescribed in
Mr. Tilton's letter.
EUien
SIXTY MILESTONES
Indian Troubles Retard Setdement
In January, iSto, the school clerk for this district,
Mr. J. F. McCoy, published a census showing the number
of inhabitants in the city and children in the district as
follows :
Males, over 21 years iit>3
Females, over 21 years 670
Males, under 21 y ars 515
Females, under 21 years 526
Colored Males 10
Colored Females b
Chinese Males 23
Chinese Females 4
Total xqij
Scholars in District 716
Many causes appear to have combined in checking the
growth and retarding the commercial development of
Portland in the late '50s. Chief among these were the
Indian troubles, which were a source of great anxiety,
operating to stem the tide of immigration. In this con-
nection, an item that appeared in the Oregonian, as late as
August lb, 1864, is of interest:
Mr. W. S. Ladd recei\'ed a private letter from Mr.
Tilton yesterday dated at Denver, Colorado, giving
some accounts of the Indian troubles on the Plains.
The last coach that had arrived from the East passed
34 dead bodies of white men, numbered on the roadside
by the driver, and all communication had ceased. Mr.
Tilton designed coming to Portland via Salt Lake, Boise
and Walla Walla.
But, while sporadic incidents of this character continued
to occur for many years, nevertheless, with the virtual cessa-
tion of hostilities in 185b, immigration was resumed, and
despite the fact that large numbers of people were attracted
to the mining region east of the Cascade mountains, and that
Twelve
LAD D^& TILTON BANK
many others seemed bent on returning to the Atlantic
states, the population of Portland continued to increase
steadily, if slowly, until according to the first city directory,
which appeared in 1863, the official census showed an
increase of 11 40, or a total population of 4057. Says the
compiler ;
Even this number, however, has been increased by the
numerous arrivals since the foregoing census was taken,
and we may safely estimate the population at present as
being fully five thousand."'
And an issue of the Oregonian, about the same time, has
this to say regarding the growth of the future metropolis:
Improvements of all kinds are constantly and rapidly go-
ing on; buildings going up in all parts of the city; streets
graded and planked; wharfs and warehouses stretching
their gigantic proportions along the levees, and a general
thrift and busy hum greets the ear or attracts the atten-
tion of a stranger on every street and corner. Hurrah for
Portland, say we.
From which it appears that the Portland "booster"
is entitled to full membership in the Oregon Pioneer Asso-
ciation.
Simple Annah of Early Days
In the same directory, under the heading: "Chronological
History of Principal Events," appears a lengthy diary of
business and social affairs from which we select the following:
Jan. I 5 — The merchants and business men of the city
sign an agreement to take legal tender notes only at
their current value in San Francisco.
April I — 171 persons arc reported to have taken their
departure for the mining regions of Eastern Oregon.
April 13 — Departure of the steamer "Brother
Jonathan" for San Francisco, with a cargo consisting
of 1547 boxes of Apples, 8q sacks Beans, 17 boxes Eggs,
22 kegs Lard, 378 Hides, 2 bales Wool, q cases Lard,
40 sacks Flour, and $21,557 in specie.
Thirteen
SIXTY MILESTONES
May 15 — Arrival of the bark "W. A. Banks," 163 days
from New York. First meeting of the Ladies of Portland
in behalf of the Sanitary Aid Fund.
June 25 — Departure of the steamer '"Sierra Nevada"
for San Francisco, with a treasure shipment of $228,000,
together with 68q6 pounds Wool and 100 Furs.
July 1 2 — Grand torchlight procession in honor of the
reception of the news of the fall of V'ickbsurg. (Which
had occurred 8 days before.)
Sept. 25 — Departure of the steamer "Brother
Jonathan" for San Francisco with the following shipment
of treasure: Wells Fargo &l Co., $210,000; Ladd &
Tilton, $17,200; Oregon Steam Navigation Co., $7,q8o;
A. Cohn & Co., $7,000; Cohen, Lyon & Co., $6,500;
Knapp, Burrell & Co., $3,000; total, $315,780. In
addition to the foregoing there was a large amount of
gold dust in the hands of the passengers. The steamer
also had as freight, 500 boxes Apples, 40 packages Butter
and Eggs, 22 bales Wool, 1000 dry Hides, 10 bundles
Sheep Skins, and 40 Horses.
Oct. I — 36,000 pounds wire for the Oregon 8j California
Telegraph Line arrived.
Oct. iq — The tower on the new Presbyterian Church
on Washington Street, completed. The spire is the
highest in the State, being 1 30 feet high.
This last item refers to the Presbyterian Church, which,
for many years, stood on the corner of Washington and
Third streets — now occupied by the Spalding building, the
present home of Ladd & Tilton Bank.
These simple annals suggest the primiti\e conditions that
prevailed here, about the date of the establishment of
I'OjrrT.ATSD
— ■ Ladd & Tilton Bank, the
=:-=' first financial institution
Banking, Collei^lioii, ami Exchange, j^ .^^ ,,33^ ^^^^^^ j.^^^.^
lXt^D & TILTOI^^;' as the Pacific Northwest,
_^ BANKERS, embracing the states of
"TTTII.T, punhn".' c^rii|ji:ii.s uf l).i.ij>it uihI <.(Iili- li.ic
wiii:!:n'a;;nl:^';S;:.or , Oregon, Washington,
Messrs. Uiincau, sliorman &, Co., ,N'i;vv Yc.ik. ' t i 1 w r . \ A
^ Messrs. Aisop & Co., San i-r»ii<.iscl. Iciaho, vVestem Montana
Mouej received on rtepusit. K.iiiral or special.
iSwr"HL":;;lnr*.r"'"''''^''''''''^'- , and Alaska, with an area
All busiues.s pLiUiiuinK lo lUukiug proiuptlr Httendcd to.
t. iurUa..d.j»iyi..,t,isov-jji:-ir of 1 , 3 56, } 3 8 SQuarc milcs.
First Banl< Advertisement Published in Oregon or OVCr OnC-third the
Fourteen
LADD & TILTON BANK
present area of the United States. Reading them, one
appreciates the difficulties under which those pioneer
bankers labored. It may not be out of place to introduce
other evidence, of w hich the bank's letter files furnish plenty,
indicating how they were hampered in the matter of mail
service.
Shipments of Money and '^High Cosr
of Exchange
The following letter, addressed to an insurance agency
in New York, shows not only the delays to which the mails
were subject, but also the "high cost" of exchange at this
period :
Portland, Oregon
20th June, i85q
Messrs. Howland &l Aspinwall,
New York.
Gentlemen:
Your favors of Nov. 20th and Dec. bth, came to hand
ist of Feb'y last. Circumstances were such that we did
not commence our business so soon as was anticipated,
when our Mr. Tilton called on you last October. We
commenced business on the ist inst. and find that our
r'emittanccs to San Francisco will be about fifty to sixty
thousand dollars per month. We are forced to purchase
Government Drafts for our remittances, for the reason
the Express Companies have a messenger on each steamer,
and these messengers have their own safes and carry
their own coin, thereby paying no freight, if they insure.
The express Companies — -Wells Fargo and Freeman &
Co. — sell exchange at >2 % to 34% premium. 1 n the event
we ship coin and draw against it, we are compelled to pay
freight, K%, and insurance, ^s^ci, making the expense
on our shipment J-8% For this reason we are compelled
to purchase Government paper, as above stated. In the
event we ship Treasury, we will avail ourselves to insure
through you, as advised.
Your obt. svts.,
Ladd & Tilton.
/■"i//cfn
SIXTY MILESTONES
We wonder what a present-day client would think of a
statement like the following:
Portland, Oregon
August 5, i85q
E. M. Barnum, Esq ,
Cleveland, Ohio.
Dear Sir:
Below please find statement for money collected from
Mr. Baker, on your account, by his note due Aug. ist:
Amt. of note due Aug. ist . . $500.00
Int. 6 mo's at 10% per annum . 25.00
To amt. sent S. A. Clarke, Salem 100.00
Comm. for CoUet'g & Frd'g . . 10.00
To our S. D. No. n on Messrs.
