Greenwood Persons of Note: F. J. Finucane
BY: BG EDITOR
Original Bank of Montreal Coat of Arms
Apr 18, 2020 — GREENWOOD, BC (BG)
PART TWO
While managing the Bank of Montreal's business affairs in Greenwood and keeping his varied private enterprises on track, Mr. F. J. Finucane found time to involve himself in many local social activities.
In the fall of 1900, he was a founding member and vice president of Greenwood's new football club, who would soon take the field in colours of green and white. The following year he became the club president, and led the effort to form a league with players in Grand Forks and Phoenix.
In April 1901 F. J. Finucane was again elected as a member of the Board of Trade's executive council. That summer, he joined his associates at the Greenwood Club's bon voyage party for Clive Pringle. Mr. Finucane sang a rousing song that day to entertain members after the club sparring match.
The following year he became a board member of the newly founded Greenwood Curling Club. In June 1902, family matters took him on a visit home to Ireland:[1]
"F. J. Finucane returned on Saturday from a visit to his old home in Ireland where he was called by the serious illness and death of his aged mother."
Along with numerous other business activities, F. J. Finucane was a shareholder in both the Greenwood Electric Company and the Greenwood Phoenix Tramway. In January 1901 he was one of many locals who sold shares in the tramway company, which was acquired by eastern magnates who were committed to build the tramway within the year.[2] Later that year he participated in discussions with the Greenwood and Phoenix Tramway company's new owners, who wanted to renegotiate their deal terms with the city.
Like the tramway company, Mr. Finucane also sold his shares in the electric company.[3] It appears that his interest in these early infrastructure projects was as a founding member, for benefit of the city; he later sold to other businessmen who had interest in bringing the projects to fruition and profit.
"F. J. Finucane has sold his interest in the Greenwood Electric company to Jay P. Graves and associates. This company was organized about three years ago by local capitalists including Mr. Finucane and Messrs. Duncan McIntosh, Geo. H. Collins, Pat Welch, J. W. Stewart, and others. A power plant was established and an excellent light service furnished. All the original owners except Mr. Finucane sold their holdings in the company to Messrs. Price Bros. & Co., Quebec. The service was extended to Phoenix before that town was incorporated."
Throughout 1902 and 1903, F. J. Finucane invested in a number of projects in the Kettle River mining district, including the Burns and Burns claim, the Rambler, the Copper Trust Fractional, and the Carlotta & Young George claims.
In February 1903, Francis Finucane's ties to Greenwood would begin to shift, with the announcement that he might be headed to Spokane for the bank. The following report in the Boundary Creek Times[4] tells us much about Finucane's reputation, but also gives us an interesting view of the competitive environment in which Canadian banks operated on the U.S. side of the border.
Bank of Montreal will likely open a branch in Spokane
"F. J. Finucane of the Bank of Montreal returned on Saturday from Spokane. Mr. Finucane does not give much bank news to a newspaper man but it is understood that his mission to the Inland Empire city may have something to do with the opening of a branch of the bank there.
Sometime ago it was rumored that the Bank of Montreal would invade Spokane although that city has a fair share of banks now. Besides the business and bustle which characterizes Spokane, affording plenty of opportunity for business for a strong bank like the Montreal, the special magnet which attracts is the railway enterprise in which D. C. Corbin, Senator Turner and others are interested. They have arranged to build a railway to connect the C. P. R. with Spokane and as the undertaking means an expenditure of several millions, of dollars, there is a chance for the bank to do some business.
Besides the Canadian banks are popular with large firms on the other side. State banks by law are not allowed to make an individual loan for a larger amount than ten per cent of its subscribed capital. This would limit the amount a single firm could secure from any state bank to $20,000 or $30,000, while the Bank of Montreal and other Canadian banks have been known to make individual advances of several millions.
