erial Bank of Canada === in Strong Position General Manager Presents the Best Report in the Bank’s History at 53rd Annua! Shareholders’ Meeting The Vice-President Expresses Supre tural Me Confidence in Canada's Agricul- and Ind ustrial Development. Sir. James Woods, in ‘addressing Shareholders, said: — The duty of moving the adoption of the report, which you just heard read, falls to me fhis year ow- ing to the temporary absence of Mr. Howland, who, on the advice of his rs ie t ably needs a res time he has bee Annual Meeting éince his election to the Board in 1906 tary has just read that “the Directors have pleasure in pre- senting the Annual Report and Bal- ance Sheet." While agreeing that it ig a pieasure to be able to present such a statement, mitted, preferring to leave our very able General Manager, Mr. Phipps, whom we congratulate on his}, recent election to the Presidency of the Canadian Bankers Association, the highest honor which can be ac- corded a banker in Canade. Bank Stocks Popular The banking system of Canada fur nishes capital for all classes of Cana- since the outbreak of th published a statement rnings and dividends four National Banks in the United States, and their average yield at the 8,;out by tariff; Great Britain then market price, was 4. 01 percent., Dased on earnings and bas: basis of the eight Canadian | es at the current mar-! 69 percent. This int the United States Companies for of acquiring shares Banks. of Evidence of Growt con-! temperate climate may acc tl om the formation| attract the expres purpose and assimilation need not Canadian! cult, e. j the coming of immigranta best suit- | ed e war/seemed to bring out all) hurrying that was best in our people, and their! couragament of people accomplishments on level terms with join and 2.31 percent..| ited States our shipmente are Compared largely to the latter market, the average yield on| the tariff. 283,000,000 for 1926; flaxseed ows a falling off’of about 20 per cent., while the yield of other grains is approximately the same aa for last y' gh the ag had ~ this year was *t0, 418,897 against 40,848,013 in 1926, "the yield per acre was greater, wheat averag- ing 19.03 bushels pgr acre in 1927 against 17.8 bushels in 1926; oats, 34.2, against 30.1; and” ryé it 6. against 16.1 in 1926. ou crops in succeesion have put the yrs et eh rst} mer’s of Canada in an excellent posi- tion Although fleld crops:are the back- one of agriculture, there are sur- prising returns from the minor pur- suits. Take poultry farming, for in- etance, the production of eggs n Can- ada last year amounted to 225,000, 000 dozen. , Maple products contributed $7, 000.000 to our national wealth; hon- $5,000,000; tobacco, $10,000,000 exports $333,000 hothouse industry shows a revenue of $4,500,0 The demand for Canada's pure seeds con- tinnes to grow, and is practically} world-wide, and the work of our Governmen's along these lines re- flected in the excellence of our own crops. Farm animals rank third tn order of importance among our farm pro. ducts, field crops coming firet, dairy products second. Two things hap- pened affecting our, cattle trade. The United States tried to shut thigh price of cattle in Un: teenies On her geographical position, Can- ada is be congratulated. Our should tond ,to people of closely related races, 80 that our problems of growth diffi patiently provided we can wait instead of expansion by the en- not fitted to ——s ofa conditions, our to our with us in the the biggest organizations of the Uni-| united Canadian natio Trade Location For foreign trade Canada occupies] * sult is an amazing increase in our ex- the best sight in the Northern Hem rts of manufactured manufactured commodities. ¢al ecience, too, has come to ald, and a lot of our Practi- ada’s and partly ephere To the South the rapidly growing and extravagant republic isa very good customer. In the raw material future it will be to their advantage! formerly of little worth is shown tO to {mport more fargely from Canada. possese unbelievable value. Evidence of the general and prosperity of Canada may be ob @erved on all sides. In 19 éurance policies current amoun in do 7 e billion dollars. for differences in that our physical assete have some Du ng the same period deoostts ‘a char-| tered banks and Trust Companies | and debentures issued by Trust and! generation Loan Compan $1.026.299.000 a $04,000 in 192 citizens aoe no Government = se- curities; today a large percentage of Dominion and Provincial Govern- bonds are held by our own A more epectacular evidence 