data from which a careful study may be made of various items of management as developed during the last quarter century. In the following table will be found figures dealing with a few of the important subjects.

Principal Items of Resources and Liabilities of Trust Companies,

1875..

1876..

Reserve.
Proportion of
cash to
total deposits.

Total loans.

$65,900,174 $39,409,904

$7,550,560 $3,511,148

76,608,647 25,338,884

8,823,200 3,359,110

67,946,390 37,765,945

8,404,212 3,169,551

8.616,954 3,166,960

9,194,570 3,494,061

P.c. P.c. $85,147,012 $10,856,621 12.8 10.6 87,969,758 8,671,619 9.9 3.4 1877.. 84,549,038 10,826,606 12.8 3.3 1878.. 73,658,004 8,399,209 11.4 3.9 59,303,327 36,741,697 1879.. 76,013,662 8,727,670 11.5 3.6 61,171,877 34,841,086 1880.. 90,158,637 7,536,459 8.4 3.7 74,675,537 37,654,325 10,245,051 4,229,889 1881.. 111,905,527 12,454,392 11.1 3.9 101,906,566 33,057,627 11,175,663 5,049,809 1882.. 144,988,775 11,492,036 7.9 2.4 132,054,203 42,813,068 14,212,161 6,093,307 1883.. 165,645,521 13,431,867 8.1 2.3 140,022,358 47,760,410 15,601,710 6.245.370 1884.. 189,507,810 21,030,441 11.1 2.4 158,018,009 51,250,942 19,810,611 6,853,477 1885.. 188,615,186 33,499,518 17.7 5.3 141,542,649 55,126,600 19,203,984 6.209,742 1886.. 214,255,658 35.804,622 16.7 9.1 156,828,458 71,802,374 24,520,701 6,626,538 1887.. 245,797,608 35,617,727 14.5 6.8 196,096,830 72,927,742 27,193,319 5,502,166 1888.. 259,925,079 39,580,220 15.2 7.6 250,700,648 72,578,913 35,951,687 3,197,112 1889.. 302,626,471 50,320,566 16.6 8.3 291,450,367 76,725,017 38,783,114 3,677,237 1890.. 339,319,740 53,168,165 15.7 5.9 327,882,540 95,707,496 46,828,003 3,381,217 1891.. 357,540,852 56,430,480 15.8 4.6 356,876,320 93,973,321 55,503,845 3,138,177 1892.. 415,431,461 77,575,370 18.7 5.4 385,273,548 106,206,778 61,768,148 3,572,886 1893.. 488,934,555 75,568,610 15.4 4.5 462,729,597 128,824,901 70,771,477 3.187,125 1894.. 478,055,823 125,010,202 26.1 7.2 374,421,713 142,224,151 75,303,366 3,148,156 1895.. 553,756,721 128,482,531 23.2 6.5 433,386,461 177,086,555 84,801,698 3,334.971 1896.. 592,617,492 108,314,257 18.3 4.9 462,000,949 201,164,551 84,313,612 3,289,547 1897.. 576,598,940 118,139,249 20.5 5.1 445,629,725 201,128,020 89,025.267 3,361,409 1898.. 665,488,712 118,317,178 17.8 3.4 539,162,445 193,977,752 97,643,666 1899.. 837,510,725 154,868,308 18.5 2.9 599,031,033 266,086,873 105,616,167 1900.. 1,031,735,272 219,448,611 21.3 2.9 727,952,137 325,841,086 148,389,339 4,586,760 1901.. 1,278,849,880 217,207,097 17.0 2.0 939,768,891 396,222,854 168,284,468 4,835,274 1902.. 1,537,476,616 264,819,327 17.2 2.2 1,192,488,311 447,580,690 225,524,514 4,755,911 1903. 1,711,485,439 304,409,977 17.7 3.0 1,303,237,200 579.459,699 314,496,334 4.328.727 1904.. 1,775,499,356 442,876,289 24.9 3.6 1,147,605,557 667,511,015 329,789,576 4,068,868 1905.. 2,164,645,572 393,880,801 18.2 3.1 1,549,286,662 787,918,435 363.515,702 4,196.159 1906.. 2,162,228,621 369,199,366 17. 3.7 1,609,467,839 760,285,420 395,373.620 3.988,181 1907.. 2,229,495,792 368.738.970 16.6 4.9 1,601,364,237 785.999,670 397,865.026 3.868,286 1908.. 2,029,978,992 515,850,773 25.4 6.1 1,379,481,474 775,875,271 416,039,899 3.403,376

RESERVES OF TRUST COMPANIES.