The American banks do not like the invasion and are endeavoring to secure legislation at Olympia which if passed will keep Canadian banks on this side of the line. The legislation is to the effect that foreign banks, having branches in the state of Washington must pay taxes on the full amount of their capital. This would mean that the Bank of Montreal would pay on $14,000,000 and the Bank of Commerce on $10,000,000. As neither bank would pay this tax, the object of the legislation is to drive them from the state. It is thought that the bill will not become law but in the event of the legislature passing it, the Canadian Bank of Commerce will in all probability abandon its Seattle branch, the Royal Bank its Republic branch, and the Bank of Montreal will not do business in Spokane.
In the meantime the Bank of Montreal officials are not borrowing trouble; they are not in the borrowing business. Arrangements have been made to open up in the Ferndale block, one of the best locations, on Riverside ave.
The management of the branch will be one of the coveted positions in the bank's service. Who the lucky man will be is yet unknown but Mr. Finucane's many friends in the west would like to see him secure the position. In old established institutions like the Bank of Montreal, long service goes a great way towards promotion but sometimes special ability knocks out this rule. Mr. Finucane has had a wonderfully successful career in the west. He is intimately acquainted with its resources and thoroughly understands its people. In the Slocan and at Greenwood he has had special opportunities for becoming acquainted with the mining possibilities and with the Spokane men who have been investing their money in British Columbia. To be a successful business man in the west, a western training is required. As a rule a man from the cent belt is not a success in the west until he gets rid of some eastern ideas.
Mr. Finucane's appointment would be extremely popular in Spokane and judging from his record during 15 years in the west the interests of the bank would not suffer."
"F. J. Finucane of the Bank of Montreal returned on Saturday from Spokane. Mr. Finucane does not give much bank news to a newspaper man but it is understood that his mission to the Inland Empire city may have something to do with the opening of a branch of the bank there.
Sometime ago it was rumored that the Bank of Montreal would invade Spokane although that city has a fair share of banks now. Besides the business and bustle which characterizes Spokane, affording plenty of opportunity for business for a strong bank like the Montreal, the special magnet which attracts is the railway enterprise in which D. C. Corbin, Senator Turner and others are interested. They have arranged to build a railway to connect the C. P. R. with Spokane and as the undertaking means an expenditure of several millions, of dollars, there is a chance for the bank to do some business.
Besides the Canadian banks are popular with large firms on the other side. State banks by law are not allowed to make an individual loan for a larger amount than ten per cent of its subscribed capital. This would limit the amount a single firm could secure from any state bank to $20,000 or $30,000, while the Bank of Montreal and other Canadian banks have been known to make individual advances of several millions.
The American banks do not like the invasion and are endeavoring to secure legislation at Olympia which if passed will keep Canadian banks on this side of the line. The legislation is to the effect that foreign banks, having branches in the state of Washington must pay taxes on the full amount of their capital. This would mean that the Bank of Montreal would pay on $14,000,000 and the Bank of Commerce on $10,000,000. As neither bank would pay this tax, the object of the legislation is to drive them from the state. It is thought that the bill will not become law but in the event of the legislature passing it, the Canadian Bank of Commerce will in all probability abandon its Seattle branch, the Royal Bank its Republic branch, and the Bank of Montreal will not do business in Spokane. In the meantime the Bank of Montreal officials are not borrowing trouble; they are not in the borrowing business. Arrangements have been made to open up in the Ferndale block, one of the best locations, on Riverside ave.
The management of the branch will be one of the coveted positions in the bank's service. Who the lucky man will be is yet unknown but Mr. Finucane's many friends in the west would like to see him secure the position. In old established institutions like the Bank of Montreal, long service goes a great way towards promotion but sometimes special ability knocks out this rule. Mr. Finucane has had a wonderfully successful career in the west. He is intimately acquainted with its resources and thoroughly understands its people. In the Slocan and at Greenwood he has had special opportunities for becoming acquainted with the mining possibilities and with the Spokane men who have been investing their money in British Columbia. To be a successful business man in the west, a western training is required. As a rule a man from the cent belt is not a success in the west until he gets rid of some eastern ideas.
Mr. Finucane's appointment would be extremely popular in Spokane and judging from his record during 15 years in the west the interests of the bank would not suffer."