Duncan, Sherman Sj Co. . . 3qq.o4
Exchange on same at 4% . . i5q6
$525.00
525.00
Enclosed you will find our Draft No. 21, as above,
which we trust will be satisfactory.
Your obt. svts.,
Ladd &l Tilton.
Character the Basis of Security
But if the rate of exchange and the charge for making
collections appear to he high, the rate of interest which the
banker had to pay on deposits was by no means small — nor,
so far as appears, in any way limited by legal enactment.
These rates ranged all the way from ten to twenty per cent,
per annum, and from one and one-half to two and one-half
per cent, per month, during the war period. And although
the banker must have had to charge his clients a still higher
rate of interest, there does not appear to have been any
Sixlt-L-n
LADD & TILTON BANK
lack of borrowers. In a country so unsettled, and with a
population so lately arrived on the scene, it is hard to
imagine how these borrowers could ha\e qualified as such,
when subjected to the scrutiny of the modern methods
which guard the credit facilities of our banks, while at the
same time protecting the interests of depositors. In truth,
they could not have done so. Security, unless it rests upon
something more substantial than mere worldly possessions,
is a fickle thing, to be trusted reservedly. These men, many
of them, had little to offer in the way of collateral security,
but they had that which is the greatest of all security —
character. And the banker of that day had to be a man of
rare psychological powers of discernment, prudent judgment,
and faith in his fellowman. Had not Messrs. Ladd & Tilton
possessed this triune gift, we should not now be celebrating
the sixtieth anniversary of the business they established and
which, as time wears on, will be for them a monument more
enduring than any chiseled from stone.
Mail Delivery and Other Transportation
Handicaps
In a subsequent letter to Mr. Barnum, dated November
24, we find this reference to the above statement: "We
expected to have received an acknowledgment from you of
the receipt of ours of the 5th August last, but the mail from
the States failed to connect."
The average time required for the transmission of a letter
from Portland to New York, under favorable circumstances,
appears to have been from 40 to 45 days; while anywhere
from six to nine days, was the usual time between Portland
and San Francisco. There were two mail routes to the
Seventeen
SIXTY MILESTONES
The "'Sierra Nevada." a pioneer mail steamship
East. One was by steamer, \ia San Francisco to the
Isthmus of Panama, thence by rail to the Atlantic and
by steamer to New York; the other was overland, by "pony
express" to the Missouri river, and thence by rail to the
Atlantic states. Between the dangers of shipwreck and fire
on the one hand, and Indians and highwaymen on the other,
merchants frequently took the precaution of using both
routes in transmitting important papers and ad\ ices.
Their remoteness from the financial centers of the East;
the insecurity of remittances and the duplication of advices
in order to make certain of delivery; their dependence upon
the slow m.ethods of transportation by steamer and overland
express — these constitute a few of the handicaps under
which the stout-hearted men of that day, "cast in the mould
of men of daring, sagacity, and resource, were winning the
western wilderness for civilization."
Eighteen
L A D D iSi r 1 L r O N BANK
The Bank Increases Its Capital Stock
But let us return to the little brick building near the
corner of Front and Stark streets, and see how the infant
banking enterprise prospers. In a letter to his partner,
dated June 6th, 1859, one week after the bank opened,
Mr. Ladd gives a summary of the few transactions — hardly
worthy to be set down here — up to that date. But there is
a ring of youthful pride and enthusiasm in the closing lines
of the letter that is indicative of high hopes and a deter-
mination to succeed, for he says:
We have a fine office. If you think best to buy a clock,
you might do so. If you buy any, buy a good one. When
will you be up? We have $10,000 deposited with us!
By the close of the year their balance sheet showed
deposits of $49,891 .62 ; and at the close of business, December
31, 1 86 1, these had increased to the considerable sum of
$1 1 3,344.36. So encouraging were the bank's prospects that,
two years after its organization, Mr. Stephen Mead was
admitted to partnership in it, and the capital stock was
increased to $150,000.00.
Civil War Days
The Civil War was too far away to affect greatly the
spirits of the Oregonians, who, though they manifested a
fine patriotic interest in the success of the Federal Govern-
ment's efforts to put down the rebellion, were themselves
engaged in such a fierce encounter with the rough forces of
Nature, in their self-imposed task of developing the state's
resources, that they experienced none of the nerve-racking
anxieties which those closer to the scene of the great conflict,
and within sound of its martial clamor, might bz expected
Nineteen
SIXTY MILESTONES
to feel. But, far as they were removed from it, its dread
reality was present to them in many ways. And if the people
in the East felt the stagnating effects of the war, the people
on the Pacific coast, too, were made to feel keenly the delay
in the consummation of cherished plans for a better mode of
transportation.
Westward. Ho!
And they realized it in other ways. It appears they had
in those days something akin to the Liberty Loan drives,
with which the children of this generation have become so
familiar. The Oregonian of September 20, 1864, says:
We took a look at the "greenbacks" in Ladd & Tilton's
bank yesterday, and find that Uncle Sam deals in a
multiplicity of accounts, of which the currency is the
representative. The notes with coupons attached are
very interesting. One might not understand their
operation at a glance, but they bear upon their face the
directions in regard to the coupons. The compound
notes to which our attention was particularly directed,
run for three years, and bear interest, which is to be
compounded semi-annually, but payable only upon
maturity. On the back of each note is printed its value
for every six months after the date of its issue. Thus,
the one we examined was for $100 which, at the end of
three years, would be worth $iiq.70. The notes are
engraved and printed in the U. S. Treasury department,
and are beautiful specimens of the engraver's art.
Twenty
LADD & TILTON BANK
East Side Shipyard
There was a shipyard here, too, as the following item
from the same source will recall :
Business appears active at the shipyard in East
Portland, and the signs indicate a reaction in some
portions of our river trade by the coming fall. A new
sloop was launched a few days since, and Captain Turn-
bull's new steamer is getting well on the ways for rapid
completion.
j.^8a^>yP: ^ _
The Lot Whitcomb, First Steamboat Built in Oregon
And the ubiquitous "speeder" was here, even then
A special ordinance, No. 53, evidently designed to curb his
career, r,eads:
Ordained: that any person or persons riding or driving
at a furious rate, thereby endangering the lives of persons
on any of the streets or cross streets lying between the
Willamette river and Fourth street, shall be fined in any
sum not less than five dollars, or more than twenty, to be
recovered on suit before the City Recorder.
The Bank Moves to New Quarters
Glancing over the page-and-a-half of advertisements in
the Oregonian of that day, one notes that three other banks
have appeared on the scene — the First National Bank of
Portland, the Bank of British Columbia, and the East
Tuenty-one
SIXTY MILESTONES
Portland Savings & Loan Bank. .Ah, ha! Competition!
Let's hurry around to Front and Stark streets and see
what — but wait!
Turning to the "City News" column of the Oregonian,
we read:
Moving Into New Quarters — Nlessrs. Ladd & Tilton
have fitted up a new Banking Office in the building
comer of Stark arxl Front streets, and conunenced
moving yesterday. The new quarters will be decidedly
: " ' - -- --— -■- ' -'rmer location, di^jensing
.airs in the transaction of
business. 1.-^; ne^.y saics are being lowered through
the floor into the store of Messrs. \ lillard & \'an Schuwer,
and attracted considerable comment on the early day
system of making deposits i- P'^*'--d when safes were
scarce, and ver>' unsafe at : g to memor\' the
time when r ;' - : cash away in
hollou"j.-are / _ sfety. Those
wer- - -ays for e\.er\c a retired
mere.'—.: .: -ctive business ...... .., .Ing here.
remembers them with pleasure. We are none the less
r us to-day. " i' :"' dially there are as
.. :.5 to one to ;
So that's it! Moving into new quarters! In those far-
off days, leading, as it does today, in progressiveness —
anticipating then as it does today, the requirements of a
cliertele tha: ^ :es convenience and service.
