New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-11-03
THE EXCITEMENT DIMINISHING.


Tho outward signs of excitement over the down
fall of the Mechanics National Bank oil NeWarA
have almost disappeared. Occasionally yesterday
groun of two or three would form on tne soe-
Ill in front of the building and stare
onxionslv at the modest little piece OF whi'e
aner pasted on the closed iron doors, on whch was
written the first thrilling announcement OF "IecA
and rnin. or look up at the stone arm and hammer
tbrust from the wall, which IN the light OF the re
e4 5isclosures seem a satire on honest toll.
"Jps the poor people who make the money" SAID
o,o ,vorkingwoman to another as she eyed TINS
symbol of industry "an it's the big bugs who GIT
~ The other nodded assent. Then man
who was passing was asked II he thought
If was safe to let money remain on deposit IN Ger
+o,n other bank which she named. She said that
Inv hard work in twenty years she had saved @ooo'
On being advised to divide her account between
two or more banks she started off, saying that she
wonld act at once the advice. AT tanother ue an
old coored woman waved her umbrella at the Dallk
and said that she was going home to advise her son
to put his money in an iron box and bury II uhdef
rocks. where it would be safe from dishonest
cashiers.
n,p BALDWIN USE THE MONEY IN SPECULATION
Within the bank the examiner and his assistants
were sil busily engaged in turning over books and
tbe probabe results of the investigations Various
rn,nors of the amount of the embeZzlement were
aAoat through the day. One of them was in effect
that the amount would reach three and a half mill
IONS but this report was not generally creoi'eu'
Some. however shrugged their shoulders and SAID
that they would not be surprised ut anything. Inc
statement bv the cashier that the whole amount OF
the deficit was absorbed in the morocco business OF
C. Nugent & Co. still continues to be the subject OF
much discussion in business circles. and the opnoh
seems 70 he growing that of the money was lost
in speculation. It's well known that BALDWIN was
intimately associated with a young broker IN New
arlr who had n business connection with prom
;nent stock firm in this city. He In the habit
of freouenting the Young brokers' Office, and on his
own admission he had engaged with him In some
transactions in Newark stocks.
What is hard to believe is that so large an amount
was absorbed by the Nugent firm. II was learned,
however on good authority yesterday that bae en-
bezzling cashier the financial agent OF the mo-
rocco house. was so regarded by the clerks employed
by the firm, and made practice OF going 10 Nu-
gents Office nearly every morning That these facts
never reached the ears of the directors and that no
suspcion was aroused by them is one of the mys-
teries of the case, especially as many have long
been unable to understand C.. Nugent d
COS method of doing business. There
r. rot been no denial of the
story that the two men frequently met in Market
at beer shop to discuss their business affairs This
place. which is within a stones throw of the mo-
rocco factory is said to have had an increase o
patronage since it has become known as the rendez
yous of the conspratOrs, many asking the bar
keeper to point out the particular table at which
they sat.
HOW THE TRANSACTIONS WERE CARRIED ON.
Additional particulars were learned yesterday of
the manner in which the fraudulent transactions
were carried on. Checks were drawn up by the
cashier and signed by Nugent for the amount neces-
sary to make up the difference between notes falling
due and moneys received. These checks were drawn
on certain firms in this citv-most frequently on
Martin e. Runyon. and the leather house of
Pickard g. Anderson. Then the cashier would
come to New-YOrk and inform these
firms that drafts for so much had been
drawn on them, and that as no such amounts were
in their hands to Nugent's credit he would give
them checks on the Mechanics Bank of New-YOrk
or upon the Mechanics National Bank of Newark.
This it is said, has beena systematic method of pro-
cedure for years.
"The fact of the cashier of the largest banking
institution in New-Jersey," said one yesterday,
"packinq to New-York every day or two to make
deposits to meet drafts should have excited the sus-
pcion of the most credulous The spectacle is al
most ridiculous
MEETING OF THE BANK DIRECTORS
meeting of the directors was held at 10 o'clock
veserday morning at the house of President Ialsey
There was much speculation as 10 what the object
of the meeting was as the directors when approach
ed on the subject refused to divulge the nature OF
their proceedings All the directors were present
except Lewis G. Grover and Colonel Wright. One
of the directors when questioned. said that he had
made calculation of the assets and liabilities of
the bank and that he had been led to the conclusion
that the deposirors would ultimately meet with no
loss Other directors say that they cannot express
any opinion until the exact condition of the bank
has been made known by the examiner.
So far as could be ascertained yesterday the major
iv of the directors is still disposed fully to credit
the statements made by Cashier Baldwin. They
are also hopeful that large proportion OF the de-
ficiency may be made up by gaining possessiop~ef
the Nugent property g. A. Halsey spent the
greater par. of the day in this city yesterday but
he did not say that his visit in the interest OF
the bank
James +. Bond another director. when asked II
he credited the report that BENJAMIN stites tne
clerk who kept the accounts with other banks, was
thought to he implicated in the dishonest transac-
tons said that he had no reason to believe that 1t
was true. He did not believe the assertion
that the clerk was missing; ii was under
stood that he confined to his room
with rheumatism, which frequently incapacitated
him for business for weeks at q time.
Later in the day ii was learned that the meeting
of tho directors for the purpose of deciding
person to name to the Controller Of the Currency at
Washington for receiver. The name decided on. it