Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-03-13
The Teller Meets the Demand squareiy
a Large crowd Of Excited Depos..or,


A few days ago, 8 Washington correspon-
dent of the Western press telegraphed the
following regarding the condition Of the
Freedman's Savings and Trust Company
ofthat city:
The Comptroller of the Currency has
made q report on the condition of the
Freedmen's Saving and Trust Company of
cial examination under authority of an act
of Congress last winter. The surplus of
the bank is shown TO be only $1,000; its
liabilities $4,476,642, and its assets, in
Guiding real estate, premium on its Govern
ment bonds, and accrued interest on loans,
81, 4S3, 1872.
s'rhe total amount of depositsIs 81, 00S,-
642, and its loans on real estate in Wash
ington, a large portion of which have been
made on property not twice the value of
the loan, as required by law, S1,794, 47S.
The loans on approved claims of the Board
Of Public Works, chattel mortgages, and
other collateral and personal security,
amount to $476, e59, of these transactions,
the Comptroller says, many of the securi-
ties on which the loan has been made are
believed to be worth the amount of the
loan. The value of other securities is not
known, and other additional loans seem to
have been made upon the security of prom
issory notes, rather than upon collateral Sc
curity held by the bank. Only a small
portion of these Investments can be con-
sidered available for the purpose of rails
ing money in the market to meet
unexpected calls of depositors, and it
is believed that it was not the intention
of the act of incorporation to authorize in
vestments of this character. The Comp
troller says: The officers and trustees of
the institution have violated the act under
which it was organized, by establishing
branches in different cities Of the Union;
by purchasing real estate and erecting build
ings; by loaning money upon real estate of
less than one half the value of the loan; by
loaning money upon collateral security not
Immediately availabls for the payment of
deposits, and by borrowing money! The
report OF Bank Examiner Meigs states that
there is deficiency of SIG, 400 in the Beau
fort, S. O., branch; that many of the loans
Of the bank are of character that should
not appear on the records of a savings bank,
and viii finally result in loss, and that the
improvement property in this city by the
bank was clearly in violation of the charter.
Comptroller Knox recommends the repeal
Of the charter of the bank, and the reorgan-
ization under a new act, that the branches
in the Southern States, if continued, should
be authorized by law, the rate of interest to
depositoTs limited by law, and the bank re-
quired to accumulate surplus against fu-
ture losses"
Upon reading the above statement, con-
siderable number Of our colored citizens,
who had money deposited in the branch
bank Of this place, becai uneasy and de-
termined to withdraw the amounts that had
been deposited.
Several made their appearance at the
counter on Tuesday, and calling for their
balances, presented checks and were paid
eff. 1t was not until yesterday, however,
that the reports damaging to the character
OF the institution became generally circu-
lated.
1t was about o'clock when visitors to
the bank on Cedar street became numer-
Gus, and that thoroughfare for an hour or
more presented a somewhat excited appear
ance. We suppose at one time there were
upwards of two hundred colored people in
the neighborhood of the institution, and for
a time there was quite heavy run on the
establishment, mostly however, by small
depositors, who exhibited no disposition to
hear any explanation which might be given.
At an early hour yesterday morning John
j. Carey, the Cashier of the Freedman's
Bank here telegraphed to the parent institu-
ton at Washington as follows:
NASHVILLE, March 1.-THE report Of
Comptroller Knox causes unessiness here;
If not true, correct Immediately.
To this dispatch, the Cashier received at
II O'Clock the following reply:
WASHINGTON, March l2-John j. Carey,
Cashier: Comptroller's report as telegraphed
is false. GEO. ". STICKNEY, Actuary.
The reception of this dispatch quieted
the most discreet of those who were max
ing demands upon the institution, and the
largest depositors withdrew from the field
of operations, apparently satisfied that the
institution was o. <. Upon announcing
their willingness to abide the consequences,
the panic subsidized, and o'clock, the hour
for closing, found the bank, although
"slightly disfgured, still in the ring"
At 3:15, the Cashier received a second
Washington dispatch in these words:
"Report of Comptroller, as telegraphed, is
false. GEO. w. SuCKNEE"
The third dispatch received by the Cashier
was received at 445, and was as follows:
WASHINGTON, March 12.-The Compa-
ny is all right. You can draw on US for all
the money you may need. The Comptrol-
Ter assures us here that he considers the
Company sound, and that depositors need
not be disturbed. GEO. w. STICKEY.
We have heard nothing to the contrary,
and suppose the bank will be open as usual
to-day.