Springtime and Peace
It '^ :!-e spring of 1S65. and there is great rejoicing in
PortIar.„, c-s e\ er\"vv here throughout the Northern states,
for Lee has surrendered his tattered army to Grant at
Appomattox. "The South'* in the words of Woodrow
Wilson, "had throun her life into the scales, and lost it;
the Nort: .er great resources to the utmost;
there ten e. nary devotion and heroism and
master. n sides: and the war was over."
TmerOy-ttBo
LADD &■ TILTON BANK
Portland Prospers
For Portland it was the beginning of an era of great
prosperity. The erstwhile frontier settlement was rapidly
assuming the proportions and the airs of a real city. Gas
lamps adorned its street corners, a telegraph line, but
recently connected up, facilitated communication with the
East, via San Francisco; the Oregon Iron Company with a
capital of $500,000.00 had been organized; the Willamette
Valley Railroad — these, and many other projected enter-
prises, ga\e intimation of its future greatness. And Ladd
& Tilton, Bankers, whose faith in the future of the city
remained unshaken, and who were e\er ready to back that
faith to the limit of their resources, progressed with the
city. The end of this year found their deposits swelled to
the total of $222,364.87 and their capital stock increased
to $400,000.00.
Ladd & Tilton Erect New Bank Building
Passing o\er the next three years, which w itnessed a
steady grow th in the city's population, and the rapid expan-
sion of its industrial and commercial life, we find Ladd &
Tilton again seeking more commodious quarters. This
time they decided to build themselves a home proportioned
to the growth they anticipated for the city, and its corres-
ponding financial requirements in the immediate future.
It was not to be expected that the owner of the first
brick building in the city, the man whose physical stature
no less than his comprehensi\-e grasp of business and eco-
nomic problems raised him abo\'e the ordinary run of men,
he whose first recorded advice to his partner in a matter so
simple as the purchase of a clock, was: "If you buy any,
Twenty-three
SIXTY MILESTONES
buy a good one," would be satisfied with anything less than
a creditable and, above all, a substantial structure. Nor
was he. An architect from the East, Mr. John Nester, was
engaged to design a building. Not only the iron, but all
the other materials entering into the construction of the
bank building at First and Stark streets — which was an
example of the best type of buildings of that day — were
strictly home products. The iron columns and cornice
pieces were cast at the Willamette Iron Foundry. It was
in the fall of 1868 that Ladd & Tilton moved into their
new home. A newspaper item, in October of that year,
makes this comment:
We notice that the bank building of Ladd & Tilton has
been painted in imitation of stone. It presents a very fine
appearance, and is doubtless one of the finest structures in
the state
Mr. Ladd Gives Free Home to Library
Mr. Ladd, who was interested in everything that affected
the material progress of the city and its moral, social and
educational advancement, had for years been active in a
movement, set on foot by a coterie of enthusiastic citizens,
to found a public library. From a small beginning, the
collection of books, extending over a decade of years, had
grown so large at the time of the completion of the new
bank building, that the subject of proper accommodation for
them had become a pressing one. It was in keeping with
Mr. Ladd's spirit of helpfulness in such circumstances that
he should come to the rescue of the library association with
an offer of the upper floor of the bank, free of charge, where
for many years the library had its home. Speaking at the
dedication of the Public Library building in 1Q13, Dr.
Tu'enty-four
LADD & TILTON BANK
•*f^
LADD & TILTON BANK
FIRST AND SIARK STREETS
i868-iqi I
It was on the second floor of this building that the Portland Library Association
had its first home
'Twenty-five
SIXTY MILESTONES
Thomas Lamb Eliot referred to this incident in the following
eloquent tribute to the work of Mr. Ladd and his fellow-
members of the library board:
'A library," says Victor Hugo, "is an act of faith."
He was speaking of the National Library of Paris,
founded, it is said, by Charlemagne * * * * The story of
our own library, though humble, is indeed a story of faith;
faith in the hearts of men like Wakefield and Ladd, Deady
and Failing; of women like Ella Smith. It is the record of
their confidences and of that spirit which they inspired
in others to share their time and means toward the
upbuilding of what has finally become this ennobling
institution of our common life, as a city of toilers and
fellow-believers in the powers of goodness, beauty and
truth * * * * For three years the library was a huddled,
adullamite group of books and papers in an upper room
until it was given its first firm body in the use of the
upper floor of the bank, the gift of W. S. Ladd for many
years, free, upon the wise condition, renewed from
time to time, that funds should be subscribed for the
enlargement of the book list and for wider usefulness.
Mr. William S. Ladd was the senior member, and, as
already stated, the executive head of the bank. To his
special talent for organization and leadership are due the
success of the institution as a business venture and the
distinction it achieved as one of the prime factors in the up-
building of this city and state. So completely did Mr. Ladd's
personality dominate the affairs of the bank, that it is
difficult from this time on to discriminate readily between
his many personal financial activities, and those other
enterprises in which the copartnership of the bank was
involved. In a word, he was the bank.
The City Grows — River Steamers Multiply
About 1 87 1 Portland had grown to such a size, and the
Oregon representatives at Washington had worked \vith such
good effect in the interest of their constituents, that an
appropriation for a new post office building was secured,
Twenty-six.
L A D D & T I L T O N BANK
nii_
POST OFFICE WITH CENTRAL SCHOOL IN BACKGROUND
Portland Hotel now Occupies Former School Site
and the site at Fifth and Morrison streets selected. But,
although the population at this time was close to 12,000, the
business section still remained huddled close to the ri\er
hank and did not extend south much beyond Washington
street. An instance of the city's slow progress westward is
found in a newspaper paragraph that jokingly affects to
criticise the authorities in Washington for ha\ing chosen a
site "on the edge of Washington County." When the
building was completed, in 1875, it was still so far away
from the business section that the same paper suggested the
operation of a "pony express" from the business center to
the post office.
The dexelopment of the w ealth of the \ast region extend-
ing from the Cascades to the Bitter Root mountains, made
Twenty-seven
SIXTY MILESTONES
A Palatial Excursion Boat of Early Days on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers
a demand for steamboats to carry merchandise and supplies
of every kind, needed by the thousands of miners, merchants
and traders, who flocked to the new camps. The enterprise
of business men was immediately aroused, with the result
that, whereas but a few years since scarcely a single steam-
boat was to be seen on the waters of the upper Columbia, we
now find not only the waters of the upper Columbia, but
those of its tributaries as well, sparkling beneath the churning
paddles of steamboats, whose shrill whistles startle the fawn
on the river bank, and awaken echoes in the rocky gorges and
caverns that abound in this region.
Panic and Fire of 1873 Great Disasters
The future of Portland was bright with promise, and
there was no premonition in the minds of its business men
of the double calamity that was approaching. In the spring
of 1873 came a panic that shook the country to its founda-
tions; and this was followed in Portland, in the early part
of August, by a destructive fire which in a short time con-
sumed the product of years of earnest, patient industry.
Twenty-eight
LADD & TILTON BANK
The panic caught many of the smaller local operators
unprepared for such a turn of events, and wrought their
financial ruin. The fire destroyed over $1,000,000 worth of
property — twenty blocks being laid waste — and many who
escaped loss through the panic were made destitute by the
flames.
In those days the city was protected against fire by
companies of volunteer firemen, which Mr. Ladd, while
mayor of the city, was instrumental in organizing. These
companies were equipped with hand-pumps and hook-and-
ladder trucks. About the time of this fire, there had been
added a steam fire engine. The water supply was obtained
from cisterns,* some 25 of which, containing from 11,000
to 25,000 gallons each, were located at convenient .points
about the city. In the emergency presented by this civic
calamity the help of every able-bodied man was' requi-
sitioned.
♦These cisterns are still mainraineJ li\the Fire Bureau, and have been use J effect-
ively In some cases.
