The Illinois free trader. (Ottawa, Ill.) 1840-1841, 1841-05-07


exc, sro liz expenses of Mr.. Jaudon's agency,
:. h,e., ea,sa,,sd 20 1880 more. Attic same
time the hra tiilered the foreign and domestic mar
kets as borrowers upon her own post notes and
bonds payable in Europe; the whole amount OBJ
tanned in this way being, in July 1910, more than
S25, 100000.
Such were some of the results of the resolution
of 1895, The power thus delegated to this com
mittcc in 1885 was never renewed after the bank
was re-charicred by the state, and yet it was
exercised to the fullest extent aud with the conn-
vance of the board OF directors up to the fall of the
bank. They exercised the power of making loans
and settlements nd EbitHm-kept no minutes of
their procecdings-no book in which their bust
mass done was entered, but all orders and dircc-
lion. Under their management all restraint SEEM
cd 20 have been removed from the funds Of the
bank the officers themselves not only used its
funds for the widest srccuIaions, but their
friends and relatives were all helped at the same
ill. When settling day came, aud the s4uall
struck them, they of course could not paw
and the result was that the bank had to take in
pay the bubble stocks of canals and rail roads the
inventions of irenzcd brains, given form and be-
ing by the funds Of the bank. In this manner by
the lst Of last January the greater part of the
sets of the bank, were made to consist of the most
worthless kind of bubble stocks
The committee give history of Mr.. Bidjles
far famed cotton specuatons, from which it APP
pears that as the debts of the bank became due in
Europe, instead of forwarding the cash, immense
quantities of cotton were bought up and sent on,
there sold, and the proceeds, saving the profits,
advanced to Mr.. Jaudon. On the first two series of
these shipments, amounting to about $4,000 600.
quietly pockctcd by the yirtuous Mr.. Biddle.
Dazzled with this fine success several other Off
GERS Of the bank joined Mr.. Bldle in a third Sc
RES OF shipments, but when these were made,
alas "thcre came frost, killing frost" and
all their fine prospects we're bIighted. The re-
suit was a loss of ss5O,G)0. Now came the "tug
Of war" to have this loss made up. After a long
and tedious negotation-by alternate coaxing and
threat5-AIr. Biddle at length consented to pay
his part in TcXns bonds at par; Mr.. Cowpcrth-
waite paid his part in stock Of almost every turn
pike, rail read, or Goa! company in the country
that is deprecated, also at par and Mr.. Dunlap
paid his in real estate, "ron land" &c at thrice It's
market value.
Such are few of the statements of this report
and they may serve to give our readers general
idea of the manner in which that bank has, and,
in fact, most of the banks olhe country have been
conducted. In the case of the u. s. Bank, we see
that, instead Of its being an accommodation to
merchants and business men, (thc only legitimate |
object of banks,) its funds were used by its own
officers and agents, in the widest spccuIations,
which only tended in the end, to ruin commerce.
and PROSTATE every kind of business 1t is to this
tremendous abuse of the system that all the evils
under which this country is now SO severely sui
tering are attributablc-in this is found the true
cause of the present "hard times" and to this ere
long, II the system is not radically changed or en-
lrcy abolished, will we be compelled to attribute
the destruction OF our liberties.