Telegram-herald., 1891-11-10
suicide Oh RUINED MN
NER TIE DISASTER FoLLOHIsG
zAs hs"s. saa Crizasaai Assi sas zaa-
fs~5sa - Them "a fEsir s4a-.-4s
Esass--4 Gzass financial
oAs4@lA.s-

sonneFfeld- Tia usual scenes : of
excitement anoag dePcsitors AJAX
ious 10 secure their money and
among those holding the notss
snd drafts Of the institution oe-
cured srouad the Offices Of The firm.
and the eject ueon the creditors may
De Imagined when II was announced
that sommsTfeld. the leading partner
OF tae eoaeern, together with his son.
had committed suicide. The failure -
associated with the recent SUSPENSION
OF the BANKERS Hirscbfeld & Wolff As
the facts IL the case developed 1t APP
p~arcd tina. father aud soa met IN
their Office Ia the bank early SAT-
urday morning and discussed the
crisis in their affairs After talk
Ing over the matter pro and con
they concluded that. as they were hope
i-asly embarrassed. they would die IL
Il understood that this resolution 70
take their own lives was in great
measure due 20 the fact that their ar
rest " as impending. as.Felix Sommer-
field. the son. had become involved IN
speculations which were more than
likely 70 lead to his arrest On a crimi-
nal charge.
Having arrived a. ths decision that
death was preferable 10 arrest and dis
grace both father and son shot them
selves in the head and opened veins IN
their arms. When found both were
tashet Ia blood Felix expired Saturday
evening. Signund died suddenly.
stock broker named Wolff who has
committed saicids with poison is sup
posed 10 BE involved in ths failure.
Never since the Strousberg soecula-
tive crash of twenty years ago has Ber-
lin been So shaken as IL Ia cy the col
lapse OF HirschfeId & Wolf. the fall OF
Herr Ieipziger and the consequent
tragedy Ia the home Of the Sommerfelds-
In the celebrated panic succeeding
the Franco-Prussian war, however. the
rampant speculation causing ii found
SONS excuse In the vast overflow OF
the French miliiards into the depleted
treasures of the empire. Now, how
ever. the wreck among the great finan-
eial houses of the city is regarded as .
symptom OF unpaliated and unpardon-
able Generalization of the men who
hold the purse strings Of the empire
A few men near the throne suffered
IN reputation aud purse in the former
crash. notably the duke OF Ratibor.
and the Siicsian nobility were closely
plucked By the Strousberg swindle.
Nevertheless the principal sufferers
were the public at large, who had in
vested their money freely in all sorts
of ephemeral and fraudulent stock
companies
This time the titled landlords OF the
gigantic estates in Russian Posen are
the principal victims Count Won
Zcdlitz- Truzschler and all his high con-
servative clan. Baron Won Hitting.
Count Posadowski. Count Zurlippe-
Bies.erfsld and score or more of
other great notables of this one prov
tnce have lost nearly all Of
their largs fortunes Behind the
exceptionally long line of titled
victims stands . small army OF
smaller investors in the conservative
cIasses-men on small salaries in the
aepartmcnts, municipal officers and
owners OF little estates Ia northern
and northeastern Germany. Finally
comes ths usual contingent of widows
add orphans whose money had been
placed with the wrecked house by
trustees. The report that the imperial
family has lost heavily through the
failure IS false.
IL Is now suspected that Hirschfeld &
Wolf have been insolvent for many
years Their Liabilities exceed 10. 000.-
600 marks: their nominal assets are
but 3. COO, oo00 marks and this sum IS in
very doubtful securities The cause of
the crash was the decline OF the Rus
sian loan In Paris. Hirschfeld &
woir were the special agents in
Berlin Of the Russian govern
mens in this matter. The commis-
sion OF HirschfeId Il Wolf from the
Russian government was held by the
Bsrings. and they lost heavily on it.
Thereupou the Russian finance minis
ter suggested tia. they buy rubls
rentes N anticipation of the rise couse-
anent upon the phenomenal success Of
the loan ia Paris. Instead Of the rise
came the recent drop, aud Hirschfeld &
Wolf were crushed
About 1000 depositors with Siguund
whom attempted saieids. have lost
their all The o0o. 600 marks nominal
assets Of the firm are mostly worthless
paper. Tas panle caused 5y the col
lapse after the other failures of Hrsch-
fed and Wolf and Herr Leipzirsr has
DESTROYED all cou 0deacc. Several bank
ers have requested their clients TO
withdraw their depositis as they are
unable 10 guarantee security in thess
sreubious times.
The Boersen Courier states that the
liabilities of som nerfeld amount TO
several million marks and that the as
sefs are small Al branches and ex-
change bureaus 81 The bank are closed
A general paoic ard run or deposit
haniss appears - De iaevitahls. The
bangs. aetux ia common. opened sun
DAY aud bad clerks attending - aposi-
exsi,ns for cash. Sonse accounts were
closet b. scared denosit0rS Az Frank
fort ne boerse was sept open sun
Sav-a course calculated - furnish
some test OF the situation. but general
iy the tendency shown was oaly TO-
ward a fractional decline
Berlin. fiona one end 70 TIE other.
sna Germany. f~on frontier 70 from
ter. are talking 81 nothing else
bat tke Rraacial earthquakes
whieh have sAaken the entire fabric
Of the pflvate banking system OF the
enelce. No saen days have ever been
k~as~, i, sbe kiaso~v - G.~s,,,