Twenty-nine
SIXTY MILESTONES
Mr. Ladds Health Fails
Mr. Ladd threw himself into the work of fighting the
fiames with all the enthusiasm, energy and daring, that
marked his efforts in every field — toiling ceaselessly at one
of the hand-pumps, with the result that this unaccustomed
manual labor, added to the physical strain induced by many
years of unremitting devotion to his business interests,
brought on a condition of nervous prostration, in 1875,
compelling him to take a rest. Accompanied by his wife,
his daughters and his youngest son, Wesley, according to a
biographer :
He went East, and was gone twelve months, but he
did not consult physicians; he could not endure the idea
that he was sick, and for the time his iron will sustained
him. Leaving Chicago with a pleasant party, on their
return trip he was jovial, as usual, but suddenly there
was a change and he became quiet, as though endeavoring
to repress symptoms of physical distress. "Don't you
feel well?" asked his wife. 'Not exactly," was his
considerate reply. Whether he realized at that moment
that a shadow had fallen upon his life, no one but himself
knows. Never complaining, he reached San Francisco and
by that time his lower limbs were so much affected that
he walked only with the greatest difficulty. His mind
was made up to return to Portland, but on account of the
ice blockade in the Columbia River, he was detained in
San Francisco three months. After reaching Portland
he remained there until the autumn of 1876, when,
having had another stroke of paralysis, he went to
Philadelphia, his wife accompanying him, and there
subjected himself to the most heroic treatment under
Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, an authority on nervous diseases.
So obstinate was his struggle, so determined was the
strong man not to yield up his strength that he submitted
to everything that seemed to offer any hope of restoring
him to health, but in vain, and he lost permanently all
use of the limbs affected. The stroke coming upon him
in the full flower of manhood and vigor was a great cross
to him, doubtless the greatest that he has ever had to
bear. He could not at first command sufficient philo-
sophy or Christian resignation to accept the inevitable and
bow in submission. The affliction seemed greater than
Thirty
LADD & TILTON BANK
he could bear, but in the darkest hour of distress words
of light and consolation came to him from scripture:
"Whomso the Lord loveth he chastcncth." During his
convalescence a poor laboring man, as it sent by Provi-
dence as a messenger of peace, came up and greeted him
as he was seated in a warm sunny part ot the elegant
grounds about his house with every comfort at command,
and told him of a similar affliction through which he had
passed without money, without friends, and with no
help. With his recovery his wonted good-humor and
cheerfulness returned * * * * It is a grand spectacle of
fortitude, resignation, and power that he presents at this
time, attending to the details of his tremendous enter-
prises, with intense and unimpaired intellectuality; a
majestic exemplification of patience triumphing over
suffering; his limbs failing him, he walks upon his
courage. Surely such a man may stand before Kings.
After the Fire
So disconcerting proved the panic, and the conflagration
which followed it, that the years 1874, 1875 and 1876, passed
without any marked improvement in the business situation.
"The panic of 1873," says Woodrow Wilson in his "Epochs
of American History," "was distinctly a railroad panic;
two-fifths of the railroad mileage of the country passed into
the hands of receivers, while between 1876 and 1879 four
hundred and fifty roads were sold under foreclosure." That
the bank's resources were not materially affected, however,
is apparent from an examination of its books at the close of
the year 1873, at which time the deposits totaled $569,937.15.
After the fire — in which a number of furniture concerns
were destroyed — it was proposed to form a strong company
for the manufacture of furniture. Mr. Ladd was one of the
principal promoters of the enterprise — the only one, in fact,
of the wealthy men of the city who seemed to feel confident
Thirty one
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LADD & TILTON BANK
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ii)'r::i|'''"iH
IP'
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Front Street. Looking N'oilh from Stark Street. About 1885
of any return from such an investment — an evidence of his
remarkable foresight, which we are to see repeated again
and again, as emergencies arise or opportunities present
themselves.
The period from 1877 to 1883 saw a revival of business
not only in Portland but throughout the entire section it
served. Much construction, of quite a permanent character,
was undertaken. To this period belong very many of the
three, four and five story iron-front type of buildings, which
are to be found in the district bounded by Taylor, Ash,
Front and Third streets; the mention of the names of which,
without great particularity, might cause them to be con-
founded with some of the present-day skyscrapers. With
a population now approximating 25,000 people; with its
splendid array of business blocks and its pretty homes; with
some 21 churches; with its new high school, four primary
and eight select schools, and several academies; with its
Thirty-three
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L A D D 6. r 1 L T O N BANK
fine new post office and its street railway; and, abo\e all,
with the high hopes that animated its citizens, Portland
presented every appearance of the happy, cultured and pros-
perous community that it was.
Mr. Tilton Retires and Mr. \\". M. Ladd
Becomes Partner
The dissolution of the partnership of Ladd 6l I'ilton, in
1880, caused by the retirement of Mr. Tilton and Mr. Mead
from business that year, found the bank in a highly prosper-
ous condition. Its deposits had grown to the substantial
sum of $1,000,000; and the capital and surplus, which
amounted to another $1 ,000,000, was distributed. The bank
now became in fact, what in reality it had always been — a
Ladd institution. Coincident with the dissolution and dis-
tribution, a new partnership was formed by William S. Ladd
and his eldest son, William M. Ladd. the capital being
$250,000, and the business continuing under the familiar
firm name of Ladd & Tilton, Bankers.
Henry Villard and the \ or them
Pacific Railroad
K'leanw hile, the w hole country was undergoing a change—
the old order of things was passing. It was the beginning
of a new and complicated economic organization, in which
great aggregations of capital w ere to be utilized in the service
of industries on a national scale. "Henceforth the trend of
American life was to be distinctly away from the simple
conditions that characterized newly settled regions."" The
year 1880 opened under auspicious circumstances. The hope,
long deferred, of direct transcontinental communication by
Thirty-five
SIXTY MILESTONES
rail with the East, seemed about to be realized. For,
although the completion of the Pacific railways to San
Francisco had proven of incalculable benefit to the business
interests of Portland and the adjacent territory, there still
remained a hiatus of some 700 miles separating Portland
from San Francisco, and this distance had to be traveled by
steamer. This huge gap was now to be closed, and the
long-cherished dream of a through transcontinental line from
Portland eastward, was about to be realized.
A conspicuous figure in the railroad development of this
period was Mr. Henry Villard; and it was to him that the
people of Portland and of Oregon confidently looked for
deliverance from an isolation that denied them the ad-
vantages which San Francisco enjoyed, and barred them from
full participation in the nation-wide program of trade
expansion. Mr. Villard, like Mr. Ladd, whose friend he
was, saw in Portland's situation with regard to the vast
territory of which it was the natural outlet, the elements
that make for a great commercial metropolis; and in the
vision he entertained of a big transcontinental railroad across
the country, Portland figured as its western terminus. He
began by acquiring control of the Oregon Steam Navigation
Company, which was to serve as the chief asset in the
capitalization of the Oregon Railway & Navigation Com-
pany, which he now proceeded to organize, finding a ready
market for its stock in the East. His next move was the
promotion of the Oregon Improvement Company, and this
stock found a no less ready acceptance in the same market.
Having thus easily succeeded in financing the Oregon
Railway & Navigation Company, "he began to build a road
eastward from Portland along the Columbia river. He
now conceived the plan of getting control of the Northern
Pacific railroad, which for some years past had been in a
fair way to be built directly across the continent to Seattle."
Thirty-six
LADD & TILTON BANK
First Noilhern Pacilk I'rain into Portland
1- i
Arches erected on First Street to celebrate occasion of First Transcontinental
Train into Portland, Sept. ii, 1883
281028
SIXTY MILESTONES
The methods by which he accomplished his object — his
invasion of Wall Street and the literal "taking" of the road
from Billings — however the coup might be regarded today,
was the financial sensation of that period. Concentrating
a great force upon the line, he began under tremendous cost
to push forward its construction. The road was completed
in 1883, and the driving of the last spike, September 8, of
that year, was made the occasion for great rejoicing and
celebration in Portland. On September 11, 1883, the first
transcontinental train pulled into the city. It was drawn
by a wood-burning engine.
