"It is true an application for a City National Bank, with a capital of $50,000, was first made, and it was provided by the law of congress, creating National banks, that no charter for less than $100,000 should be granted, unless it should receive the approval of the Secretary of the Treasury. Mr. Ames being in Washington at the time this application was made, and being a warm friend of mine, he kindly offered to give me his influence, and wrote a strong letter to Mr. Chase, then Secretary of the Treasury, urging him to sanction my application for $50,000, but before presenting this letter I was urged by Mr. McCullough, then comptroller of the currency, that as there was no other national bank organized in Cedar Rapids, and the population was about 4,000, I should by all means make my application for $100,000, to which I finally agreed. And as greenbacks and government bonds were at my command, I had no further need for 'successful aid' from anyone, being well known to Mr. McCullough, the comptroller of the currency. But I none the less highly appreciated the kindness tendered me by my friend Mr. Ames.
"I make this explanation, not so much on my own account, as that of others, who so well understand all the circumstances.
S. C. Bever."
The Republican of that date, May 12, 1873, also printed the following remarks:
"The statement that was made in the columns of the Republican on Saturday, concerning Oakes Ames and the City National Bank, is one of those unfortunate kind of errors that often creep into a daily newspaper. The statement, as it appeared in print, was precisely as it was handed us by one of our prominent citizens, and we took it for granted, of course, that it was correct. Since Mr. Bever's communication has been handed us, we have made a personal examination into the matter, and have discovered an important fact which, it is due the City National Bank, should be published. We find in the report of the comptroller of the currency, that the City National Bank stands upon record as number 483, and the First National Bank as 500, which goes to show that the former was organized some time before the latter. Of course neither bank has any interest in this matter further than to be placed before the public correctly, and we have it to regret that the statement appeared in our columns on Saturday in the form in which it did."
[CHAPTER XXXVII]
Beginnings of Churches and the Fraternities in Cedar Rapids
The following accurate account of the beginnings of the churches and the fraternities in the city of Cedar Rapids, written by the late James L. Enos in the early '60s, will have a double interest. It not only gives the story of the beginnings of the various institutions, but also comments upon their condition and prospects at the time the article was written.