HON. MARSHALL P. WILDER. 8l 



his presence a blessing and his advice a benediction. 

 But it is not of his character, influenced by the pe- 

 culiar tastes which he has so successfully cultivated, 

 and which have given him such a world-wide reputa- 

 tion, that I wish to speak, but of his faithfulness in 

 every relation which he has held to his fellow-men. Let 

 me speak of one, of which I know whereof I affirm. 



In February, 1870, the Home Savings Bank was 

 organized, with Colonel Wilder as its first Vice-Presi- 

 dent : a position which he has held in storm and 

 sunshine ever since. We were told by the older banks 

 in the city that if our deposits were one hundred thou- 

 sand dollars at the end of the first year we should do 

 well. At the close of that year we had received and 

 invested a little over one million dollars. I need not 

 say to this audience how much of the confidence of 

 the public in this institution was due to the fact that 

 Colonel Wilder was a working and not an orna- 

 mental officer. In six years we had accumulated 

 over seven millions of dollars. When the storm 

 came which wrecked so many of our savings banks, 

 the Home, through the hostility of an individual 

 then connected with the public press, but for several 

 years past, and now, a fugitive from justice, was 

 placed in the van, and received the first shock of the 

 crisis. Colonel Wilder, thoroughly acquainted with 

 the condition of the Bank, was instant, in season and 

 out of season, in attendance upon his duties ; and 



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