Letter

On this day, when the general manager claims back the management of the bank, which he had to abandon four years ago, it is his duty to thank his deputies for everything they have done during this period. Their merit in carrying out the duty that was entrusted to them is all the more remarkable if one considers that they were in no way prepared to fulfill the heavy task, which fell on their shoulders in such unexpected fashion. The difficulties they have faced since then were great, and their enemies numerous and tenacious, but our deputies have been able, through their intelligent and constant work and thanks to their unwavering loyalty, to overcome these difficulties, to resist the enemies, and today, they have given the general manager the immense satisfaction of observing that, from an administrative point of view, the institution was handed back to him in a state of perfection that could hardly have been dreamed of. Indeed, the institution is today, generally speaking, in the same condition that it was in the beginning of 1915. The bank's committees' will be no less satisfied upon being informed by the general manager on the results of his observations. He takes upon himself, therefore, to thank in their name, and until they can do it themselves, the deputy managers for their intelligent and loyal services. The general manager also fully appreciates all that has been done in order to aid and support the bank's staff under the critical material circumstances that have been experienced in the Orient. In his name and in the name of his colleagues, Mr. Cartali thanks the general manager for the kind appraisal he has made of their management. They are all the more pleased with the members of the management considering the difficulties and worries they had has constantly been exposed to and the arbitrary and illegal decisions with which they had to struggle. When, in January 1915, they had been entrusted with the temporary management of the bank, nobody could have forseen the duration and difficulty of the period to come. Nevertheless, in the face of such extreme gravity, conscious of their duty and determined to defend, the interests that had been entrusted to them, the institution found the will to resist various attacks. The substitute administrators have tried, in short, to act for the best. Some of their operations may perhaps be criticised, yet they can all be justified by the circumstances of the time and by the policy that had to be followed then, to avoid a catastrophe. As to the staff, its situation as mentioned by the general manager, has been and still is extremely precarious. The deputy managers have constantly felt the urge to aid them, to save them, but have also wanted to preserve as best they could the interests of the shareholders. That is why, although they have supported them in a progressive fashion, they have not been able to respond as much as they should have to their frequent and most pressing calls for help.