Unfortunately for Portland, Mr. Villard's reliance upon
the estimates of the cost of construction furnished him by
the engineering department of the road, which proved mis-
leading, combined with other causes not necessary to mention
here, involved him in financial difficulties that eventually
forced his retirement from the presidency, and gave control
of the road to interests that were inimical to Portland.
The Oregon & Transcontinental Company, in which
Mr. Ladd was a stockholder, was organized by Mr. Villard
as a holding company for the securities of the three systems
he controlled: the Northern Pacific, Oregon Railway &
Navigation Company, and the Willamette Valley roads —
the Oregon & California and the Oregon Central — and upon
Its failure these three systems fell apart. The subsequent
selection of Tacoma to be the western terminus of the
Northern Pacific railroad gave to that city its first valid
claim to public notice and distinction.
The collapse of what Portlanders were wont to refer to
as "the Villard boom," was a serious blow to the business
interests of the city, and a sad disappointment to the
aspirations of its citizens. In the end, however, Portland
was the gainer by this turn of events, for it became shortly
Thirly-eiglU
LADD &i TILTON BANK
the terminal not merely of one but of three great trans-
continental systems: the Northern Pacific, Southern Pacific
and Union Pacific railways.
The Portland Flouring Mills Company
Among the varied enterprises of the city none was less
perceptibly affected, by the panic that ensued, than was the
Ladd & Tilton Bank — to the wise management and strong
resources of which was due its ability to extend financial
assistance to many establishments in the city that other-
wise must have been sorely embarrassed.
Perhaps no industry was more shaken in this trying
period than that of flour milling throughout the state. Many
of the mills were indebted to Mr. Ladd, who before long dis-
covered that nearly all of them were insolvent. With his
accustomed generosity he offered the owners sufficient
credit to tide them over their difficulties, provided they
would co-operate with him. This they appeared unwilling
to do. If anything was to be done, Mr. Ladd alone would
have to do it. He took a view of the matter that was both
commendable and wise. If the mills were closed, he rea-
soned, many of the families dependent upon them for a
means of livelihood would be reduced to want. While their
operation was not essential to the liquidation of their debt
Harbor Scene Looking Norih Iro.n Foot of East Morribon St. About i88j.
Thirtv-nine
SIXTY MILESTONES
to the bank, on the other hand it was vital to the interests of
the communities in which they were located, and to the state
at large. His judgment assured him that the disaster which
had come upon them was purely of a temporary nature.
Here, then, was a chance to perform a public service of a
wide and practical kind. His mind was fully made up. He
boldly and confidently assumed a burden that experienced
millers had refused to share. He took over the two mills
at Oregon City, and one at Salem, Oregon, as well as one
at Dayton, Washington. It soon became apparent that
while the output of the mills was in excess of local require-
ments, the surplus was not sufficient for satisfactory ex-
port business, and hence a somewhat greater capacity was
needed in order to secure the prompt loading and dis-
patch of export cargoes. In order to accomplish this ob-
ject, Mr. Ladd now built the mill on the East Side,
known as the Albina Flour Mill.
With the growing importance of the flouring industry,
Mr. Ladd realized the necessity of relieving himself of its
management, and accordingly looked about for someone on
whose business ability he might rely, to conduct this thriv-
ing enterprise. Some years before, on the recommendation
of Mr. Asahel Bush, his partner in the Salem bank, there
had come into the employ of Mr. Ladd, from Westfield,
Mass., (Mr. Bush's home town), a young man named
Theodore B. Wilcox who, ere long, became teller of the
bank, and, eventually, Mr. Ladd's close confidant in all his
varied business affairs. Mr. Ladd now decided to entrust
the management of the flour milling business jointly to his
son, Mr. Charles E. Ladd, and Mr. Wilcox, under a mag-
nanimous arrangement whereby these two young men be-
came equal partners in the ownership of the mills. Mr.
Charles E. Ladd shortly withdrew from the business, how-
ever, leaving Mr. Wilcox in full control. Thus originated
the Portland Flouring Mills Company.
Forty
L A D D & T 1 L r O N BANK
Portland Flouring Mills (Albina Mill) in the Early 8o's
Mr. Wilcox, being now relieved of his connection with
the bank, gave his whole attention to the flour milling busi-
ness, and in his management of it not only substan-
tiated the soundness of Mr. Ladd's judgment of
him, but displayed a genius that was later to distinguish
him as one of the city's foremost business men. Under his
direction the company built mills at Tacoma and Odessa,
Wash., and Condon, Ore.; and acquired by purchase the
mills at Prescott, Harrington, and Everett, Wash., as well
as warehouse facilities on the several railway lines of the
Northwest.
In iqi8 Mr. Wilcox purchased the Ladd interest in the
flouring mills. He continued to be the dominating factor
in the milling interests of the Pacific Northwest up to the
time of his death, which occurred March 31, iqi8. Since
the death of Mr. Wilcox, the estate has disposed of its flour
mill holdings, and at the beginning of the present year
acquired a large interest in the Ladd & Tilton Bank.
Forty-one
SIXTY MILESTONES
Mr. Ladds Public Spirit
A gloomy reminder of "the Villard boom," there stood
for a number of years in the heart of Portland the foundation
of a projected hotel building, which now, alas! appeared all
too ample in its proportions, for the city of disappointed
hopes and defeated ambitions. Up to 1888 it stood there,
an exhibit that aroused curiosity on the part of visitors, and
melancholy reflections on the part of citizens. Much talk
had been indulged in but nothing was done egarding the
completion of the building until, one day, Mr. Ladd invited
some of the leading men and property owners of the city
to meet him in his office at the bank, to discuss a business
proposition. In a brief speech he pointed out to them the
folly of permitting that foundation to lie useless; pictured
the future growth of Portland and its need of better hotel
accommodations, and concluded by saying:
If you gentlemen will organize a company with a
capital stock of $500,000, I will take one-fifth of the
stock, on condition that Mr. H. W. Corbett, a man in
whose real, business ability and integrity everyone has
confidence, is made president of the corporation.
The meeting resulted in an organization on the lines
suggested by Mr. Ladd. On April i, i8qo, the building
was formally opened to the public; and it was not long
until the Portland Hotel was famous throughout the
United States for its architectural beauty and surround-
ings, the elegance of its appointments and the excellence
of its cuisine. Here again we see manifested that zeal for
the public welfare, that farsightedness and sound judg-
ment, which is observable in every public act of this
benefactor of the city and state.
Mr. Ladd was ever an ardent advocate of a pure water
supply, which he urged incessantly. To his practical mind,
Forty-two
LADD & TILTON BANK
other municipal improvements such as streets, lighting,
etc., while in every way desirable and necessary, were of
secondary importance to an adequate supply of pure, whole-
some water; and no one in the city was better pleased than
he when the Bull Run water main, in the laying of which,
as chairman of the board of construction, he participated,
was finally authorized. "Scarcely a single enterprise of any
consequence," says a biographer, "proposed or undertaken
in Portland since his identification with the city, that he
has not taken a greater or less part in, contributing to its
promotion his time, experience and money. Wherever the
spirit of progress pointed the way for activity and develop-
ment, he followed its lead."
The Crises of 1884 and i8q^
The crisis of 1884, which was produced by conditions
that obtained quite generally throughout the country, was
due in a large degree to overexpansion of loans, induced by
speculation in securities promising big returns. It caused
numerous suspensions, including those of two large national
banks.. Though the financial stringency was felt every-
where in the land, it was naturally more acute in New York,
where the tendency on the part of the general public to
withhold savings and other deposits, and the evident attempt
of interior banks to fortify their reserves, was reflected in a
depletion of the balances maintained in that city. The
prompt issuance by New York banks of clearing house loan
certificates in the sum of nearly $25,000,000 to be used in
settling debit balances, — practically all of which were
retired within sixty days, — went far toward restoring con-
fidence and preventing the most serious consequences.
