New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1865-08-15
THE PHGNIX BANK DEFALCA.
TION.

nance of crime. We find 1t dlfilcult 10 eApiun
without doing violence to every received idea OF
human nature. We can imagine crimes ike
those Of Edwards where the love of money
oycrmasters the soul, or even lik, those oil
Pritchard, where gross sensualism destroys
every sentiment of honor and afiection-where
we see wife, home, friendship, esteem, pro-
fessional honor, eaten up by lust. Every crime
must have motive; for wanton villainy can
scarcely belong to our civilization. Yonng men
intrusted with large sums of money and pos
sessed with the insane vanity Of wealth, who sec
older men around them amassing fortunes by
the rise and fall of stocks, may be tempted to
use the money in thd b Mapng in the hope Of
striking a fortune. We can understand crime
of this nature, and perhaps view it leniently.
In the case of tho Phoenix Bank, scarcely
motive can be said to exist. We
find an officer, high i'll the confidence
of his employers, who has been III
their service for many years, aud gained an
honorable name in society, with family which
has known bis devotion and care, and every
motive TO continue in the pursuit OF profess
sion that will give him credit and comfort dur
ing his days, quietly surrendering all to thral-
dom that began in base passion, but the en-
joyment of which was even surrendered. The
confession of jenkins shows the quiet and I'M
complaining submission of q man whose pre-
vious life had manifested prudence and fore
thought to the greedy demands Of a wanton and
her paramour. He sinned that Others might
enjoy guilty pleasure. In his case, the first
sin was the beginning Of retribution, and his
crime has been one unceasing punishment. II
is not in the power of court or jury to intlict
upon this man more torture than he has pa
tiently borne for the past few months. The
partners of his crime were his jailors
and no slavery has been more terrible than
the bondage they forced upon him. He
became the creature Of woman who had fasci-
mated him in moments of weakness and, after
she had carried her charms TO a more acceptable
lover he was compelled to rob and bear false
witness, to lead life of duplicty, and agony
and shame-and finally to see his own woes in
Acted upon wife, and family, and friends, to
supply his mistress and the favored paramour
with the means of pursuing their life Of sin.
The law can impose no more dreadful sentence
There is another aspect to this case, in addi-
ton TO the mere romance Of its incidents. We
are told that men Of business express great as
constituent at the facility with which our banks
are occasionally robbed. The case OF the Mer-
camille Bank and Of the bank in Philadelphia
are suggestive. 1t was thought that these events
would have taught our banks discretion.
Certainly the Phoenix Bank did not
learn the lessson-or liz management
would not have allowed this systematic and
long continued defacaton. 1t il possible that
the ease of jenkins is one of abused confidence.
Those officers regarded him with kindness, be-
lieved in his carefulness and integrity, and nc
copied his false balances az the uncrring nc
counts of trusty servant. Now, confidence
and harmony are pleasant, and n spirit OF love
is as commendable in banks as in the family
cifce. But we have al learned the axiom that
business is business, and that. in managing the
business of bank or any establishment, figures
of arithmetic are wanted, and not sentiment and
figures of speech Ii is certainly within the
genius of bankers and merchants TO devise a
system Of checks ANA counterchecks by which
a paving teller will not have it in his power to
take $500, 900 aud pay them over in INSTALL
ments to greedy butcher and his mistress. We
do not know how long this has been going on, as
the full confession Of jenkins has not been made
public; but it seems, from the vague reports
already published, that the butcher and his
woman have been operating on jenkins and the
bank for two or three years. We hope We are
mistaken in this, for the sake of banks in general
People who have money to deposit would ike
TO have it so managed that it will be impossible
for any teller to take dollar from the cash
accounts without its being detected in a day.
If this system does not exist-if our banks
arc so little masters Of their business and
the funds intrusted to them that their security
of possession depends upon the adrotness and
honesty OF a clerk-then we advise the appoint.
ment of a commission to look into the science
of banking and reform it. In the case of the
Phoenix Bank. the stecd has fled, and We suppose
there will be magnificent set Of new bolts