The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1890-02-05
THREE BANKS WRECKED
NEW YoRK's BRILLIANT " NAPOLEON
on FINANCE"
Il. j. Ciaassen Fairly Entitled to That
Appellation - He Causes the suspen-
sion of the Sixth National, the Lenox
Hill, and the Equitable Institutions.

Il. j. Ciaassen Fairly Entitled to That
Appellation - He Causes tho suspen-
sion of the Sixth National, the Lenox
Hill, and the Equitable Institutions.
New York dispatch: A worthy sue
cessor of Napoleon Ives has arisen IN the
person of u. j. Claassen, president of the
Sixth national bank of this city, and as
a result the Sixth national, heretofore
considered one of the strongest financial
institutions in the city, is In the hands
OF the national bank examiner, and the
Lenox Hill bank, which was controlled
by men I'm power at the Sixth national,
has closed its doors, and the Equitable
has also suspended payment, under ac-
knOwledged embarrassment. President
ClaasSen of the Sixth national is charged
with having deliberately wrecked that
bank, and warrants have been is
sued for his arrest and that
of George III. Pell, broker, who is
charged with having aided him in the
commission of the crime. Pcll and Clas-
sen have both been arrested and the
latter is locked up In Ludlow street
jail i'm default OF SOS, 900 bail.
rumor was current that the ST.
Nicholas bank I'm the Equitable Life
building on Broadway was also affected,
but a denial was made by w. j. Gard
ner, the cashier Of that institution. He
said that a statement that $4,000 in
protested checks of George III. Pcl e.
Co. in the ST. Nicholas bank was given,
in lieu of distracted bonds. TO the ex-
aminer at the Sixth national was not
true, as the amount had been paid the
Sixth national bank. A number of checks
n l.
sented TO the ST. Nicholas for payment,
but they were refused.
The methods by which the Sixth
national bank was wrecked are almost
identical with those used by Henry ).
Ives in his dealings with the Cincinnati,
Hamilton & Dayton railroad. A few
days ago, through negotiations conduct
ed by Pell, ClaasSen and others bought
controlling interest in the Sixth nation
al by purchasing the interest of the
president, Charles ID. Leland. Freder-
lex ID. Tappen, president of the Gallatin
national bank, tells the story of the
wrecking as follows:
after Mr.. Leland had sold his inter-
est in the Sixth National Bank the di-
rectors were requested To resign, which
they did. one by one, the vacancies be-
ing filled by other men who Illegally
elected p. j. Claassen president. Immed-
lately on assuming the Office of pres-
dent Mr.. ClaasSen made three loans OF
500, 900 each, secured by the stock of the
Lenox Hill bank-a very poor security
and then went down To the safe deposit
vaults of the National Park Bank and
distracted thcrefrOm iirstclass railroad
bonds of the par value of sos, 900. These
bonds he placed in the hands Of George
II. Pell for sale. The cashier of the
Sixth National Bank, Mr.. Colsen, be-
came alarmed at the extraordinary pro-
ceedings of the new president and di-
rectOrs and he came down to the clear
ing house and gave the startling
information already narrated. Al
ter careful deliberation on the
whole matter the clearing house
committee Immediately reached
the conclusion that the bank
should be placed in the hands of the
government at once. A. b. Hepburn,
the national bank examiner. was sent
for and requested to take charge Of the
concern and investigate the charges
made by Mr.. Colsen, the cashier. against
the officers and directors. This exami-
nation fully confirmed the charges made
by the cashier. To sum up the case, IL
may be said that the purchasers of Mr..
Leand's stock paid for it, evidently, with
the money belonging TO the bank. ] do
not know whether the checks which Mr..
Leland received were certified or not,
but the purchasers evidently managed
to make the payment by 'l1iting checks
back and forth. The Lcnox Hill'bank
and the Equitable bank are State banks
that is, they are organized under the
laws of the State. Whether the State
bank examiner has taken any action
with regard TO them I don't know II is
probable they will have to be closed mp
Mr.. Hepburn, the bank examiner,
told much the same story and said that
the distracted bonds were turned over to
PeD, Wallack Il Co. for sale They had
given MP 10 him S2Ol. 900 in bonds and
checks for the remainder. The checks
could not be accepted.
Mr.. Hepburn has made a statement
Of his examination up TO this time. He
says that the missing bonds have not yet
been found. Their par value is S42l,-
600, and the market value $3.50, +66.
Upon that had been paid $50, 000 leaving
deficit on account of bonds of S432,-
466. Mr.. Hepburn will at once make a
specific report to the comptroller at
Washington. After that is done the
usual course Of appointing a receiver
will be pursued.