Above: Looking Down Seventeenth Street

DENVER AS A FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL CENTRE

"Wealth in our country must long be, and properly is, a great measure of force; and by force I mean character, talent, activity and mental leverage. "- Donald G. Mitchell.

     Denver is by far the leading banking centre between the Missouri River and the Pacific Ocean.

     In March, 1892 (the year before the great panic of 1893), eleven National banks and four State banks in Denver had $22,000,000 of deposits. In February, 1898, nine National and State banks and one trust company had $26,000,000 of deposits, since further increased.

     While numerous country banks keep considerable balances with the Denver banks and the Denver banks carry the requisite amount of Government bonds, Denver is not yet technically a "Reserve City," but its becoming so is only a matter of time, depending entirely on the option of the Denver banks themselves.

     Denver is the western headquarters of all the great insurance companies, mortgage and investment companies, irrigation companies, etc., doing business in Colorado and surrounding States and Territories, as well as the headquarters of the smelting and ore treatment companies and the great majority of the mining companies operating in Colorado.

     Denver's larger business blocks built to accommodate the numerous companies and firms, comprise the following: --the Equitable Building, nine stories, white tile brick and granite, cost $2,000,000; the Boston Building, eight stories, red sandstone, cost $400,000; the Ernest and Cranmer Building, eight stories, stone and red pressed brick, cost $400,000; Cooper Building, eight stories, granite and red pressed brick, cost $225,000, and numerous others.

Above: Federal Building and Post Office

     Recognizing the fact that Denver is the eastern gateway of the great gold producing districts of Colorado and the whole Rocky Mountain region, the United States Government is now building at Denver a Coinage Mint to cost $500,000, which will furnish local employment to a large number of people. The country tributary to Denver, including Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and Nevada, will then send all or most of its gold to Denver. The new Coinage Mint will inevitably be a Government Sub-Treasury and will probably result in Denver having the disbursing office of the pensions now distributed at Topeka, Kans. In the event of the increased use of silver as money, the entire future coinage of silver will probably take place at Denver. The Coinage Mint will therefore have a very marked effect on Denver as a financial centre.

     Denver has a comparatively large number of exceptionally fine retail stores, in this respect, probably, excelling any city of its size in the country. It also does a considerable wholesale or jobbing business with the tributary country, which business, however, is not nearly so large as the geographical location of the city fully warrants, owing to the peculiarities of existing railroad freight rates.

     The Denver Chamber of Commerce has 450 members, and among its various objects are the promotion of the trade and commerce of Denver and the development of Colorado generally. The Chamber, in connection with the Denver Traffic Bureau Association, is working to obtain such equitable freight rates as the geographical location of the city fairly justifies, the granting of which by the railroads (certain, sooner or later) will materially increase the commerce of the city.

     The daily papers of Denver are metropolitan in character and enterprise, and publish all financial and commercial news simultaneously with the dailies of New York and other Eastern money centres.