The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1875-04-23
rHE STORY OF THE FEbtUMANo
BANK.

,v~ An interesting article on the rise and 1ail
~ fris stuncn deus Radical swndle, by which
.e;,o,,s.n5s or IGNORANT and confding negroes
we're robb d Of their hard-earned savings ny
.esa sanity thieves who managed the concern.
;,he or;oj,,al act adopted in 1860 only con-
.a,,r,ated the establishment Of a savings
p,sul in the District Of Columbia, and the cor
,,,ra.or; named in the bill were mostly men
VI good repute, although it was remarked
u-1h some surprise that MOLE Of them resided
in the District. At all events, tue bill YVES
fs1orably reported upon and adopted without
debate, aud tbs gentlemen alb I'VE alluded to
and their successors" were constituted a
,ody corporate under the title of the Greed
a,sa's Saving and Trust Company"
The Nat;ot Express a doubt as to the ques-
linn whether tie names Of Peter Cooper. w.
&C.. Bryant, Cert Smith and other equally
prominent citizens were inserted in the
charter wi h their knowledge or consent, and
whether that eminent body of corporatorf
ssar assembled in Washington City, although
If course some of them must have done so,
4 only to select their successors The
charter provided that the pers ms named
therein should be the frs. trustees Of the
corporation, that vacancies should be filled
by ballot, and tat at least tea votes should
sas necessary fer the election Of trustee.
Therefore" says the Nation, Eve may con.
assembled to organize the qreedman's Swings
tank and to Sc. tle machinery in motion"
The original trustees being all citizens OF
Massachusetts, New York and Ohio, soon
gave way to Successors who at once went
% work TO establish branches at thirty places
in tbs Southern States, although their charter
lid not con er any such right upon them.
10 this as it may, however, no one at the
South objected, and after those branches had
been in operation five years, and had re-
-eived large amounts Of money from the con-
sling freedmen, "the original charter" says
the Nation, "was found too narrow for the
sncoessful investment. of the deposits - that
charter first adopted limiting the power OF
ing c0rporators to invest the deposits to
"stccks, bonds, Treasury notes, or other
securities of The United States"
The "successors OF Messrs. Cooper, Bry-
snt, ETC., therefore induced ono of their
friends. Mr.. Cook, of Illinois, to present an
amendment to tie charter, providing that the
trustees might invest in mortgage securities,
,nS might hold and improve the real G, tate
.avned by the baak in the city of Washington.
Ehis amendment passed both Houses without
2e!sate, although enc of the Radical Senators
voted for it on the rather singular ground that
-'' if the colored people wanted to be cheated
Ike did not know that it was worth while for
MGl to make much trouble about it, Now
r,ark the final result of this remarkable piece
Il Radical finaUciering. It is told i'll few
1rrds by thu New York Nation:
In 1873 National Bank examiner, under
Instructions from the Comptroller of the Cur
-ency, examined the books Of the FreedMah's
I;Ank and reported its affairs to be unsatis-
factory, and pointed out O number Of irregu-
!2r,ties which might well have been charac-
:erized first as last as SO many robberies. In
1874 another examination was held, and the
concern was pronounced insolvent. A feeble
attempt ut reorganization WAS made, and then
The bank collapsed. In four years after the
AmendAtOry Act passed, q ben efcent and use
Jul institute n, which might have pursued .
well beaten business path, was ruined; its
assets, intended to be tho safest known
20 business community, prac ically
worthless; and several millions of money
AIKEN from the savings of the poor hope!essly
nluandered Aud in little less than year
rom the time tina. the insolvency Of the bank
became know n-such was the. involved aud
condition of its afftirs-none OF its
sronged and nee ~ depositors has received
sent Finally, no one responsible for the
iniquity has been hung by the mob nor pro-
secuted by the officers Of the government.
The loniency of the former occasions some
the inaction Of the latter
,. wAkens no surprise. The Presidents dis
,ncs attorneys in Washington would no more
think of indic,ing the trustees who lent freed
mems money to members of the ring on
Seneca stone stock, than they would think OF
.udicting Governor Shepherd or the President,
ar Of indIc;ing themselves.
In looking over the schedule of the assess
sf the bank, one caunot but be struck with
Tho very audacty of the lawlessness which
the management. Instead Of
United States securities End ''iirst-class" real
.atate mort cages we find chattel mortgages on
furniture, (apd in one case a loan OF $50. 600
Tn such a mor.sage), chatel mortgages on
paintings, on j-we r.. on groceries. etc. SEN
sea Some Co stock takes the place of land
in an item of $4,000 One young gentle
man, a protegc OF the late Cashier Hunting |
don, Obtained several Thousand dollars on The |
stock OF a Metropolitan Paving Company, |
81 American sea-Lock Company and
he Capital Publishing Company. The real
estate loans are in par on country property, !
CA plantations, on lands in the South which |
cannot find purchaser and had no 'cash |
I'D Il Go 90 ~ rAb AZ
treasury notes, and other securities Of the |
United States supp sed to be the Chief |
basis Of investment. we fad only four nun
3red dollars Any description OF wildcat
collateral seems to have been satisfactory Sc
curity for the unfortunate freedp. en- 5 savings.
1t seems 70 lave been the fate of the Re-
publican party since the end OF the war to |
nothing Tor the South but trouble
aud misfortune; tn set up State govern ~ ents
and hand them over to outlaws and robbers
70 cr,atea ''benevolent institution" and turn