Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1874-12-05
THE Wholesale ROBBEEV OE EH =
FREEDMEN

the EccuDltu' > saFlnE haliA4 Z ne Efcl
deception praeticed upon the eolore,
people in the organization o. this insti
luton seems to have bean the induce
ment held out TO them that it was char
tered, and fostsred by the government
and that its funds, W express direction
Of congress, was to be invested ID gov
eminent securities, making them be
lieve that the government was bouu,
under some pledge which secured thei
deposits. These representations wer,
made by the agents Of the concern. In
der this belief several millions Of dollars
the hard earnings OF the poor freedmen
their wives, and even the pennies
earned by their children, were accunlu
lated, only to be stolen and squsndere,
by means Of a criminal conspiracy, {,
which some of the chiefs Of the Wash
| ingtOn ring, constituting "a finance com
mittee TO make laws" with certain
canting knaves who shouted loudest III
the rights Of the 'feOl0red brother" ant
some Of the officers Of the bank. ThOs,
composing this combination proved e
be experts in the thieving schemes IN
dertaken, in the fact that they man
aged to secure to themselves the
greater share of this immense ae-
emulation of funds. The origi-
nal design of this bank, understood
to be pure and philanthropic, did great
good to the eOlored people by eucourag-
ing habits Of thrift and industry. 1t ex-
panded rapidly in growth, 50 that in
eight years about fifty-eight millions Of
dollars were collected and distributed
through the parent institution At Wash
ington and its agencies throughout the
country. The bank prospered and the
freedmen seemed 10 prosper withit. The
following extract from the New York
Sun, Of the twenty-sixth ultimO, tells
the story Of the swindle:
In 1870, eontemporaneOus with the
scheme TO organize the Washington
ring, the charter was so amended as 70
destroy the best safeguard for the de-
pOsitOrs, under the pretense of euiargiDg
the profits and dividends. The door TO
fraud was opened by adding the clause
which authorized loans to be made to
the extent of One-half the whole depos-
its on real estate in double the value Of
the sum borrowed, and also to hold and
improve the real estate Of the bank n
Washington. Interpreted by the light
OF events which soon followed this radi-
cal change in the charter, il is now GER
tain that the amendment was eOncocted
by the ring as the readiest mode of steal
ing the earnings Of these poor people
J. w. AlvOrd, who graduated from an
agency Of the freedmen's bureau, had
helped to organize the negro vote for
Grant in the southern States, and was 8
member Of the Christian missionary as
ISOLATION, became president. General
Howard was, Of course, 8 leading trustee,
and most Of the others were OF the
same kidney. A committee Of finance
determined all the loans and discounts,
Of course with the privity Of the active
trustees and officers Of the bank, who
were all in the same boat Henry ID.
Cooke, his cashier w. s. Huntington,
and Lewis CiepbRne, ring contractor,
were q msjOrity Of and controlled that
committee. Cooke was then president
Of the First national bank, and q menu
Der OF the firm Of Jay Cooke sud Co. |
BE was necessarily familiar with the
Of the small business cOmmu-
nifty Of Washington, and with the re-
spOnsibllity Of persons seeking loans |
from bankers. There are no recent data |
the true state of the bank. il /
Is therefore Necessary to take the figures !
furnished by the treasury near the close |
Of the last session u congress, which are
a sufficient guide for the present pur-
pose. In less than three years, OF dur |
ing the rule Of Shepherd and his crew, /
OF whom Cooke was the ostensible chief |
nom being governor OF the District, the |
loans on real estatao for the city Of /
Washington aggregate -, 473, 226 55, !
and on "sundrv s..cllrjtiessi !
$685., 100 5G-S2, COS, 3S7 II. Add the
overdue and unpaid interest, and the to- /
tai exceeds two and a quarter millions.
A large portion Of the so-called real es-
tate Wss uuimpFOyed land IN the county
assessed at exOrbitsnt values by Kill !
bOUrn Il Latta, ring brokers, who them
selves were large borrowers Another
potion of it was not real estate at all, |
but worthless chattel mortgages and
notes Of hand unsecured. Ring leaders, |
jObbers, contractors and lobbyists We're
the set who absorbed the deposits Of the /
bank. And for @seeuritiesu and col !
lateral they pledged Seneca stone scrip, |
the stock OF fictitious companies, and q /
lot OF trashy paper worth al the mills 1
about three cents a pound. Cooke and 4
his eOnfederstes- literally opened the /
vaults to the ring, and they stripped 4
them clean to the iron walls. OF the i
$, S3S, S96 Is due the depOsitoTs bat 1857, 1
lSS II was available in "cash and United
States securities at the parent Office and
branches" That is to say, s fraction
DVer ten per cent. on the whole sum OF
deposits was on hand at the lime the
was made. The rest is dis
.ributed in the money grabbed by Shep-
nerds rig, the bank buildings, and
,ther items.
A resolution offered during last session
II congress, by Mr.. Bromberg Of Ala
anna, demanding an inquiry into the
condition Of the bank was referred to
who set to work to white
wash the rsscslity. The true state Of
'fiairs was ingeniously suppressed, until
. bin was patched up and passed under
he drill Of this subcommittee, intended
o tide over the difficulty, and withhold
Of the corruption until after
he election. In this the scheme was
successful, until nov the utter
Of the concern can no longer
be concealed. The bank at present is in
he hands OF three trustees, who are
,racticing their little game Of deception
with the depositors, prolonging the job
il hand At large pay, eating up the little