Juniata sentinel. [volume] (Mifflintown, Pa.) 1846-1873, 1873-08-06
The Social Impurity.

Harrisburg has not been compelled tc
PASS through the ordeal of bank defal
cation but the defslcations in such insti
.niions have caused the journals of thai
city to write on the shortcomings in sucl
Institutions The JomRal writes as fol
lows on that subject:
One is saddeued an sickened ct reve
.,.;ious lik, that which followed the death
f Mr.. Mills, a bank cashier in New
York, who, dying suddenly, is discovered
10 have committed suicide, and after
irds an examir alton of his accounts
with The bank over which he presided, u
d.taleation is established of many thou.
sands OF dollars. There are so many
cases Of this kind occurring all over the
country, that it is time the proper rene
lies are applied to crest the evil. In
the first place, no bank cashier can carry
on a series of frauds for any length of
tine, for over two weeks, without the
president and directors being in some
way accessory to the transactions, or
shamefuly and recslessly neglecting
their duty, and to that extent criminally
Eesponsible for the wrong. The accounts
Of all banking institutions ought to be
overhauled every week by tue president
and directors; its books ought to be open
to inspection at all times. and directors
neglect their duty who do not closely
sean, not only the records of the institu-
tion, but the outside as well az the inside
action of cashier, teller and clerks. 1t is
as proper to do this as to keep the time
Of 4 number of men engaged to labor by
the isy, or to count the work of those
engaged Sy 1.-The piece" In any case of
bank defalca.ion the disaster could have
been averted had the directors performed
thsi- duty. The simple declaration ex-
libits the looseness with which business
10 occas ionally if not too frequently con-
Quoted in financial circles when meu
handle other peoples money, and when
truating confidence is carried to insane
recklessncss. These examples must in
si:ute reforms and command vigilance,
which will surround the banking insti-
tutions of the country with the safety
which is necessary to prevent fraud
Officers who feel that they are under
constant surveilance-the watchfulnes of
proper regard for the correctness of
business-will be saved from crime and
-lame-for it is too often the case that
lie young, as we'll as the old, are tempt
ed to wrong by the fact that they are not
made amenable to proper rules and regu-
lations.
There is s;ill another thought in Mills
case, which is well worthy of copsidera-
ZION. 1t is the social evil of the times,
hat business men who would otherwise
he honest. are too frequently tempted to
1--we beyond their means, by the b!an-
dishments Of fashionable wives and
daughters and the reckless extravaganza
maintaiuing position in the first circles
IF society. IF thia does not tempt men
directly to crime, i. leaves families, in
The event of the death of the paternal
head, to poverty and misery. We fire.
guently hear of men dying who are sup
posed TO be rich by the manner in which
their families fourished in society, but
whose estates were bankrupt. with debts
which could never be iiquidated. 1t is
10 maintain living like this. that men !
ike Mills become thieves and then plunge
into the suicides grave TO hid their
shame. The peculiar mental organiza-
ton of the majority of women, their
lack of discernment and fondness of plea.
fnre, deter them from reasoning as
sbey should. that the money they squan-
der, and the splendor in which they re-
rel, are paid for by husbands honor.
aud at last exploded by bis self destruc.
tiou. But of all this. the heartlessnes. !
.f fashinable felly takes little heed. The