The morning star and Catholic messenger., 1876-09-10
THE GREAT FREEDMEN's BINK sTEAL
HOW sEvEN1Y THOUSAND POOR NEGROES WERE
ROBBED.


The Com missioners appointed by Congress
70 settle up the affairs of the fraudulent an,
ban nkrupt Freedman's Savings Bank have al
ready spent $50 900 in the business but hay
paid the detrauded freedmen only q singl,
dividend of 20 per cent. There were seventy
this concern, and it is an interesting exhibit O
Grantlsm to show who got their money. From
| the institution of the baRk in 1865 until itt
nhai coaspse, the colored people showed at
once their ind ustry and their plicit con ence
| IN inns atrocious fraud by paying into the bank
| and it's thirty brarches. all to d, the enormous
SUN of 100000, 900. How much of this was
| stolen from them before the bank broke will
probably never be told but it is likely that,
| lncluding Iae Losses by the bankruptcy the
negroes were defrauded altogether of q much
| larger sum than was taken from the coff-rs of
New York city by Tweed and all his gang
Yet not one Of the rasoals connected with
these rogueries has been brought to Justice
and not one will be while Grsntism holds
sway IN Washington and has the power of
nominating it's successors. And this for o very
plain reason-for the immeda ate circle around
Grant are the individuals who plundered the
bank most largely.
The bank, as originally organized was re.
CURED to invest its funds in United States
securities, but in 1870 the Grant rings in this
city had the charter altered as to permit in
vestments in real estate securities The bank
at that time had several millions under its
con troi and the Grant rings at once proceeded
TO steal this money by pedging in exchange
Tor 1t their bogus securities. the individuals
aud concerns which got this money are to dav
as they were then, the most conspicuous expo
hthtS ~ Grantism. great pa of the funds
81 ~" h+nk, be it known, consisted OF the Day |
az! bpunJJ of the culored troops over whom |
'Ift"h anu Morton are ROW waving the bloody |
'hirt 80 Srliantly, the wages of their sweat |
ga -blp"u ana @"ruds IN the cause of the |
Union, "a'o' Lbs b.t',k expressly provided
20 iSc"''o, in orGc' - protect the negro sold ers
evil diSpo7ed PERSONS" 1t is so nominated in
The bond.
Among the other specuators aud evil u.s.
posed persons" who stole this money NAV be
mon toned the Seneca Sandstone Ring, which,
nnder the name of Z" the Maryland Mining and
Man nfacturing Company" was an organic I'd
holders were President Grant, Babcock, Kill
oourn, Caleb Gushing, Boss Shepherd and
'thers of that stamp. This concern borro W cd
10000 on the hypotheoation of its worthless
'econd mortgage bonds, through Kilbourn aud
1atta, of the real estate "pool"-another /
ring" which had President Grant for its head
entIe' Henry ID Cooke, another leading rep.
esen tatlve of Grantism, whom the President c
lad made Governor of the District of Colum- a
ia. was Chairman of the Finance Committee t
Il the bank, and he took $4,000 of it's funds q
'ooke also was a stOckholder in the Seneca '
andstone Company. The cashier of the Lex 6
ngton Branch was pous youth named Ham L
ton, graduate of Oberlln. He robbed the 8
ank, and then besouHht Grant TO make him C.
n lad ian agent, that be might steal funds n
nough from the red heathen to reimburse e
I'll
Ie got the appointment but the black brother 4
Till sighs for his money. The cashier at At ii
lnts also robbed IT, colored brother by NJ leans b
duplicate pass books, and he, too, when de- 81
scted, was given an Indian agency.
Que of Boss Shepherds contractors Vanden- o.
urg, was lent $50 600 on mis- own promise to
ay, backed by oral Earnishmeut from o
hePherd 10 the effect that be would pay the lJ
touey if Vandenburg didn't. When the teller ii
ent to Shepherd for the money, the Boss 81
was more forceible than polite, and told him sc
lat he was in q damned hurry about that p
oney. Subsequently Shepherd said to him: N
If you do business in that kind OF loose way, II
ou are damned fool, and that time he told Ii
lie truth" III
There was an mex planned deficiency of
10 900 in The books at Washington. There ii
ere $lOO 200 stolen at Jacksonville; 500 600 tU
1t of $3.50 at Beaufort; go, 600 fraudu- th
ntly lent at Memphis, and 30 on. An officer al
the bank in Washington said THE affairs
the treedman's Bank ought to have been
Dund up long before The cashiers
most of the branches were a set of scoun- "
els and thieves; 1 mean particularly those ! 30
Beaufort, Jacksonville, Mobile and Yicks- hf
lrg These fellows were all thieves and ! ca
oundrels, aud made no bones about it, bot or
ey were all pious men, and some of them ~
ere ministers. The cashier at Jacksonville W %
3 minister, and to-day has q large Sunday az
hooli almost all of them are ministers. bI
ink that Mr.. Beecher, tho cashier &C Mont m
meEys acted dishouestly. Ho may pay every pa
tt1e - tt lap's bla - seel ths SlossF Qie} g