New Orleans daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1851-1866, 1866-03-15

NUMBER THIRTY.

office was located already Indicated, at the cor
ner Of Cont and Royal streets, we shall now pro-
eeed with these instructive and interesting details
This banking association was incorporated by the
territorial legislature of Orleans in the year 1911,
for the space of fifteen years and with capital OF
seven hundred thousand dollars. The particular
object in creating this monetary institution was,
its title imported, to extend means and faclltes
to the planters Of the country parishes, in furnish
ing them with capital for the acquisition of new
labor hands and all the necessary utensils
for the cultivation of their lands. How this
plan was put in practice, the sequel will unfold
We presume that little progress could actually
be made after the first organization of this com
| pany, since the war coming on in ISL put
monetary stop to all such enterprise. Hence it is
reasonable to suppose thatthe banking operations
continued upon very limited scale until the re-
turn of peace in 1885, and that only from that time
forward until its calamitous catastrophy in 1920,
it expanded its operations upon a wider SCALE
Upon our arrival in New Orleans in 1916, we per-
fecty well recolect that the institution did not en-
joy very good standing; there was something
in the composition of its dictatorship that always
inspired mistrust-n fact, 1t was generally looked
upon as mere clique affair and only intended to
benefit few mercantile firms or individuals.
Now, we shall not enter into any invidious
revelations or details in order to explain how
tb;s ipotitntion had been entirely perverted from
s original design If ia sufficient for us to state
+bo+ bnt few loans were ever made to the plan
terz or anriculturalists of our State, and that
wbnn nnhapnilv the real condition of this bank
bnrst forth and was published to the world it was
fonnd that a few directors, including the pres-
dent had absorbed nearly ali the active means of
) the institution. We were temporarily absent
when the closing Of this bank took place,
) which was in consequence of the sudden disap-
nearance ofitsnresdept and the suicide of several
Of ;+s DIRECTORS or officers It is therefore out of
:, orr nower to sneak of the scenes as an eve wit
ness Int we were told upon our return to the city
+ha+ whom the news of these events had spread
+t,o,rb +be community there had been such q
connnoton such an uproar that in order to arrest
tbe tbrone which were lingering around the
barl, premises and clarn0ripr for their deposits
/ ora rromissorv notes. fhe specie for them0 tbs
{, authorities of the city had requested of tht
II commanding general the turnout Of the Fedora
y carrison in order to pIsserye the peace AMI
~ tranoniiitv in Royal and other streets ada
VI cent to the Planters Bank building. Fl
ie narv the accoupts and luuidatjou of this con
t. corn became matter of i,dicial investigation, AM
'e in the decision of the Supreme Court of our Stat
al NAV he found the circunlstantial details of one
tba foinres of our banking institutions, whic
'y ouoht to have been a warning for all after time
81 For the better understanding of the cause, pr
he marty, OF 'is c'lpi'i1''uS iahuie NC inao. No
o. MAKE oul ie'uei" WIN p'i Wv VIC
to yoars previous. had formed a no ipcopsiderabl
ed mart of onr mercantile transactions, This is th
all ,ore necessary, in ordr to be lust to all partje
he and IN Law no blame uvon those individuals VIII,
or thonah unfortunate, uoyed by their seledestru
re lion that tbev would rot survive what tbey CO,
re siaprad a dishonorabls misfortune, Trade wit
'o- tba snonsb colonies hal always been forbidden
I'D tha mother country: but, notwithstanding tn
'u- nrohihition. a considerable contraband commerc
an wos carried on from New Orleans to the Mexica
TO- aeanorts upon their cGasts This smuggling bus
ed ness-verv lucrative when successful, but yer
an bazordons also. because no insurance could b
De- effected unon these dandestine shipments-wa
af carried on by few Spanish firms in our city, all
on olso bv some French houses, among whom W
shall name now tls firm of Paul Lanap
lot than tbe President of the Planters Banl
ty Dom;noue Ronouete, one of its director
nS and snndry others whose names are III
au' imnortant for the present purpose. The.
ss' bonses would buy npon credit, principally lars
Ice amounts of German linens and other dry goods
eet mpch value, which being re-exported from Il
limited States potts, were thus exempt from {
lao the heavy import duties, and offered great
cal dncement for the Mexican contraband trade
pie In this manner number of considerable Ge
'he man or North European importation firms HI
nal taken root in the ,ity of New Orleans, and VIII
we landed here il the month of July, 1876 t
ties following firms we're principally the main il
the porting houses, to.wit: Vincent, Nolte & G.
lor' whose partner. Mr.. Hollander, was native
the Courland in Russa; the firm of Rochelle e. Sch
'ert originally Rothscd, from Holstein, province
me- Denmark: Hartman & Schmidt, from Hambur
John Henry and frederick William Am Ende, al
De from Hamburg, md branch of the old comm
nee cia firm of La,rent, Am Ende & Co., of t
the Hanseatic CITY oHamburg, who had its flrtt
t be branches in Charleston, South Carolina and Co
OF enhurp kingdom of Sweden, and which firm
lou still in existencein Hamburg, counting now o,
cia- two hundred AMI ffty years of commercial du
tion. the house, of Bechtel & Dahmer, and Tu
ON man S Frey. tb former an agent of the old
'een men firm of Csse,, Traab 4 Sons, afterwa,
'ery Cosse] Traab Widow g. Sons Now, all tn,
the Nortb Euronea, firms were in close connect
,,;t, tho cna,;b axnort;nc bousea to the Mexir