The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1880-10-16
FAILED FOR A mrLLrox.
A pIG BOSTON swINDLE--fTs NODE or porxt
DISAPPEARANCE OF TIE ragsr
DENT.


female customers only, receiving their de
posiis aud paying the extraordinary rate O.
8 per cent. month interest, has tailed A
last, as was naturally TO be expected. TIL,
only wonder Is that the institution should
have sustained Itself so long without expe
riencng collapse.
The crisis was brought on by attachment.
amounting to $500, made by number oil
depGsitors just at time when q loan Of
81, 800 on private furniture, etc., was being
negotiated. The brokers were frightened
of, and plan for raising 10000 on resi-
dence-house also fell through. Mrs. Howe
the president OF the bank, disappeared thi:
morning. There have been scenes OF the
utmost confusion about the bank all day
and keeper holds the fort tonight. The
following account Of the concern, It's me.
ibods OF operation, and its principal mana
ger. is printed by The Herald:
In January last, Herald man, while
searching for news, was attracted toward
an unpretending two-story brick house on
Garland street, in this city, tboroughiare
which, by the way. Is not now embarrassed
by the responsibility OF spotless reputa.
ton. The secret OF attraction was a little
red label or poster, which looked at a
glance as though 1t might have been washed
from some pateDt-medicine bottle, and
which read as follows;
REGULATIONS.
"The Ladies' Deposit il charitable in
stitution for single ladies', old and young.
"No deposit received for less than 5000
nor more than $1,000. Interest at the rate
Of IS Oh 300 per month Is paid every three
months, in advance. The principal can be
withdrawn upon call any day except Sun.
day.
mo deposits received from any persons
owning house.
coffee hours from A. N. to 8 p. NJ.
daily"
This label had been the means OF sending
the writer to the Garland. street house,
which, though bearing no resemblance to a
| bank building, had been ascertained TO be
| the headquarters OF this mysterious " La
dies Deposit" The door-plate was in
scribed Of. l.. Howe" simply this and
nothing more. The directory, which bad
been consulted, designated FlorimOnd L.
| Howe as a house painter; house 2, Gar
land street." and no mention Of a bank
or other similar institution could be
found among the 1000 pages OF that
comprehensive volume. Entering the par
| Tor, into which the newspaper-man had
| been ushered by young girl, it was seen
that small drOp-leaf desk gave sort Of
semi official air 10 the otherwise ordinarily
| furnished apartment. Seated at this desk was
Young woman OF some thirtv-odd summers,
| tall and angular, and. as the scribe mentally
remarked, neither fair to look upon or par
ticularIv entertaining az a conyersationalist.
| On the desk before her lay small, covered
slate, a tin cash.boX and a couple OF small
| iol, LODI in N
pass-boOks issued 10 customers by grocers
and provision dealers In a corner OF the
room was an ord,nary-looking piano, and
| the furniture was upholstered in brown
rep, considerably the worse for wear.
The writer opened conversation with the
| lady OF uncertain age, who, it was subSe-
quently learned, was Miss Susan CraDdalI,
The clerk OF the concern, and StrOye to
/ learn something OF the manner in which the
receipts Of the "bsnk" were invested in
order that they might yield an income suffi-
cient TO enable the concern to psy deposit
| tors the advertised sum OF eight per cent.
per month interest, and this, too, in adj
vance. Miss Crandall made no attempt to
conceal her disgust for "peOple who med
die with other peoples business" and re-
fused point blank to impart any Informs
ton. While attempting to concillate the
austere Susan the door opened and middle
aged, respectable-looking lady entered,
and with a familiar GLOW dye dor" adj
vanced to the desk and laid down before
the cashier two small books similar In
appearance to those already described. The
cashier nodded, opened her cash-box, took
therefrom a huge roll OF baDk-bills and
counted out two sums, evidently interest,
one OF S4S and the other OF 800. These
sums the caller complacenty deposited in
her satchel, and as she turned 10 leave Der
place was taken by young woman who
laid down four $50 bills and quietly waited
for her pass book. The book was soon filled
out and handed her, together with S4S in
bills (which, as will hereafter be shown, was
three months interest in advance). and
promissory note which read as follows:
1920. BOsrON, January 2, 1880.
"Twelve months after date promise to
paw 10 the order OF - - two hundred
dollars, value received.
rs. f. HOWE, Agent"
The fact that such an establishment was
doing business in this city was published
last winter in the Herald, but little could be
learned OF its methods. No instance could,
however, be found in which depositors had
not been promptly paid their interest as
agreed, aud, on demand, their principal as
we'll The police had been notified that
suspicious business was being carried on In
the house No. 2 Garland street, and the pre-
misses and occupants were under espionage
for long time. The matter was also re-
ported TO the bank commissioners, who,
after a brief investigation, turned 1t over
to the Government as one which
had not even the remotest resemblance
f1tffA tfa
name, The detectives who were detailed
TO work up the case, after vigilant service,
were unable to find that the bank had ever
solicited money, or had refused TO pay all
demands against its treasury at sight. The
woman, Howe, defaptly snapped her fingers
in the face of the officers, and, until recent
Iy, has been unmolested. Meantime the
notoriety given to The concern through the
columns OF the newspapers bad the effect OF
increasing the number OF depositors to such
an extent that the doors were actually be-
sieged by depos;tors during the hours de-
signated for business. About six months
ago Mrs. Howe began looking about TOR a
more elegant residence, and last spring pur-
chased for $4,000 one OF the handsomest
estates at the South End, In a fashionable
quarter.
The interest paid TO depositors by this
"bankv was not, as advertised by them,
per cent. per month or 90 per cent. per
year, but the still more preposterous rate OF
126 $40 per cept. per annum. III any one
doubts this assertion let them figure 1t out
for themselves. For instance: A woman
who wishes to deposit 5000 received a
book In which she was credited with 5000.
when in reality she left in the bank but
1852, the interest fer three months In adj