The Windham County reformer. (Battleboro, Vt.) 1876-1897, 1881-02-18

have known of its condition at the time {
, its conversion" Had Mr.. Price, or you
Mr.. Editor, known as much of these mer
and of the subjects you were writing about
, as you ought to, those statements woul
never have been brought to light. Tn
foundation for the conclusion that the ban
was rotten in 1864, and that the director
must have known it, is statement mad
by Waite to the Vermont bank commits
sioner, of the condition Of the Windhar
! County bank on the 9th day of July; a
follows:
1 Notes and Bills discounted, esl5,e2O7
. United States Securities, IL, 900. Q
Due from City Banks, los, 34s 4
Cash and Cash Items II 1888. 8
s51s, 2s9 s
s Capital Stock, 100000
Surplus, 1856 Q
| Circulation, 126,445. o
8 Due First National Bank Brattleboro 100000
Due Depositors, 100 25l.o
ssts.959s
Theitem due from city banks, $16S, 34S. 55
Mr. Price infers is untrue, because he finds tina
two banks, one in New York, the othe
in Boston, owed ,nly $94, 900 at that date
Making allowance, syas he, for remittance
and drafts in transit and bills OF the Wind
ham County bank redeemed and charged
to the Boston account, and not reported
this resource is overstated at least $50, 900
| am not an apologist for s. M. Waite,
have no intention to endorse or vouch TO
his figures or his statements. What l d,
say is, that Mr.. Price is not warranted b,
any evidence he has produced, in this, O
his other statements, as to the then con
dition of the bank.
The Windham County bank was chart
cred and organized under the laws of th
State. 1t had paid-up capital of $3.50,
900, which authorized it to issue and cir
culate $500, 900 of its bills. These bills i
was bound to redeem on presentment at it
counter, or at its designated place of re-
dempton in Boston. Congress, for thu
purpose of compelling State banks to change
to National banks, imposed tax of ten pei
cent on the circulation of State banks. Il
was for the interest of this bank to change,
as it did, to National bank and redeem
its circulation as soon as possible Its
assets to redeem its circulation and pay its
| depositors, were it's cash on hand and in
city banks, and its notes and bills discount
ed. This process of redemption was evi.
IDENTIFY going on rapidly, for of the 5000, 00C
in bills it had right to issue, only 1926.
AS was in circulation July 9th, 1854.
| How much of this redeemed circulation is
represented by the $16S, 348 item have
no means of stating. Nor do know that
debts due from other banks than the bank
of Commerce and American Exchange
/ bou ho ipc I'D IN, hat
All Mr.. Price processes to do is to guess
and he 0uesses at deficiency of'$50, 600.
Mr.. Prices other evidence of the banks
rottenness, is found In this paragraph:
"The discount book Of the wlndham County
months, shows, that of paper discounted between
those dates, only $A,e27.54 was unmatured and
assets of the bank the last named date.
| This indicates. If the amount of discounted
bills In the statement Is correct, that there was
$240,5s3.22 Of demand and past due paper In bank
at that time, large proportion of which was un-
collectabe."
H tb noss aed as wesa
matured on the 27th day of JAly, 1854, that
therefore the $240, 500 %, which was due.
| was, to the extent of a large proportion
uncollectable. Is this fairl This bank
had already changed to National bank
about month before. The change could
not be made without money to purchase
bonds. Ordinary business prudence would
Rave required the State bank to stop dis.
counting paper at least three months before
the change. Bank notes in this section
have always been given on short time, one.
two, three and sometimes four months.
rarely exceeding the last named period
Suppose the bank had stopped discounting
on the first of May, 1864, all its paper that
did not run over three months would have
matured Aug. /, 1854. Although the bank
could not be expected to discount or renew
its customers paper, on the other hand the
bank could not afford to distress or crowd
its customers. The best that could be done
on both sides was to forbear. This in my
judgment accounts for the bank having on
the 9th of July so much overdue paper
and falls far short of justifying the state
ment shat large proportion of this paper
was uncollectable.
Another important fact to be considered
is that the Windham County bank on or
before the 30th of June, 1854, purchased
and deposited at Washington 800, 900 in
q. S. bonds; on or before Sept. IA, 1864,
300, 900 more, and on or before Dec 10th |
of the same year, 100000 more. Since
the last date the capital stock on which the |
bank has paid dividends has been $500, 900. |
All the circulating notes of the old institu- |
ton were redeemed, and its depostors |
paid. Where did the money come from
1t is true that the capital stock was in
creased $3.50, 900. And this according to
Price is all the capital that the bank had at
ITO ii atin 10 inn.
bility that Prices statements can be true
unless Waite has stolen hundreds of thou
sands of dollars more than has yet been
discovered. 1t appears from another branch
IF Prices statement that Waite's bank has
paid since it become National bank:
In dividends to stockholders, S40S,274
In taxes to the United States, 5S,6is
In interest to depositors, 6,S45
In salaries $50, 265 rents e5,SI5,
inctdentas, stamps, postage,
stationary, fuel. Waterman, fur
niture fixtures, ETC., t,soJ,
(estimated) $500
Total s5oT,56s
Instead of the incidental expenses being
"a, 800, they will. in my opinion, much ex-
ICED ss5, 600. The legal expenses of the
asst 10 years cannot fall short of $25, 900.
I'he dockets of the various courts in this vi
Unity, have been shingled with suits against
Waite and his bank for years. A large
mount of judgments have been obtained
nd paid w can safely add to this item
f $507, 56s. S25, 900 for the expenses of N
he banks lawsuits. We have then $685.
90 earned in II years on capital of $780, {
90. Between % and "a per cent per an {
UNI ! II, as have no doubt, the truth {
J, this bank started January LIST, 1866,
nth sound cash capital of $500, 900, it
ould, with judicious management have
armed abont IL per cent per annum, so
,ng as its capital remained intact. As 1t q
ecame impaired, its earnings would di- g
finish. 9
To maintain Prices erroneous conclu- i
ons, we have got to assume that Waite n
Is been constantly aiding the bank, and d
it funds since January l, 1865. v
stead of that he has been sucking its life f
God until he has destroyed it. But his
lckings did not commence until after the
INK became a national organization He
ID no property Of his own when be was
pointed cashier Of the Wipdham County
NIX He served the bank for 8 small sal u
Y, while il was State institution He IA
iende;. faithfully to the business Of the a.
nix. and was engaged in few outside spec n,
stlons He did not aspire to be king OF
until after he became the head o
q national bank with the large capital Of
90 600. Since 1866, he has been the
at man Of Braitleboro, and the Connec- u ~
ut valley. BE has managed the town, III
lage and school district, largely controlled
railroads that the town is dependent II
%, manipulated the politics Of the town, vi
oily, and largely those Of the State. and ne