The politics and legislation of this period were of a
character to produce that unsettled state of the public mind
Forty-three
SIXTY MILESTONES
which is apt to create financial disturbance. There was a
want of definite purpose and of progress. The political
leaders of both parties sought vainly to discover a solution
of the new problems that faced the country. The old political
platforms had to be revised to meet the situation — and "un-
certainty, vacillation and inconsistency," marked the methods
of revision. From 1884 to 1888 a Democratic president
and House were opposed by a Republican Senate. Then
followed two years during which a united Republican admin-
istration was in power, until the Democrats wrested it from
them and, at the close of the Harrison administration, again
placed Mr. Cleveland in the presidential chair. Disagree-
ments arose within the two parties. The conditions at this
period are well described in Prof. A. B. Hart's "Social and
Economic Forces in American History," as follows:
On monetary questions the West and South did
not agree with the East; on ta.xation the Democratic
party was hopelessly split. Hence it was impossible to
secure harmonious development in legislation; a silver
law was passed and repealed; within four years two
tariffs were put in force, and an income tax was imposed,
only to be declared unconstitutional. Futile attempts
were made to restrain the increasing power of corporations
and organized capital. * * * * The economic life of the
country was unstable; a slow recovery from the depression
of 1884 led to imprudent undertakings, while commercial
recklessness and legislative error destroyed prosperity.
Once more the nation had to climb the long and arduous
road leading to confidence and enterprise. At every
turn — from recovery to panic, and then to fresh recovery
— perplexing problems arose.
But before the conditions which Prof. Hart describes
culminated in the crisis of 1893, Portland was destined to
experience not only complete recovery from the depression
that followed the Villard collapse, but also a period of some-
thing more than five years of prosperity, during which it
made remarkable progress, both in point of population and
of business expansion.
Forly-JouT
LADD & TIL TON BANK
A Definition of ^'Good Times ^
What is popularly termed "good times," is traceable to
a variety of causes — "either in general to an augmented gold
output," such as characterized the early mining operations
in California, the later placer mining in Oregon and the still
more recent discoveries in the Klondike region, "or in par-
ticular to the increase in the demand for some special prod-
uct. Prices first rise in the particular enterprise affected,
production augments, the movement spreads to other lines
of business," and lo, prosperity has arrived. The growth of
railroad facilities, and the consequent encouragement given
to immigration; the development of the flour milling and
lumber industries, and the establishment of an Oriental
steamship line to market tiie surplus product; the free range,
which gave an impetus to the cattle and sheep industry; the
demand for copper, through the wide application of elec-
tricity — which resulted in the development of the gold,
silver and copper mines of Idaho and Montana and the open-
ing of timber reserves of great value in Washington — these
ail contributed, in greater or lesser degree, to the era of
prosperity which Portland enjoyed during five or six years
following the depression of 1884.
East and West Sides Consolidate
Thus far, in speaking of Portland, we have been con-
cerned only with the west side of the city which, up to the
time we are writing of, constituted the whole of the city
proper. But for many years the communities on the east
side of the river, known, respectively, as East Portland and
Albina, and which maintained independent corporate exis-
tences, had been growing in population and business impor-
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LADD 6^ TIL TON BANK
tance. A movement which had been started some years
before, with a view of having these three communities
merged under one municipal government, which had gained
in popular favor as the facilities for intercommunication
were increased by the building of bridges across the Willam-
ette, had reached such a stage in i8qi that, at the June
elections of that year, the question of consolidation was
voted on and the measure was carried by an overwhelming
majority. So that by the end of iSqi, with the inclusion
of these two important additions in its municipality, the
population of Portland was 90,785 ; while in the same period
Ladd &z Tilton's deposits had jumped from $1,542,109.68,
in 1883, to $3,095,167.95, in 1892. Among the many fine
structures that now loomed in the business district may be
mentioned the Oregonian building, the Hotel Portland, the
Marquam Grand Opera House — where the Northwestern
National Bank now stands — Henry Weinhard's new block,
the Hotel Perkins, the Portland Library building, the Cham-
ber of Commerce building, the Dekum and Goodnough
buildings, and many others of a somewhat less imposing, but,
nevertheless, substantial character.
The Northern Pacific Terminal Company was at this
time engaged in reclaiming Couch Lake, which occupied the
territory now covered by the Union depot and the railroad
yards north and west of it, while the Union depot, and the
fourth bridge to be built across the Willamette, were both
under construction. Then came the panic of 1893, the
approach of which has already been discussed.
Mr. Ladds Broad Vision
In the early days, 'mid the isolation and dangers that
attended frontier life, immigration to Oregon was diligently
encouraged and warmly welcomed ; but with the subsequent
Forty-sn'en
SIXTY MILESTONES
better settlement of the country, and, more particularly,
when Portland had attained a substantial business growth,
along in the early "80s, there was manifested a disposition
on the part of many of the "old-timers" to be quite content
with conditions then existing, and, as the saying is, to "let
well enough alone." They had here a country wonderfully
rich in its natural resources, unrivaled in the beauty of its
scenery, and with a climate nowhere equaled — what more
was to be desired ?
Not only did Mr. Ladd decline to share in this sentiment
— he deprecated and opposed it on every occasion. His
broad vision of the future and his whole-souled, generous
spirit, could not tolerate such a narrow, superficial view.
He believed implicitly in the great future that awaited his
city and state, and he realized that the larger the number of
people who might be induced to locate here, and the greater
the extension of financial help to outlying communities, the
quicker would development follow and the better would it
be for all concerned. This view, combined with his broad
sympathies and unbounded enthusiasm, led him at an early
date to encourage the extension of the banking business, and
to assist in the development of new enterprises, wherever
the need for them arose, throughout the Northwest.
As early as 1868 he formed a partnership with Mr.
Asahel Bush of Salem, Oregon, where they opened a bank
under the firm name of Ladd & Bush. This was the be-
ginning of the establishment or promotion by him of banks
throughout Oregon, Washington and Idaho. So active was
he in this respect, and so far did his financial interests reach,
that he was popularly accredited with being "a taxpayer in
every county in Oregon, Washington and Idaho." But,
however exaggerated this report may have been, certain it is
that very many of the banks of his day, in this section, were
indebted to him for either financial or moral assistance.
Forly-eight
L A D D &i r 1 L r O N BANK
Up to the time of his death — which occurred suddenly
on January 6, 1893, at his home — notwithstanding the weak-
ness of his lower limbs, Mr. Ladd had comparatively free use
of his arms and the upper part of his body. His mind,
which had quickly recovered from the shock, remained clear
and perfectly balanced to the end. In the handling of his
large and varied business interests he appeared to display
the same remarkable mental activity, force and wonderful
executive abilities as before, though for some years prior
to his death the active management of his large banking
interests, both in Portland and elsewhere, had been trans-
ferred to his son, Mr. William M. Ladd, while his many
other great interests and projects had been entrusted to
competent and trustworthy management; but he continued
to keep in touch with them, and e\en exercised a general
supervision over them. Nor did he fail in his public duties
up to the very last, as the following account, which appeared
in one of the local papers, attests :
Just a few days prior to his death Mr Ladd attended
a meeting of the construction committee of the water
board of which he was chairman. The meeting was
called at his request, in order that he might submit a
report in regard to the purchase of a site for a reservoir
at Mount Tabor, This was the last public business he
attended to, and he seemed to have a premonition that
such would be the case. He shook hands cordially with
the other members of the committee, and wished them
all a happy New Year, remarking that his had not been
as pleasant as usual, on account of his poor health, and
added that he was a sicker man than he had been aware
of. He then went on to say that he had felt himself
failing, and he only wished to live long enough to see
three things accomplished. One of these was the com-
pletion of the River View cemetery, which he said he
mentioned first, because it had been undertaken first.