Just a week after this report, the Timesannounced that the way had been cleared for the Canadian bankers:[5]
"F. J. Finucane, manager of the Bank of Montreal, left for Spokane this morning. The act directed against Canadian banks doing business in Washington has been defeated by the senate so that the only obstacle to the Bank of Montreal opening up in Spokane has been removed."
Just before leaving for Spokane, Mr. Finucane participated in a Board of Trade meeting, and agreed to serve on another committee for BOT. This committee would urge the government to change the name of the 'Kettle River Mining division' to the 'Greenwood Mining division'. This was one of many activities F. J. Finucane would continue engaging in on Greenwood's behalf from his new headquarters in Spokane. In fact, he regularly traveled back and forth between the two cities, serving the bank and local communities in both places. Here in Greenwood, the Bank of Montreal came under the direction of A. W. Strickland, from Rossland.[6]
Business leaders in Greenwood continued to call upon F. J. Finucane after his move to Spokane. Now, they wished to tap his local connections in Spokane, to pursue interest to the Boundary mining industry:[7]
"A [Board of Trade] committee was appointed to ascertain from Messrs. F. J. Finucane and J. C. Haas their views as to the most effective steps to be taken to direct the attention of mining men at Spokane to the fact that there are good openings around Greenwood for the acquirement and development of high-grade mining properties."
On a July 1903 trip to Greenwood, Mr. Finucane purchased a home here, for the bank:[8]
"F. J. Finucane, acting manager of the Bank of Montreal, spent Saturday in the city. During his visit here he purchased the handsome residence of L. S. Moulton-Barrett. It is understood that the purchase was made for the Bank of Montreal and that the residence will be occupied by the bank manager."
With F. J. Finucane as their 'on the ground' man in Spokane, naturally the Board of Trade recruited him to represent Greenwood at the 1903 Spokane Fair:[9]
"The Greenwood Board of Trade at its meeting on Wednesday last decided to take action in the matter of getting up a thoroughly representative ore exhibit of this section for the Interstate Fair to be held at Spokane early in October. Mr. F. J. Finucane, late manager of the Bank of Montreal, has very kindly undertaken to see to its proper display both at the Fair and permanently. Large numbers of mining men will be at the Fair and this will afford the Boundary an excellent opportunity to get the district before people who otherwise would not know of us."
Mr. Finucane was no doubt an excellent representative at the Spokane Fair, being very invested personally in Boundary mining projects. In September of that year, he proposed a buyout of the Rambler mine, having already been a 25% owner. A few years later, the Timeswould tell the story of a sweet deal that F. J. Finucane missed out on.[10] The details of this interesting story are found in our 'Persons of Note' article on I. R. Jacobs.
PASSED UP BONANZA
Bob Jacobs Tells What F. J. Finucane Missed
"Francis J. Finucane, capitalist of Spokane, had a narrow escape from being a quarter owner in one of the 17 properties that comprise the famous Cobalt mining district in the Temiskaming section in northern Ontario. In 1904 he was offered one of the four shares in the Jacobs property for $500. The letter containing the offer did not reach Mr. Finucane for some weeks, and was pigeonholed. This year the mine shipped 320 tons of ore to Newark, N. J., the gross receipts of which aggregated $200,000. Another carload will be delivered to the smelter this month, bringing the year's output up to $250,000 gross.
Robert I. Jacobs, manager of the Jacobs cobalt mine, is in the city. He formerly resided in the Boundary district of British Columbia and is here to attend the Oppenheimer-Fischer nuptials."
Bob Jacobs Tells What F. J. Finucane Missed
"Francis J. Finucane, capitalist of Spokane, had a narrow escape from being a quarter owner in one of the 17 properties that comprise the famous Cobalt mining district in the Temiskaming section in northern Ontario. In 1904 he was offered one of the four shares in the Jacobs property for $500. The letter containing the offer did not reach Mr. Finucane for some weeks, and was pigeonholed. This year the mine shipped 320 tons of ore to Newark, N. J., the gross receipts of which aggregated $200,000. Another carload will be delivered to the smelter this month, bringing the year's output up to $250,000 gross.