1914 to $2,019,-; motor cars, valued at $150,000,000. ers in Good Position. * A provisional statement of the yield of grain crops in anada re- leased by the Dominion ~muarel of | tation on the llth inst 444,000,600 bushels, cranes 409,000,000 bushels for 19-|in Ontario 26; oats, 452.000,000 bushels, again- growth nation to, In 1914 Canadian| ,population into the regions more iseed time to | extended far to the Nerth. ; wheat, My belief is they will soon be com- By the Atlantic highway arer the markete of the 14 fire in- old World than any otaer large pro- de- Canadian = products in ever-increasing quantities. No oth- T-, er country ha&S such conventent ac- eers to three markets such as thase. The long. narrow ribbon which a ago connected Eact and nies have increased from, West in Canada has been broadened to a wide belt by the movement of re- [mote from the Internation?! bound- ary. With the discovery of Marquis and later Garnet wheat, the latter requiring only 100 days from harvest, the rarrow margin of the Prairie Provinces fit {for the growth of wheat has been nt- jario and Quebec a similar promise of Northern development comes from the discovery e clay belt, the mining regions, and develop- ment of the pulp and paper ae ries. which utilize the spruce, timber which had very little rains and Quebec at the be- ginning of the present century. At ai four points of the compass there BAKING POWDER Most Canadian Housewives use MAGIC Sat: | for Canada in her taantion in the markets of the world. Trade Statistics. This year the Government of Can- ada provided $100,00 to cover the : fa study of the British market. ‘This seems 4 very timely, for, while Britain is our best the demend for our pro- ducts from year to year has been ,| possibilities in water po se Hon jterie (for her share.we ae United States } the coal resources are sufficient for posi eenevesians: it has so far een For some years the Governments o Canada have given. seriots attention to the possfbility of making the coal of Nova Scotia and Alberta available finance, to the coal-mining fuducetry and to the railways Canada of success ¢ the undertaking, would be 60 grea t the project should be very ba fi axplored before w conditions published by the Canadian Pacific ailway is an account of p'ans now under way for an extensive use of the low-gradé coal of Saskatchewan, and djthe President of the British Mining Congress has this to say regarding Canadian coal, “If the present en- eavors to change coal into a fluid fuel capable of displacing perroleum and all its products are successful the advantage of the United States in having the richest oil depoa!ts in the world will be killed and Canada will4 take the place of the United, States as th ably situated from the standpoint of cheap coal supply, this disadvantage is in large part balanced by the great wer, h regard, Canada has a most encourag- ing record, jwith a development of 4, 290,000 horeepower, as compared with 12,000,000 horsepower in the United States, which has more than twelve times our population. The Falls and Rapids which baffled our forefathers by obstructing free traffic on the waters, contain a wealth of Much of the general prosperity of Canada at the present time is due to s|the eteady progress in the develop- ment of her natural resources. In 1926 the production of the Canadian mines Was valued at over $240,000,- ge as compared with -$96,000,000 in 1907, and $226,000,000 in 1925. Through the increased value of 1926 over 1925 only about 6 percent., the increase in the quantity produced is much greater. This is due to e lower average prices vrevailing in 1926 for silver, copper, lead and ne. With the exploitation of the estab- lished mines at Sudbury, Cobalt, Por- cupine and Kirkland Lake, we note with satisfaction the’development of new mining centres—lead and zinc in the Sudbury basin, copper at Kamiskotia, and copnper-gold at ouyn. Beyond all those are the re- gions in which the prospector, the pioneer of the industry, playe his on he opening of more olen ail communication perween uyn and our principal industrial ‘on trading centres will hasten the de- During fo be ane September Can- ada entertained th f tte Empire Mining ne Metallurgical Congress, an organization of mining men from all parts of the Empire. Direct study of our mineral resour¢- es by such a body of disttnguished men is bound to create a wider in- terest in mining in Canada. As min- ing developments have such an im- portant bearing on almost every other industry in Canada, we should congratulate the