The second was the securing of a 25-foot channel from
Portland to the sea, in which they were all interested,
and which he was confident would insure the future
prosperity of Portland. The third was the completion
of the Bull Run water works, which would supply the
city with pure water. "I should like," said he, '"to see
Forty-nine
SIXTY MILESTONES
these works finished and water furnished free to all, but
I feel now that I shall not live to see this accomplished.
But as long as I live, I wish to do my duty, and that is
why I am here today, as I have charge of this matter
and wish to make my report." His voice faltered several
times as he spoke, and his friends were equally affected.
A4r. Ladds Death Occurs Suddenly
Commenting on Mr. Ladd's death, the Oregonian had
this to say :
The announcement of Mr Ladd's death swept over
the city this morning with startling effect. Comparatively
few knew that he had been ailing and none expected such
a sudden termination of his useful life. William S. Ladd
was the most conspicuous figure of the Pacific Northwest.
He was the money king of this section and was identified
with so many important enterprises that his individuality
was mingled with almost everything of a social, business
or religious character. It seldom falls to the lot of a
man to maintain a position of leadership by universal
consent so long as Mr. Ladd did. For more than a
whole generation he has been the foremost man in
Oregon, and during that time he has impressed himself
upon this whole Pacific Northwest so forcibly that hi-
works will live after him.
The biography of William S. Ladd wants little of being
also the history of Portland. It is true that Portland
had a name and a beginning before Mr Ladd came, but
it was as a settlement merely, not as the foundation of a
commercial city. It was the advent of a few men,
among whom Mr. Ladd was prominent, that gave the
place a start in business, and has so long enabled it to
hold the chief place in the commerce of the Northwest.
Successful as Mr. Ladd"s career has been, there was
no miracle about it. He began with the administration
of small things. He was never one of those who expect
success without compliance with the conditions on which
success must be based. Industry, method, prudence,
lay at the bottom of his character. His resources when
he came to Portland forty-two years ago were his energy
and integrity. He had no favors from fortune, and hi ^
great career was not due to luck or accident. It lay in
the man himself. But character is not shown merely
in business achievement. Wealth, however great, is not
in itself the measure of success. Mr. Ladd's life is before
Fijly
L A D D &' T 1 LT O N BANK
us. It has been known of this community from the day
of his arrival in his young manhood to the close ot his
honored career in the fullness of age. Manly character
has ever been his mark. Generosity and benevolence
have received illustration to this community through
him. He has been foremost, or with the foremost, in
every work through which character is given to city or
state. With counsel, with example, with money, he has
always assisted and often led. His public spirit and his
worth as a citizen made him rich in the respect of the
people, as his faith in Portland and general foresight
brought him material wealth. For all the interests ot a
growing society, in that stage of its career when it is
fashioned for the future, he has done an immense work —
an immense work for its trade and commerce, for its
industry and business, for its schools, churches and the
foundations of its moral life. A pri\'ate citizen in name,
his position in affairs makes him a public man; but his
exceptional wealth and the power it gave him never
affected his nature or demeanor; in all circumstances he
was alike plain, courteous and unassuming, yet was
always frank and earnest, with a tolerance that covered
all frailties but shams and falsehoods.
The work he has done here will last long. His influence
on the life and fortunes of this community will survive,
not only in its;lf, but in new forces growing out of those
he created or organized, as a great wave set in motion is
felt to the furthest verge of unknown sea.
Mr. Cookingham Enters Bank's Service
In 'iSqb, Mr. Edward Cookingham — now president of the
bank — entered its service, and was given charge of the
bank's extensive outside interests, to which he continued to
devote his entire attention until he became actively con-
nected with the institution, locally, some ten years later.
The Spanish- American War
It was the latter part of 1897, before the country began
to show signs of a definite recovery from the depression of
1893, and by the following year the preparations for a war
with Spain, which now appeared to be inevitable, served to
Fi/ly-one
SIXTY MILESTONES
make this recovery complete and to give to business every-
where in the United States a momentum that lasted nearly
a decade.
On April 25, i8q8, war was declared and President
McKinley issued his call for volunteers. How splendidly
the boys of 'qS answered to that call is well known. But
nowhere was the response more promptly or more cheerfully
made than by the boys of the famous Second Regiment
Oregon U. S. Volunteer Infantry, whose proud distinction
it was to be "First in the Philippines." No need to recount
their valorous deeds throughout the several campaigns in
which they were engaged, nor to tell of the glory they achieved
at Malabon, where their gallantry drew from the German
Consul the remark: "I take off my hat to the American
volunteer." Their deeds are enshrined in the hearts of
their countrymen, and inscrib-
ed by a grateful common-
wealth on imperishable granite,
as a memorial to their dead
and an inspiration to future
Monument
Erected to
Dead of the
Famous
"Second
Oregon"
generations.
The Lewis and Clark
Centennial Exposition
In iqo3 a bill was introduced
in the Legislative Assembly of
Oregon, authorizing an approp-
riation for the purpose of cele-
brating the one
hundredth anni-
} versary of the ex-
ploration of the
Fi/ly-two
LADD &i TILTON BANK
Night View of Lewis and Clark Exposition, 11)05
Oregon Country by Captains Meriwether Lewis and
William Clark. The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposi-
tion, commemorating this important historical event, was
opened June i, 1Q05, and continued to the end of October,
of that year. It attracted great numbers of visitors from
the East, to whom the exhibits, particularly those of the
Northwestern group of states, were in the nature of a revela-
tion. No better advertisement for Portland and Oregon
could have been devised. To the Exposition is attributable
the swift growth of the city during the next five years, when
the population increased from ibi,205, in 1905, to 270,000,
in iqio.
The Panic of igoy
In October, iqo/, occurred another of those periodical
panics which, up to the time of the establishment of the
Federal Reserve System, the people of the United States
had come to anticipate — their very fears and expectancy
Fi/ty-lhree
SIXTY MILESTONES
serving, doubtless, in no small degree, to precipitate the
disaster.
The shock was first felt in New York City, where it
proved to he the most acute crisis of any that had occurred
in years. In three hours" time the Knickerbocker Trust
Company was reported to have paid out $8,000,000 to its
depositors and later, to quote a newspaper dispatch,
"emptied its cash vaults under pressure of the biggest run
experienced in a generation." * * * "This, too," con-
tinues the dispatch quoted, "in the face of the most reassur-
ing statements from the Secretary of the Treasury and
Superintendent of Banks, that no insolvency was threatened.
A stock exchange firm failed for $b, 000, 000." The situation
was desperate until a committee of financiers, headed by
Mr. J. P. Morgan, adopted measures for the protection of
other institutions from a like fate, and, after a few days,
confidence was restored. Meanwhile dispatches from Boston,
Philadelphia, St. Louis, Chicago and many of the other
large cities throughout the East and Middle West, brought
the most favorable assurances of a sound financial con-
dition; while reports from Northwestern banks, almost
without exception, were of the "never better" kind. Local
financiers were emphatic in their denial of the existence of
any cause for alarm. The action of the New York Clearing
House, a few days later, in notifying their western corres-
pondents that no shipments of coin or currency would be
made, pending an adjustment of the financial situation,
created considerable alarm locally; but a proclamation by
the Governor of Oregon, declaring the period from October iq
to November 2 a legal holiday, had the effect of forestalling
any contemplated run on the banks. Meantime, the Port-
land Clearing House Association, following the precedent
established by the banks in eastern cities, adopted similar
Fifty-four
LADD & TILT ON BANK
rules restricting the payment of cash, and issued in lieu
thereof, clearing house certificates in denominations of
$5, $io and $20, for the transaction of business; while drafts,
and other negotiable paper drawn on eastern banks, were
accepted only for collection subject to payment in legal
tender: and the demand notice for withdrawal of saxings
deposits, as prescribed by law. was temporarily enforced.
