Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-12-22
The Big DeposltOrs in the City Bank
Allowed to Save Themselves at the
Loss OF the Poor People.
state Insurance Company Forced to
wind Up Its Annirs-Fair Prospects
for n Huge Sensation.
THE SITUATION IN BRIEF.

now established. 1t is estimated that
$780, 900 sas been paid out. The affairs
of the City bank are unchanged. The
report on the liabilities and assets is not
ready. There will be a meeting of all the
creditors and depositors tomorrow at
the courthouse to decide on plan of
procedure.
Special to the Gazette.
An ANXIOUS DAY FOR THE BAYOU CITY.
HOUSTON, Tx, Dec. 81 The anxiety
throughout the city this morning about
the timo III banks opened was general
with all bUa ness men, especially among
bankers. Everybody was on the tin
toe OF expectancy to discover whether
the disastrous failure of the City bank on
Saturday would carry with 1t down the
smooth hill of bankruptcy any of the
several business houses and banks known
to have been closely identified with the
broken Institution ut various times.
The Houston Savings bank was the
center OF attraction. Some time before
its doors were opened quite little crowd
OF depositors were on hand TO reach the
paying teller's desk and withdraw their
small funds. They were mostly
poor people and not over intelligent, as
some OF them expressed serious doubts
as to whether the doors would open
Ihey had not long TO wait, for the banks
officers had discounted the situation in
advance, and instead Of waiting until .
o'clock, the usual hour of opening, the
broad front door was thrown back at 80,
half an hour in advance, and the crowd
entered with rush The news of the
run spread rapidly and a good many thou
sand dollars po Id npt q ,{,I,
was again deposited with the bank
before the day was ended. BY
II O'Clock the crowd began to thin
out. The confidence was perceptbly
restored and many business men
visited the bani; from time 20 time during
the morning and made large deposits in
the presence of the affrightened book hold
ers. BY noon the run was dead and the
bank was safe. No one was refused and
payments were made with great
expedition, two tcllers be-
ing employed. The run will
prove of great benefit to the Savings bank,
in financial sense, as many OF the depos-
itors withdrew sums upon which interest
had accrued, but said interest they for
leited by Withdrawing their money be-
fore the expiration OF six months.
There never was any real
ground for the run on the Savings
bank, as an investigation of their books
by other banks of Houston shows they
were only interested in the City bank to
the extent of S343, which sum Is due
them.
1t transpires to-day that the immediate
cause leading to the SUSPENSION
OF the City bank was the withdrawal of
large deposits by the Texas Central rail-
| way and one or two big wholesale houses.
Among the small deposltors there is in
tense dissatisfaction that the heavy
depositors should have been allowed
to save themselves, while the poor
people and little depositors are mulcted
An informal meeting of depositors and
other creditors was held to-day and IL
was determined to employ counsel and
petition Judge MasterSou of the district
court to appoint another receiver
to act with Maj. Weems. Many
creditors are not satisfied with Cashier
Wecms' appointment as receiver. The
people say he had too much to do with
loading the bank down with undesirable
loans, and much Of the mismanagcment
OF the bank Is credited to the cashier,
whether rightly or wrongly, while
among the banks present officers
ana OF that coterie the miSmanagement is
laid at the door of the dead man, whose
name stood ut the head of the City bank
for so many years. Good business men
severely censure the present officers of
the bank for carrying on business even
Que hour after they were satisfied the in
stitution was rotten. President
Baker, in an interview published,
says 81 had not been in office many
days before saw the condition of affairs
and knew that the wreck was complete
and liable to be made public at any mo-
ment."
This candid confession startled good
many people in Houston this morning
when they read IT,
"Why," said one banker, ''if that is
true, then Mayor Baker has known its
rotten condition for three months, yet the
City bank continued to do business
during that period and took good
money in large sums from other banks,
knowing that such money was being
jeopardized beyond all expectancy of it's
rghtful owners" This sentiment
rejects the quietly expressed views
Of great many old-fashioned
business men in town. The entire CAPITAL
stock of the bursted bank is lost beyond
the shadow of Il doubt, but President
Baker thinks the depositors viii be paid
in full, Very few other people, however,
are as sanguine ias President Baker
touching the payment TO depositors in
full. The Houston Insurance company,
of which the late Benjamin A. Bolts was
also president, will be compelled to wind
mp Its affairs IN short order because of
the failure Of the City bank The
Insurance company had much OF It's
capital invested in the stock of
tho City bank and its loss,is so great as to
render II impossible TO continue business
The Information is from inside sources
and thoroughly reliable The failure of
the Houston Insurance company will
have no disastrous effects upon anyone
save possibly its stockholders The poll
Cy holders will be taken care of, as all
risks will be reinsured by the company in
some other and sounder institutions. The
officers of the Houston Insurance company
were in close consultation nearly
all day taking steps towards winding up
fTatpg M "a nm ga,tNnI q GnDO