Govern- mente of the country on the success attained and encourage them to ex- tend all reasonable aid to those en- gaged in the discovery, development and mining of the treasures hidden within the earth. Synthetic Fahrics. Rayon, the new name for artificial silk is the first synthetic fibre. The poesibility of imitating eilk by hum- an artifice was predicted as early as 1754, but the first ft eeerty fibre was not produced unt 1884. In 1900 a few thousand pounds were produced in one factory; 926, 1%2.000.000 pounds were produced 100 factories and demand mst successful operators. with a capital of a few million dol- lars, they now have capital and re- gerves of $200,000,000, while the net profits of the parent company and its branches in different parts of the world, this past year exceed $25.- 000,000. What special rey has all this for Canada It belief that Rayon will = nea rank with n print in Canada’s industrial life, not in tonnage or money, value but in the matter of employment. The Domin- ion Government promised Courtaulds tariff protection of 16 reent once very erratic. In 1820 we supplied] they opened a Canadian factory. This 27 per cent. of the bacon imported; they did a couple of ago at by Britain, as againet 11 per cent.| Cornwall, and already the size of in 1926. Similarly, our share in the| their factory is ng doubled 4 egg market fell from 11.4 percent | second plan producing elanese \ of gong ol rmports in 1920 to 7 per} (twin sister to Rayon,) hre been es- i 926. In 1914 we supplies tablished at Drummondville, Quepvec 48 mareest of on cheese. in 1920 41) Synthetic silk made in Canada, of | percent., and in 1928. 35 pe cere If] Canadian raw material, will keep the studies cndatiekan sbow how to hold our markets and gradually in- crease our ehare, the money will have been well spent. Exports of Canadian tobacco to Britain hare in- Tereased 700 percent. during the four years as a result of. the prefer- ential trade agreement. This is re- flected in the rapid extensfon of to~- bacco farming in Western Ontario, Trade With the Orient, In my remarke at the Iast annual meeting I emphasized tne importance of China as one of Canada’s trade opportunities. The following figures est to Cane In 1914. trade 000, 000. im 1820. China's og: ve for 1914 wee ss 000, Hite im) 1920. Chinese foreign tre ommer Washington, are of compelltng Pt op ee coustisn gp tes ass re cata for- yh 31,6. ns ert ’ in ry millions of dollars in Canada which formerly went abroad and wood pulp and newsprint eell for few cents per pound, Canadian output in the past twelve months wae 1,260,000 pounds; from now onward they expect to produce - the rate of 4,000,000 pounds per aes to predict that Canada will be an exporter of Ray- on in volume tn less than five years, A t De Jopmen The development of . Hydro-Elee- tric Power on the lower: Saguenay to thew works of see industrial trp 6 first unit of the Pant whole nine ag planned is d one million sixty million While a raged East ond West} cix To! In this; 0 month. The profits, which are shown} Str The. Courtaulds} The Current. Lats, over vie dab dot, ch already in cuaeethan: requires 106,-!to: 60 @ th only bee are it-ig dimeult to aati twelve-years will be dwarfed by tie age the ooming twelve years haye in store. ~ General Manager’s Address Mr. A. E. Phipps addressed the meeting as follows: Last year I ventured to make the Siatement that I could see no reason why the fiscal year. 1927 should met prove to be as satisfactory to t bank as 1926. The balance sheet and profit and loss peiagnone x: before yo today show that my opinion w tified, and I trast ‘that they meet with 7 fall approval. The bank not enjoyed a reasonable increase in its business, but ite earnings and growth have been greater than in any former year, ey since I “er er meig Manage a Position. The “total ageets of the bank, ap- proximately $139,000,000, compare with 32,000,000 a year ago, which at that time was the highost figure at which the assets had ever stood, at $1,383,381,58, are also the high- est that have ever been shown by the bank in a single year, and, as usual, have been computed after writing off anything of a bad or doubtful nature, and making full provision for all contingencies of every sort and kind. Out of the profits have been provided the usual dividends of 12 percent. and a bonus at the rate of 1 percont., absorbing altogether $916,000; the uenal contributions to Officers’ Guar- areieag and Pension Fande, $42,5000, ve been €, atso provision for Dominion Government taxes (Incl ud- ing reserve