It is worthy of remark that these clearing house certi-
ficates were issued to the extent of only two-thirds of the
value of the securities they represented — consisting of
lumber, wheat and other staple products — and that, while
they were made redeemable in cash February i, iqo8, as a
matter of fact practically all of them had been retired by
January i, iqo8.
What made the local situation especially complicated
was the fact that it was the annual crop-moving time, when
Portland banks customarily drew heavily on their eastern
balances to facilitate this movement. However, the cordial
co-operation received from the business and industrial
interests of the city and state, as well as the intelligent and
sympathetic attitude taken by a very large majority of
citizens, prevented the development of anything like a
serious embarrassment in local financial circles.
Bank is Remodeled to Meet Growing
Requirements
The 1Q07 panic, which was short-li\ed in Portland, was
the prelude to a season of unexampled prosperity, in which
Ladd & Tilton, Bankers, were accorded their full share.
Again the need for more fioor space was seen in the congested
appearance of the lobby during rush hours, and in the lack of
room which prohibited the installation of proper facilities
Fi/ty-five
SIXTY MILESTONES
William Mead Ladd. President i^joS lo U|i<-i
for handling the increased volume of business that kept
pouring in. To meet these new conditions the bank was
entirely remodeled; a wider entrance, with enlarged lobby
space, as well as better paying and receiving facilities, were
made possible by the removal of the bookkeeping and other
clerical departments to the upper floor. It was not long,
Fifty-.
LADD & TILTON BANK
however, until a pronounced tendency toward the establish-
ment of new business districts in the city, foreshadowed its
early abandonment for a location more directly in the path
of the movement westward.
Incorporated as Ladd G Tilton Bank
On May 8, iqo8, pursuant to the provisions of a State
Banking Law enacted by the Oregon Legislature of that
year, the bank was incorporated as "Ladd & Tilton
Bank," with a capital of $1,000,000 and surplus and un-
divided profits of $400,000. At this meeting Mr. William
M. Ladd was elected President; Mr. Edward Cookingham,
Vice-President; Mr. W. H. Dunckley, Cashier; and Messrs.
Walter M. Cook, R. S. Howard and J. W. Ladd, Assistant
Cashiers.
Bank Secures New Home in Spalding Building
Meanwhile, the phenomenal growth of the city — in
which the construction of the Spokane, Portland & Seattle
Railway, the very great activity and enormous sums in-
volved in real estate transfers, and the establishment of
branch houses by eastern concerns, were conspicuous factors
— served to swell the bank's business to proportions that
taxed to the utmost the capacity of the old bank building.
New quarters were engaged in the Spalding building, then
in course of erection at Third and Washington streets,
where the ground floor was designed expressly to meet the
requirements of an up-to-date, modern bank. The 10,000
square feet of floor space was deemed adequate for the
planning of an impressive lobby in which columns, walls
and pilasters of Kasota stone, and counters of Brecia Pavo-
nazza marble, with fixtures, railings and check racks of
Fiflv-seien
SIXTY MILESTONES
•S^X^A*.
. - Sfrj ^ ^{lfj i, ^ F ^Y ^i p r^--r^jr^^
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■ffibftHH^MiMl^
ti'.Kvacd CJuokinsham, Pre^idcm
heavy bronze finished in Pompeian green, combined with
the brilliance of Frink lights to produce an extremely artistic
effect.
On January i, iqi i, the bank moved into its new of^ces
in the Spalding building. The working staff, exclusive ot
officers, comprised b5 employees, and the space and
I'lfty-eiglU
LADD & TILT ON BANK
general facilities afforded in the new location were so greatly
in excess of the requirements at this time, that it was
thought they would prove equal to all ordinary needs for
many years to come. Scarcely a few years had passed,
however, before it became evident to the management that
new acquisitions of space would shortly be needed; and
advantage was taken of an opportunity, fortunately pre-
sented at this time, to secure control of the entire second
fioor of the Spalding building. Then came the Great War,
bringing in its train unheard of expenditures of money, and
the development on a stupendous scale of new and old
enterprises. And in the rush of business that followed, the
shrewdness and foresight of the management was vindi-
cated.
As this booklet goes to the printer, the bank is being
remodeled in order to meet the demands of its rapidly
expanding business. The working staff, apart from the
officers, now numbers 120 employees. The accounting de-
partments have been relegated to the second floor. The
entire ground floor office will be divested of every feature
not appurtenant to the facile transaction of business with
customers.
Fi/ty-nine
SIXTY MILESTONES
Statement of Condition of Ladd 6y' Tilton Bank
At the Close of Business, December ji , i86g
RESOURCES
Loans and Discounts $ 788,232.08
Real Estate 35,608.08
Bonds, Stocks, Warrants, Etc 132,755.13
Cash and Due from Banks . . . . ' 138,754.58
i,oq5, 350.47
L LA B I L I T I E S
Capital $ 600,000.00
Surplus and Profits 107,346.27
Deposits 388,004.20
$ I, oq5. 350.47
Sixty
LADD & TILTON BANK
Statement of Condition of Ladd 6^ Tilton Bank
At Close of Business, May 12, iqig.
RESOURCES
Loans and Discounts $12,302,275.05
Stock of Federal Reserve Bank bo,ooo.oo
Bonds and Stocks , 2,270,031.31
Customers' Liability on Letters of Credit .... 90,595.83
Customers' Liability on Account Acceptances . . . 425,849.62
Real Estate Claims and Judgments 46,619.43
.Accrued Interest Uncollected 69,669.37
U. S. Bonds and Treasury Certificates . $5,463,737-85
Cash and Due from Federal Reser\e
Bank and Other Banks 5,312,068.37
10,775,806.22
$26,040,846.83
LIABILITIES
Capital Stock Fully Paid $ 1,000,000.00
Surplus and Undivided Profits 1,856,366.15
Reserve for Interest, Taxes, Etc 121,358.62
Letters of Credit 90,595.83
.Acceptances 425,84Q-62
Unearned Discount ■ • 25,491.35
Rediscounts 124,5^2.02
Due Federal Reserve Bank 500,000.00
Deposits 21,896,623.24
$26,040,846.83
Sixty-one
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f-
2:
L A D D &' T I LT O N BANK
Mr. W. M. Ladd Retires and Mr. Cookingham
Becomes President
At the annual meeting held on January q, iqiq, Mr. W.
M. Ladd retired as president of the hank, and Mr. \V. H.
Dunckley, who for 33 consecutive years had served in the
capacity of cashier of the institution, also retired from
active connection with it.
The official roster at this date, stands as follows:
Mr. W. M. Ladd, Chairman of the Board;
Mr. Edward Cookingham, President;
Mr. Isaac D. Hunt, Vice-President;
Mr. Samuel L. Eddy, Vice-President;
Mr. R. S. Howard, Vice-President;
Mr. Walter M. Cook, Cashier;
Mr. Thomas H. West, Assistant Cashier;
Mr. Cameron Squires, Assistant Cashier.
With a due appreciation of the heritage that has come
down from the founders of this historic institution, it will
ever be the aim of the present of^cial staff to maintain in
every respect the unimpeachable character which those
pioneer bankers of the Northwest so inclelibh- impressed
upon the Ladd &' Tilton Bank.
Sixly-three
SIXTY MILESTONES
Showing How Weve Grown
DEPOSITS, 1859
$495? 1. 6::
DEC.i31-l5^P 54p.891.6r
DEC.^IHS69«SSS.0O42O
DEPOSITS, 1919
|l?139b.c^ai:4
DEC.ghlSTP$3^l,4pr,c"c>
DZC3\'\SSS^ »S,\S9.^c:,SS
DEC.^iHSP? ^c-.rpaoi£>,e
T)ZZ.3\-\S09 m.^\2.744uS
MAY (2- 1915 f 2 1, Sa-, 62a 24
Sixty-four
UNIVERSITY Ol- tALIhUKNIA Al 1_US ANCifcLES
THE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
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