Edwardsville spectator. [volume] (Edwardsville, Ill.) 1819-1826, 1824-06-01


thing to do in originating the great system
adopted by Mr.. Crawford, of employ ing the
| local banks and, in several instances, in direct
lylolation of law, by allowing them perma-
nent deposte Of nine hundred THOUSAND dol
lars, equal 10 a salary of $4,000 dollars per
annum, for receiving and transmitting the
public money, which the Bank of the United
States was bound TO do without compensation
and would have done without those immense
losses tn the public which must inevitably re-
suit from the adoption of plan so contrary to
the letter and spirit of the bank charter; and
TO the avowed intentions and objects of Con-
gress in granting it, The effect of my appli-
cation TO have the bank Of Edg ardsvilie made
a depository of public money, was merely to
have deposites made there, that otherwise
would have been made in the Bank of Nilsson.
ri, which previously had been authorized TO
receive the public moneys, collected by the
two Receivers in Illinois, who alone were di.
rected to make their deposites in the Bank
OF Edwardsvlle. My agency in this transac-
ton, therefore, did not prevent the depositing
Of cent IN the Bank of the United States
and your honorable body may well Judge,
whether the public interest could have been
much ieopardized, by the change recon-
mended, from the following statements, ex-
tracted from the documents presented to you
b, MIR. Crawford.
The Bank of Missouri had a capital of
$4,000 of which the stockholders drew out
OF it, on pledges Of stock, S186.535, leaving
only S23,6o5 for the further accommodation
Of themselves, and others. Upon this last
sum, lis real banking capital, it discounted
and paid on over drafts, to the amount of
4,345 SO The whole amount of its dis
count, including payments on over drafts was
S43O,690 43 +; of which sum, its directors
alone were responsible for S297,492 10, if, as
is presumed to be the case, they were chargea-
Bile with over drafts, to the amount of Sll,-
622 G7.
To this bank Mr., Crawford allowed per.
manent deposite Of $50, 900, equal to sala-
~ Of $4,000 per annum. He permitted the
public money to accumulate in it, to the
amount Of S726,J3l 80 in the course of nine
teen successive months, ending with the LIST
Of September, 1919, without exactng those
precautionary returns and statements, which
he himself considered essential to ensure the
fidelity of all the banks appointed to receive
the public money; and, eventuall,, he re
ceived from it, in part payment Of its debt,
contrary TO the positive iDiunctions Of the re-
solution of Congress of 1916, large amount
Of uncurrent notes, some of which were not
Much as he has mystifed this subject in Sc
veral Of his reports, and particnlary IN that
one which 10 part OF document los, I'm the Sh
volume State Papers, ID session 18th Con-
gress,) in which he blends deposite in the
Bank of Missouri, OF S64,6l3 So, with - the
special deposltes which passed through the
Bank of the United States" it cannot excuse,
or even successfully disguise, the flagrant i'm
proprety Of his having receipeti, at par, the
uncurrent notes above referred to-; for by the
very document last mentioned, il appears, that
this dc posite had been IS re-transferred to the
Bank Of Missouri, and assumed as cash, in Sep
TENDER, 1872" which was previous TO the re-
ceipt Of those notes. His own letter TO the
Cashier Of the bank Of Missouri, dated 23d
March, 1919, and the Cashier answer, dated
18th June, 1919, ca and 81 clearly shew, that
no justification for receiving uncurrent paper,
can be derived from that circumstance. Be-
sides, he received uncurrent notes that 1oere
a,ot, and could nat, have been included in that
deposite; for, not to mention other cases the
notes which he received on the {" Bank OF
George Town, Kentucky" were not, at that
tine, even receivable In the Land Offices.
Nor was there ever any contract between the
Bank Of the United States, or the Treasury
Department, with the Bank of Missouri, from
winch the latter could derive any right to ten
der, or be any justification for receiving those
uncurrent notes.
Bat, had 1t even been otherwise, it would
not be less difficult TO justify the placing OF
tins oank upon footing, SO different from that
OF all other similar repositories OF public mo-
ney.
Under all these circumstances, it would
seem incredible, that any INJURY to the public
could have resulted from the change OF depo-
site, for which applied; and the attempt to
Subject me to censure, ior the small psrticipa-
ton which have had in this business, ought
to be considered as plain acknowledgment