Robert I. Jacobs, manager of the Jacobs cobalt mine, is in the city. He formerly resided in the Boundary district of British Columbia and is here to attend the Oppenheimer-Fischer nuptials."
Although F. J. Finucane didn't get a share of the Jacobs Cobalt mine paydirt, neither he nor Jacobs forgot Greenwood when it came time to share their wealth:[11]
"Two of Greenwood's former residents, who have won fame and fortune in other fields, have not forgotten the little Catholic church in this city nor its hard-working father. Father Bedard's heart was gladdened a few days ago by two cheques each for $100, the donors being F. J. Finucane of Spokane and I. Robert Jacobs of Cobalt, Ont. The substantial gifts are much appreciated by Father Bedard and his congregation."
Among Mr. Finucane's personal holdings were quite a number of properties in Greenwood. In a July 1906 edition of the Times, we find a list of properties in the city to be sold for unpaid taxes and expenses.[12] Among them were 20 properties owned by Finucane, and another 13 owned by the Bank of Commerce. Rather than representing tardy creditors, these tax sales no doubt indicate that for some properties, it was more profitable, and less bother, to let them be sold at tax auction.
Meanwhile, F. J. Finucane was busy with properties in other corners of the Pacific Northwest. A 1907 report in the Times notes that he was then the president of the Tiger Mercantile Company in Mullan, Idaho, and had arranged for Greenwood residents Julins Ehrlich & family to move from Greenwood to Mullan, so Julins could manage the mercantile for Finucane.[13]
In closing, we find another summary of the Greenwood banking industry in the Times for October 1909:[14] Again, we see that Francis J. Finucane was included in the history pages of the bank's business here in Greenwood, and that the Bank of Montreal continued to be a going concern:
"The Bank of Montreal is Canada's premier bank in age, in capitalization and in prestige, and is one of the strongest banking institutions in the world today. It was established in 1817, and incorporated by act of parliament. Its paid up capital is $14,000,000, rest $12,000,000 and undivided profits $388,311.05. The head office is in Montreal. The bank has 138 branches in Canada, in New Foundland 2, in Great Britain 1, and in the United States, New York, Chicago and Spokane, besides a branch in the City of Mexico.
The local branch was opened on the 11th of November, 1898, by G. A. Henderson, the manager of the Bank of Montreal, Vernon. F. J. Finucane took charge as manager on November 21, 1898, and about October, 1899, the bank moved into its present spacious quarters on the corner of Greenwood and Copper streets. Mr. Finucane was the bank's manager until April, 1903, when Le B. deVeber took his place on his departure for Spokane, where he became manager of the branch opened there."
The local branch was opened on the 11th of November, 1898, by G. A. Henderson, the manager of the Bank of Montreal, Vernon. F. J. Finucane took charge as manager on November 21, 1898, and about October, 1899, the bank moved into its present spacious quarters on the corner of Greenwood and Copper streets. Mr. Finucane was the bank's manager until April, 1903, when Le B. deVeber took his place on his departure for Spokane, where he became manager of the branch opened there."
Part One
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Boundary Creek Times — Jun 20, 1902, p. 3
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170885
[2] Greenwood Weekly Times — Jan 03, 1901, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172822
[3] Boundary Creek Times — Jan 23, 1903, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170966
[4] Boundary Creek Times — Feb 20, 1903, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170979
[5] Boundary Creek Times — Feb 27, 1903, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170960
[6] Boundary Creek Times — Mar 13, 1903, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171110
[7] Boundary Creek Times — Mar 20, 1903, p. 3 & 4
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170906
[8] Boundary Creek Times — Jul 10, 1903, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170934
[9] Boundary Creek Times — Sep 04, 1903, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0170709
[10] Boundary Creek Times — Dec 15, 1905, p. 7
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171894
[11] Boundary Creek Times — Feb 02, 1906, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171888
[12] Boundary Creek Times — Jul 13, 1906, p. 6
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0172491
[13] Boundary Creek Times — Mar 01, 1907, p. 5
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171995
[14] Boundary Creek Times — Oct 29, 1909, p. 1
https://open.library.ubc.ca/collections/bcnewspapers/xboundarycr/items/1.0171167
