"And, 0 dear God, please bless the Pennsylvania Railroad, the Girard Trust Co., and the Republican Party." Thus, says Author Struthers Burt, the children of Philadelphia's rich once closed their bedtime prayers. Ever since ex-Mayor Benjamin W. Richards helped found the Girard in 1835 (naming it after Philanthropist Stephen Girard), the bank has been one of Philadelphia's strongest pillars of good business and decorum. It was the first trust company in its district to join the Federal Reserve System; it thought it should, "from the standpoint of patriotism." In its vaults lie the securities that make up some of...
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