3,831,147 4,121,254

Of special interest, in view of the recent agitation of the question in New York and elsewhere, is the subject of trust company reserves. The third column of the table gives the reserve carried by the companies each year, the figures representing the proportions of the amounts in the second column to those of the same years in the first column. From 1875 to 1884 inclusive the per cent. of reserve never exceeded 12.8, the lowest reserve reported being in 1882, when it was only 7.9 per cent. After 1884

the reserve reported was materially higher, never going lower than 14.5 per cent. (the figure for 1887), and reaching its maximum with 26.1 per cent. in 1894. The average reserve for the thirty-four years was about 16.2 per cent.

The criticisms against the trust companies as to reserve have, however, been directed more especially towards the amount of actual cash carried in the vaults of the companies. In the fourth column of the table are given the percentages of such cash reserves for the several years (including as cash the amount reported for cash items) the figures representing the proportion of cash and cash items to total deposits. For the thirty-four years the average of such cash reserve has been a little over 4.6 per cent. It was highest in 1875, with 10.6 per cent., 1886 being next, with 9.1 per cent. The lowest percentage was in 1901-2 per cent. From 1876 to 1884 inclusive it ranged from 2.3 per cent. to 3.9 per cent. From 1885 to 1897 it was somewhat higher, averaging about 6.2 per cent. Since 1897 it has averaged 3.4 per cent.

INCREASE IN SURPLUS AND UNDIVIDED PROFITS.

A noticeable thing has been the tendency to increase in the surplus and undivided profits as compared with the capital. This has been due in part to the accumulation of earnings, and in part to the tendency in organizing new companies to have a large surplus paid in at the start. Most of the States that have any legislation on the subject require the accumulation of a surplus fund until it reaches a certain percentage of the capital stock; but the accumulation has gone far ahead of any legal requirements. Chart C shows the relative growth of these two items, the

CHART C, showing growth of capital and of anrplas and undivided
profits of the Trust Companies of the United States.

Capital

Surplus and Undivided Profits -

heavy line representing the capital, and the dotted line the sum of surplus and undivided profits. During 1899 the latter became greater than the capital, and has increased in greater ratio since then.

The average resources of the companies appear to have been greatest during the years 1881 to 1887. The writer has been unable to find any special reason for this. It might have been due to reports being received mainly from the larger institutions. During the greater part of the time the resources have averaged from three to three and a half millions. From 1899 to 1905, inclusive, the averages exceeded four millions.

STATISTICS OF TRUST COMPANIES IN THE VARIOUS STATES.

The following table gives the numbers and aggregate resources of trust companies in the various States and Territories about June 30, 1907, the figures having been compiled from "Trust Companies of the United States," whose statistics are the most complete of any published, so far as the writer knows. The list probably includes nearly all companies in existence in the United States at the date mentioned. The reader is reminded, however, that the list intends to include all institutions bearing the name of trust companies, and that many of them do a State banking business only, performing no trust functions:

It will be seen that in the number of companies Pennsylvania is far in the lead; and as a matter of fact, that State developed the trust company movement earlier and more generally than any other. In the total

resources of her companies, however, New York, which is second in the number of companies, is far ahead of any other State. The eighty-eight companies in New York report resources of $1,443,494,569.64—a -an average of $16,403,347 per company. The two hundred and seventy

two Pennsylvania companies show total resources of $703,960,646.67,en average of $2,588,091 per company. The big average for New York companies is, of course, due to the great companies of New York city, the largest of which at this date,-The Farmers' Loan and Trust Company, which is also the oldest trust company in the country,—had resources of over ninety million dollars.

TRUST COMPANIES IN THE LARGER CITIES.

The following table gives the numbers and aggregate resources of the trust companies in the cities of the United States having a population of over 50,000, according to the census of 1900. The figures are compiled from the same source as those in the last table, and are of the date June 30, 1907:

There are eight cities in the above list, in each of which the aggregate resources of the trust companies exceed one hundred million dollars. These are, in the order of such resources, as follows:

The total resources of the trust companies in these eight cities is $2,752,373,320, or a little over 61 per cent. of the total resources of all trust companies in the country.

COMPARISON BY GROUPS OF STATES.

An idea of the general distribution of the trust company business throughout the country may be obtained by segregating the statistics by groups of States, as shown in the following table:-*

It was

We have seen that the trust company first came into existence in the United States in 1822, with a single company, which had no competitors for eight years, and only three after fourteen years. These early companies combined the trust business with the insurance business. many years later before the formation of trust companies as institutions apart from insurance companies began. After the Civil War a number of companies were organized, and the total number in 1875 was not far from fifty. During the later eighties a very distinct movement for the formation of trust companies began, which was lessened in degree during the early nineties, began again with phenomenal energy about 1897, and has continued in an increasing degree since that year.

*As used in the table, the North Atlantic States comprise Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania; the South Atlantic States, Delaware, Maryland, District of Columbia, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida; the North Central States, Ohio. Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska and Kansas; the South Central States, Kentucky, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, Indian Territory, Oklahoma and Arkansas; the Western States, Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, California and Hawaii.