for t current vear te tax,) $160.090. and $250, dou has been written off Bank Premis s Account. After these deductione we art able to carry forward $1,272,- $29.81, a sum slightly in excess of the balance brought ftorward from the 1926 account. substantial sum into account by investors and othere when estimating the value of a bank stock or estimating its position. Evidence of Growt The balance sheet this year neede little explanation, reflecting y the growth tu which I have The circulation is unchang- d, or, perhaps, a ltt¢ee lower, but quite in keeping with the trend of the times. -The cirenlatton of all the banks for September, stood 4.04 percent less than in September, 1926. This falling off I attribute to the later marketing of. crope in the rie eee to the fact that the armer under the pookwgreemen “tives” Only~partial | éavnee z Pg het , thus curtailing the gunual ex- pansion of the amouur of cesh in circulation, Deposits Hich Record. Last vear we reported our fsposts in extese OT 3100,000,000 the first time. ons ia bu Con: look more a $ ment field, 'to Call and Short Loans ployment for their funds. singed unéconemic to draw)twelve years ag a po Arr part or our re-|find a real Canadian who "y not con-} ed galréments from Canadian -mines. ¥inced that the on the}i Board of Directors as well as managemient, and..up to P me have not occasioned the Bank ally they are not as remumerative as ie capa a8 loans. ‘s Premises. The ed other important account is the Bank Premises account, which stands just below $5,000,000. as it e d a year ago, Ss year $250,000 as been written of; which amount on premizee during the year. uildings were acquired or erected at Walkerville, Ont. toux Lookout, Ont., Niagara Falls South, Ont., Rog- ers Road and Oakwood Avenue, and Rogers Road and Silverthorn Avenue, in Toronto, maler premises were acquired at Gold Pines, In the Red Lake Mining District; and at Elk Lake, in Northern Ontario. .An- other ae feature jn connec- tion with t Bank Premisea ig is that we olen agreed on amount to be paid the Bank by the City of Toronto for the leasehold er fairly satisfactory. A auitable lot has mn the west side and an attractive o during the winter months. Extensive altePations and additions were or are being made to the Bank’s Offices at Adelaide and Victoria Streets. Kings- ton Road and sam Avenue, in ronto, and at Banff and Edmonton branches in the Province of Alberta. The increasing prosperity of the ezuntry led to an increasing interest on the part of the Banks in new ter- ritory and the opening of. new branchea. We found it advisable to take a moderate part in this move- ment, and branches of the Rank have been opened or arranged at Oakwood Avenue and Rogers apenas Silver- thorn Avenue, and Ts ‘Road, Bloor and Durie Gtreete. all in the City of Toronto. At Noranda and Dolbeau, in the Province of Quebec; at Pines, in Ontarfo, n at Mayerthorpe and Eckville in the Province of Alberta. One branch at Sparta, Ont., has been closed. now have 187 branches. The staff consists of 1,304 officers. The growth of the Bank necessitates a constantly growing number of em- ployees e-staff during the year have, if anything, nese more aoe than ever, an much ple in again testifying “to their loyalty. system of ahd ae insurance, which en expe . o¥e of great benefit, cularly’ to mika young married men on moderate salaries, an bom we will have your ‘approval of his Ss Shareholders. The shareholders of the ] Bank no number 2,605 mpared with 2587 ear ago, an cnalenan of I 014,919, an increase of roughly $8,-/ 500,000 for the year. of the in- crease ‘has taken place in the Senate! not bearing interest, reflecting in-! creased activity in the current or business accounts, but «here has been! a very substantial Increase of over: $3,000,000 in the deposits bearing interest, which, broadly speaking, ans the Savings Departm “t the ome It may not be ou! e that last year t included ri the interest bea posits a especial amount (in the neigh- ‘borhood of $4,000,000) which has since been disbursed, so that the in- crease In thie branch of our business has really been greater than. the statement indicates. The other Ila- bilities to the public consist merely of balances due to other banks and correspondents In Canada and else- where and are not subject to much fluctuation. lace was e- uid Position Turning to the avset side of the statement, during the year a system wae put into effect whereby the set- tlement for all clearing houses are made daily in one amount in Mon- treal. This will probabiy enable the