The Dallas weekly herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1885, 1885-02-05
NO HING FOR DEPOSIT0RS
INTHE BROKEN GALVESTON BANK
A History OF the Fraudulent Financier-
ing that Reads MelO-Dramati-
cally speculation in Futures
and its Bitter Results.

GALVESTON, Jan. Gas investiga-
ton probes deeper and deeper into the
financial affairs of the broken firm of
Wolsten, Wells & Vidor, the more hope
less becomes the prospect of its credit
ors even realizing cent. There will be
no assignment, simply from The fact
that the firm has nothing to assign.
The statement made in dis
patch last night, that Wolston and
Vidor. the surviving members
assets aggregating $3l 900 for the benefit
OF a few preferred creditors is errone-
Gus.
Mr.. Vidor, in conversation with the
associated press correspondent to-day,
stated that the firm had made no assign
ment, and that to his knowledge none
was contemplated. Touching the affairs
of the firm, who were and who were not
its creditors, he declined to speak.
Mr.. Wolston, in conversation with q
friend, said he was irretrievably ruined
and did. net possess a dollar in the
world; that all had gone in the crash.
Creditors of the firm are arriving from
the interior on every train to see what
can be recovered from the wreck, only
to meet disappointment and return home
disheartened. The failure OF this
lrIl, anu ING ISldnu Slby odNluSs pdniN
has been the most disastrous in the his
tory of the city of Galveston, and affects
class that can lily afford to stand the
losses.
Wolston, Wells d Vidor was univer-
sally regarded as one of the staunchoSt
cotton firm in the southwest, being safe
and conservative in their methods OF
business. Their credit, until
few months ago, was almost unlim-
tied. Producers and interior dealers
consigned their cotton to them unhesi-
tatingly, and no house in their line had
better reputation for prompt and hon
orable dealings until they became in
fected with the spirit of speculation and
began dealing in cotton futures. AT first
their operations were cautious; then
they became more reckless and lost all
moral restraint and bulled and beared
the market with seeming disregard
of consequences, using the money of
their consignors' cotton, and when they
drew upon them cashing their drafts
with the depositors' money in the Island
City Savings bank, until their liabili-
ties reached 100000, and irretrieyable
ruin stared them in the face, when they
began hauling in sail, but too late, the
firm had already drifted on to the rocks,
when Wells, by far the brainiest
man of the firm, seeing that it and the
bank were speedily going down to ire
yOcable ruin, and the hOnored name OF
the firm would be ineffaceably blotched
with contumely and disgrace, and when
all was known he would be eXecrated
by community who had honored
and esteemed him, his proud
proud spirit was broken by. the
ruin he had wrought, and he
sought Lethean slumbers by an over
dose of morphine, leaving his partners
to face an outraged and indignant pub
lie. Dealing in futures instead of a
strict adherence to their legitimate line
of business was the direct cause of the
firms failure. Experts are still busily
engaged in preparing a statement
of the firms liabilities, with
list of the creditors, but it
is doubtful If 1t will be made public.