S.C.R. 4 Enrolled

CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING A
STATUE OF MARRINER S. ECCLES
2001 GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Sponsor: Howard A. Stephenson
Ron Allen
D. Edgar Allen
Leonard M. Blackham
Curtis S. Bramble
D. Chris Buttars
Gene Davis
Mike Dmitrich
Dan R. Eastman
Beverly Ann Evans
David L. Gladwell
Karen Hale
Parley Hellewell
John W. Hickman
Lyle W. Hillyard
Scott K. Jenkins
Paula F. Julander
Peter C. Knudson
Al Mansell
Ed P. Mayne
Millie M. Peterson
L. Steven Poulton
Terry R. Spencer
David H. Steele
Howard A. Stephenson
Pete Suazo
John L. Valentine
Michael G. Waddoups
Carlene M. Walker
Bill Wright

This concurrent resolution of the Legislature and the Governor urges that a statue of
Marriner S. Eccles be erected, for placement in the State Capitol, to recognize the
contributions of Mr. Eccles to the financial strength of Utah, the United States, and its
economy.
Be it resolved by the Legislature of the state of Utah, the Governor concurring therein:
WHEREAS, Marriner S. Eccles was born in Logan, Utah in 1890;
WHEREAS, from an early age Mr. Eccles exhibited entrepreneurial zeal and keen business
sense;
WHEREAS, after his LDS mission to Scotland and the passing of his father in 1912, and
armed with only a high school education, Mr. Eccles formed Eccles Investment Company for the
benefit of himself and his eight brothers and sisters in 1916;
WHEREAS, by 1928 Mr. Eccles lead 28 banks with combined resources of $50 million,
and that same year he formed First Security Corporation, an invention that was destined to change
the financial structure of the nation according to the U. S. Comptroller of the Currency 1930
Annual Report;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles was the driving force behind the Utah Construction Company,
Ogden's Amalgamated Sugar, and many other diverse enterprises including a hotel company and

a railroad;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles managed to keep his banks financially sound during the Depression,
acquired many Utah and Idaho failed banks, and helped to save the assets of depositors and
strengthen the banking industry in the Intermountain West;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles was independently nationally recognized for his advocacy of
economic principles and theories which were given academic sanction by British economist John
Maynard Keynes;
WHEREAS, as a close, trusted advisor to President Roosevelt, many of Mr. Eccles'
recommendations were adopted to address dire conditions resulting from the Depression;
WHEREAS, President Roosevelt, a Democrat, appointed Mr. Eccles, a Utah Republican, as
Assistant to the Secretary of the Treasury in 1934, and in 1935 was appointed chairman of the
Federal Reserve Board;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles served as chairman until 1948 and continued on the board until 1951
and played an important role in the financial course of the country while firmly maintaining his belief
in the need to get buying power into the hands of the people, guard against inflation, and protect the
independence of the country's central bank, the Federal Reserve;
WHEREAS, at age 61, Mr. Eccles returned to Utah and resumed the chairmanship of First
Security Corporation, Utah Construction Company, and Amalgamated Sugar Company and during
the next 26 years surpassed the successes of his first business career;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles expanded the operations of Utah Construction Company, renamed
Utah International, into a worldwide mining and shipping conglomerate and oversaw its acquisition
by General Electric Company in 1976, the largest corporate merger up to that time;
WHEREAS, until his death in 1977, Mr. Eccles wrote extensively, was a sought-after
speaker, continued to advise the federal government, and took strong positions on recognition of Red
China, worldwide population explosion, burgeoning government deficits, and the folly of the
Vietnam War;
WHEREAS, in 1983, by Act of Congress, the Federal Reserve Building in Washington, D.C.
was renamed the Marriner S. Eccles Federal Reserve Board Building at which dedication Federal

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Reserve Chairman Paul A. Volker called him "The father of the modern Federal Reserve";
WHEREAS, in its Centennial issue, The Wall Street Journal recognized Mr. Eccles as one
of 50 of the greatest people who influenced daily business in the last 100 years;
WHEREAS, possessed of ethical and moral values that governed all his actions, Mr. Eccles
also demonstrated a rare mixture of independence of thought, wisdom, and foresight;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles was loyal, fair, and cared deeply for people and labored tirelessly
for the common good;
WHEREAS, Mr. Eccles' contribution continues after his death in perpetuity through his
Marriner S. Eccles Foundation; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting that a statue of Mr. Eccles be erected and placed in the State Capitol
as a tribute to his dedication and service to the people of Utah and the citizens of the United States:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of the state of Utah, the
Governor concurring therein, urges that a statue of Marriner S. Eccles be erected, for placement in
the Utah State Capitol, in recognition of the great contribution Mr. Eccles has made to the strength
of the Utah economy, the economy of the United States, and the furthering of the entrepreneurial
spirit at the heart of the free market system.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Legislature and the Governor urge that the Capitol
Preservation Board and the Capitol Arts Placement Commission continue to facilitate the process
of having the statue funded from private sources and placed in the Utah State Capitol.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be presented to the Eccles
Family.

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