banks as a whole to carry less their reserves in actual cash in the future, but u o the present we have made little change fn our policy and the 6pecie, Dominion notes and foreign currencies on hand amount to nearly $11,575,531, which is prac- tically the same amount as last year. When we add to this the deposit in the gold central reserves, cheques on other banks, balances due by goon banks in Canada, the total amounts to upwards of $28,000, 000. or $1,000,000 more than a year ago and equals 22.92 reent of the bank’s Habilities to the public. Our second line of reserves, Dominion This year they ae $i09,-l|a of! not n common with other banks our shares have been more or less extensively bought recently by cittzens of the United States, who are evidently alive to the attractiveness of invest- ments in Canadian Bank stocks. AlI- though the number of American in- vestors ie considerable, the actual number of shares involved so far is of vy great consequence. would . pear, however, that if the Ca: \djan Banke continue to prosper ies for their shares from the other aide of the line, and Canadian ehare- holders need not be » a hurry to dis- pose of their holdin I will not detain’ sa with remarks on general conditions of breintss fn Canada or he rest o e world, e ? just Tistened to by Sir James Woo and Mr. Rolph would leave me little or nothing to say. The Genoral Man- ager may, however, quite properly give hfa opinion on the condition and whole have had a very satisfactory year, earnings being well up to the average, with losses lighter than for a number = Bin past ion. Viewing "soneral a car tr as af- fecting the Ban businees, I eee nothing to euggest that the present yorable state of affairs will continue for another year, and pere- haps for several.years to come. There is one element, howtver, in the situ- ation which might easily become dangerous. |1 refer to the unlimited amount of speculation that fs going and Provincial and other readily realizable assets, such as Call Loans in Cenada and New York, to Provincial Gov- ernmente and the Munisipalities, and so on, all of which can be really class- ed as reser Hquid Investments aaiouas to $48,000,000, am increase of $6,000,006 for the year, and whe 2 added to the cash on hand bring on 4 total of tiquids of $76,487,604, ore than $7; ee eee in excéss of @ r: nd 2.18 percent of “habiltien £0 Oh public. Piste A on in stocks and shares of every de- scription. To my mind, that is taking place, and, other boome, those who are in buying those kind of securities are uying them not because they want them, or because they think they are wo’ what they are paying for them, t) built . beca they think somebody élge will pay them more for the same soeariiee tomorrow. of next fil only ro on eo far, and when the apex has been reached, If the sit- sage pe offsets. our. ee eal there will be more and more inqguir-! iB Your Photo Is the most individual gift in the world, because it is some- thing no one else can buy. How delightful Mother will be if you come in te sce us, and let us take a picture of you such as R. J. Russel can make! It will be the best nresent manmey ZED RES TER TI aR TR TER TEN JET can bay. Evening Siitings by Appointment R. J. RUSSELL PHONE 162 LISTOWEL If you cannot come to the office _ Telephone your Want Ads, to the-—- LISTOWEL BANNER Phone “a Pi | At your PERSONAL. Service soothing v. ue Be tioris they in any sense extrava- 2 ; sone t or . You'll rine tome ths ust a. good gen- aj surprised at eral telephone service, wid ir moderate crest. No two users have exactly the same nevis. When you ask us te install cr meve a telephone we want to your o. a way that require- merts are exactly met. ‘ When Sew ask for een about a contract, or @ ball, or port ‘trouble wih your inate. ment, or make even most casual Camis call, we want to we are vice, mation follows the course of other l.want to sell ; ow cuglaes’ a. & hee) but bigs! ry additions Curren are © Sack: to obtain) the pet over Canada fof by — vestment, and even Hin worthy moderate specuta- ees we ure Paatee everything we can og e particularily the 2» For pur part, \ palthough ° we are quite willing to as-| amel what were deemed nuisance. taxes, p were or very considerably} his. The this yegr of $116, 600; 000 of the pub- fhe restrain aerate control the ae aap that my*colledgutes i are following esimi Ge debt without any refunding opera- tion of which the Hon. Mr. Robb and his colleagues at Ottawa may well be mad, ps give na cause to me further reduction in on business when ParHament next spring.