Butler citizen. [volume] (Butler, Pa.) 1877-1922, 1884-05-21
THE NATIONAL. BANK.
Continued from first page.

himself and these he gets the bank to
discount. He didn't own one dollar of
them. Colbert didn't owe him the
amount of his note, nor did Cochran.
| But on the books of the bank Greer
would appear as the actual owner of
them at the time they were discounted.
There was a mis-statement, so far as
Greer was concerned, made to the
stockholders and depositOrs, through
the officer who was appointed to look
after their interests.
The facts here given are true and ad-
mitted to be true by Greer himself,
when ON the witness stand and under
oath. No other conclusion can be
drawn from them than that all this in
debtedness exceeding one-tenth of the
stock was illegal.
The money represented by the Col
bert note was borrowed to speculate in
oil with. Greer says be didn't want to
borrow it, but McCandless persuaded
him and promised to keep him clear.
He violated the law and endangered the
money of depositors, who had made
their investments in the bank under the
protection of the shield of the national
banking law, not under compulsion but
of choice, yet he claims to be man fit
to administer the law for the people of
this county. The man who urged him
to do this is his most earnest supporter
for Judge to-day. Is there any assur-
ance that McCandless would not also
control him if he got on the Bench.
Since the payments were made upon
the Cochran judgment Greer has paid
no money to the bank, but when an ef-
fort was made 10 secure portion of his
Indebtedness he attempted to violate
his contract by setting up the defense
of usury. This defense, Judge Ache
son Of the United States District Court
decided would not avail him.
A statement has been made at differ
ent times by the managers and debtors
of the bank that it would have pulled
through and paid in full if let be. Let
no one be deceived. The figures will
not lie. Fiye years ago Mr. Cullum,
the first receiver, aided by some of the
best business men in Butler, appraised
| the value of the banks assets. He
then published q statement founded up
on his Investigations, that the legiti-
mate assets would pay about fifty per
cent. of the Indebtedness. 1t has paid
seventy How is the difference account
ed for? The answer is that it is more
than accounted for by assessments up
Oh stockholders and by litigation. Sol
vent stockholders have paid, after liti-
CATION, $500; without litigation over
S11, 500; other litigation has realized
oyer $500. Total, S28,500. In other
words almost thirty per cent. has been
| paid out of assets not to be counted in
estimating the solvency or insolvency
| of the bank In fact it is worse than
that, for interest has been running all
this time upon the deposits and when
that interest is computed it will be
! seen that the assets of the bank on hand
when it closed have paid very little if
any more than thirty per cent. of the
Indebtedness. 1t is true that there is
little money yet on hand, but not
enough to pay ten per cent and that
will certainly be the limit unless the
directors can be compelled, at the end
of litigation now pending, to respond
| for their negligent management. After
paying eighty per cent. to depositors
without interest, the loss occasioned by
the mismanagement of this bank will
foot up to over one hundred and eigh-
teen thousand dollars, made up as fol-
lows: Unpaid deposits, at 20 per cent.
$40, 900; interests on deposits, at least,
$4,000; surplus $4,000; capital stock
$4,000; assessments on stock paid
$780, 900. Total $llS,O00. The item
of surplus represents money earned by
the bank laid by to secure depositors
and for the benefit of stockholders.
This whole amount of $ll8,000 has
been lost, swallowed up by the mis-
management of this bank.
T. G. CAMPBELL.
Butler, May l6, 1884.