The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1891-06-11
THE NATIONAL BANKS.
SOMETHING WRONG IN THE ADMIN
ISTRATION OF THE LAW.

dial that Indicate Criminal Negligence
on the Part OF Comptroller Lacey and
| his Subordinates.
PHILADELPHIA, June AT the close
of to-days session of the examination
into the failure of the keystone Bank
by the committee OF city council Coun-
Gilman Etting, who has taken an active
part in the investigation, offered res
olutiOn that the mayor be requested to
write to President Harrison asking
him to order al investigation OF the
conduct Of the treasury department in
connection with the Keystone Bank
affair, to order the production of all
accounts of the bank and to order the
Comptroller of the Currency, Lacey, to
appear before the committee. Etting
| made most vigorous speech in defence
OF the motion. lie said:
81 am sure If we are to have the
national banking law construed and
acted upon as it has been in the Key
stone case there is very little protection
offered to amy depositor. BY the con-
teSSlon Of Marsh, in January, and
through no skill or energy on the part
OF United States CnicialS. the treasury
department became aware Of the Key
stone rOttenncSS, yet for ninety days
thereafter the bank was allowed to re-
main open and the city and citizens of
Philadelphia were invited to deposit
| their money. 1T matters not whether
the assets now are more or less Some
people who had every opportunity to
know the story of the rotten bank had
every chance to get OUT while other
people who could not know the story
had every chance to get in. 1t is the
| most extraordinary action on the part
OF the General Government that I ever
! heard Of. Even if our city treasurer
mad been honest he might, for all that
was done by the United States authori-
ties, have continued to deposit, for no
notlcc, no inquiry, no warning came to
| put him on guard, or any other city
official on guard. The salary Of Marsh
| was even continued at the bank and
every appearance was held out that the
bank was sound during all this time
that the General Government knew hy
| confession of its rottenneSs.
"1t is time we should make IA move
to right the city's wrongs and impress
| upon the authorities at Washington
that there must be some very active as
ctioiiSS VI t lClllCuS lOl llcSC ABUSES
OF power Oh the part of the General
| Government"
Smithers and Hicks, of the commit
tee, advocated delay and further inuui-
ry before taking such an important
step. Hicks said:
Il am not prepared to put myself in
the position of saying that Comptroller
Lacy'5 action is suspicious or question.
able. 1T may be, but we are not quite
ready to declare it So Let us go Il little
further and fix the responsibility first
Let us get experts on the books of the
Keystone Bank. | am quite sure, in
would not have jeOpardiZed SW5, 900
and more if he had not been consider
ably deceived himself"
Etting hattled for quick action and
replied
"Thc Chief Magistrate should he in
| formed of this iniliction upon the peo-
pie of Philadelphia Of the violation of
the banking law. ! am not going to
say whether Examiner Drew or Comp.
troller Lacey was responsible, but be-
tween the bank was kept open after
fraud was known officially. such ac-
tion by the Government, if continued,
| will be detrimental to the banks of the
city. Here were confessed lalSilicatiOnS
by former President and the present
president Of the bank amounting to
hundreds OF thousands. If the law
was properly acted upon no mans
money Is safe in any bank. If such Il
letter was to go to the President,
backed by the committee Of councils
and citizens, | am certain that there
| would he an instantaneous production
of the books of the keystone Bank"
Smithers said that the opinion Of the
city solicitor was that the books were
subject to subpoena.
| "Every obstacle ! can fancy" re-
joined Fitting, has been thrown in our
| way. We can look at the treaSlrer's
| accounts" he went on with a tinge of
sarcasm, and then exclaimed with a
tremendous bang of his fist on the ia
! bic, I'VE want to look at other accounts
and ind out what other men were do
ing IN those ninety days after the
frauds were known, and while the city
of Philadelphia was handing her mil
lions into that bank"
One other member Of the cOmuiltcrc
voted with Fitting and four against
nm, so the matter was dropped for the
present. The general impression, how
ever, is that 1T will be reviewed shortly
Paying Teller w. II. Thomas, Of the
| keystone Bank, testified to his knOwl-
edge of S925,OOO in due bills given by
President Marsh to Treasurer 3 ,rdslcy
in exchange for State funds. lie said
another eml lOyee and himself were
Kept pretty busy running between the
Keystone and Spring Garden banks
with cash in order to prepare for
the visit of the bank examiner and
show proper cash balance An im-
portant point in ThomaS's testimony
was that during his six years connec-
tlon with the keystone Bank, Bank
Examiner Drew "droppcd in" about
twice week.
They Give IL Up aa \ Bad job.
TIMMONSvILLE, FLOKENCE COrN-
TY, June l.-An unsuccessful attempt
to rob the Bank OF Tmmonsvillc was
made last night. The door was opened
with railroad crowbar, but after look