St. Paul daily globe., 1893-09-24

the business of banking and an act to
amend the same, aud All act for ahOme-
stead exemption were some or the actSSs
of that session..
WILDCAT BANKING.
As part of the history of those tines
it may not be amisS to refer to the Wild
cat banking which Minnesota indufged
i'll as an object lesson for those persons
who want to get back to those good old
wildcat days. The Minnesota rail-
road bonds, after their issue by 3
the state, apparently had !, no
value in the money markets
of the East, and how to utilize them was
the question. In those days as in these
we had some Shrewd and cunning bank
erS who would lie awake of nights e /;
turn an honest penny. Having pre-,
viOusly secured the passage of law
which authorized them to deposit with
the state auditor "any portion of the
public stocks issued or to be issued by
the United States or the state of Mime
sofa at their current value, or the stocks
of any other state of the United States
which have not been sold at less than
their par value at the stock exchange in
the city Of New York within the next
six months preceding, may he left with
the state auditor, the person or associa-
ton so depusiting were entitled to re-
ceiy6 circulating notes equal to the
amount of stock so deposited with the
auditor. As the bonds had no current
value-at least Gov. Slbey thought So
these enterprising fellows came to
the conclusion that there was one way
they could bring the governor and state
auditor to terms, and that was to have
the bonds quoted at not less than par at
the stock exchange in the city of New
York. When that was done there
would be no dodging. So some half
dozen of these active financiers filled
their gripSacks with state railroad
bonds and journeyed down to the city
of New York and commenced busi-
ness by placing block of the bonds on
the New York market, and having some
of their confederaLes bid them in at
never less than at par, and up to as high
as 104. They paralyZed the old fellows
in Wall street, as the bottom was out OF
the best stocks In the country, there be-
ing even no sales for United States
bonds. but they won, and Minnesota
state railroad bonds were quoted at par
in the list of stocks at the stock eX-
change in the city of New York for the
first and last time.
Having procured the proper certificate
of having the bonds properly quoted,
they returned to st. Paul, and made APP
pllcation TO the state auditor for perms-
sion to commence banking, and for an
issue Of currency upon deposit OF
bonds as provided by law. Business in
financial circles became active. All of
the bark note engravers of the country
were put to work, and i'll short time
fifteen banks were i'll full operation
the Bank Of st. Paul, State Bank of
Minnesota, Winona County bank, Bank
OF La Crosse and La Crescent, Bank of
Chatfield, Peoples Bank of st. Peter,
Central Bank of New Ulm, Bank of
Red Wing, Fillmore County oank. Mic
olett county bank, Exchange bank of
Glencoe, Bank of Rochester, and the
Bank of the State of Minnesota.
PLENTY OF MONEY.
The state was flooded with bright and
crisp new bank bills. The people were
delighted, but within period of ninety
days their paper commodity Qepreci-
ated, and day by day the bills were of
less value until it was almost Impossible
to get three loaves of bread or two
drinks for dollar bill, and finally all
but one bank failed. some paying less
than twenty cents on the dollar when
wound up. The Peoples bank, of st.
Peter, of which EraStuS Edgerton was
president and ID. A. Monfort, now pres
Ident of the Second National bank, was
cashier. weathered the storm and re-
deemed its issue dollar for dollar.
Other worthless bank bills found
their way into Minnesota from 7
Maine and other Eastern states,
some OF which by Endorsement of pri-
vate bankers and merchants found their
way into circulation. L here was no
hldlng of paper money in those days. If
a fellow Was fortunate enough to get
mold of a bank bill he made bee line
for his butcher or grocer and spent it
before night, as he was satisfied that by
the next day it would be worth or
per cent less in value. l doubt very
much if there is any one who went
through the wildcat period of those
days who will ever want to go back to
state banks.
AT the commencement o. the panics
OF 1851. about every other building in
st. Paul was real estate office. Every
person, nearly, was insane upon the
subject. Townsites and additions
were laid out by the score, and
SO much was this SO. that the
late d. c. Cooley. Governor of the Sow
ereigns," in one of his messages, with
bitter irony, recomT ended that at least
two SectioHs, i'll every township. of land
ought to be reserved by law for agri-
cultural purposes. An old settler, writ
ing of the real estate men Of those days,
said: "a large share of them were
purely street sharpers, having no office
but the sidewalk, and no capital but a
roll of townslte maps and package of
blank deeds, yet all fairly coming
money, and spending it, iii many cases,
as rapidly as made on fast horses, fast
women, wine and cards. These opera
tors would board boats. on their ar
| rival, or hang around hotels, and by
little maueuV VerjHg. as confidence men,
ind ont and yDnnipui0fa sfran1arS 1UbA
mad money and fleece them of their
means by selling them lots in moon
shine towns for several hundred dollars
each, not actually worth as many cents,
even if they got title at all"
While this was true Of great many
of the real estate dealers. there were
| many honorable exceptions, among
whom was Henry McKenty, dealer in
broad acres, sir"
TIE SILVER LINING.
Some good results, however, grew out
of the hard times Of 1851. There are
hundreds. and | may say thousands. of
leading, prominent and wealthy citizens
to be found in Central Minnesota who
will tell you that they were driven out
of st. Paul on to the praiTieS and wood
land of Minnesota, where they could at
least raise their daily bread, and thereby
avoided being sent to the poornouSe as
pauperS or OUT ol The country as VagrantS.
While it would require more space than
would be proper for an ordinary news
paper artist to follow up i'll detail the
hard times Which were the outgrowth
of the seed sown in 1857, it may be stated
as a fact that during the years 1855. 1852
/ 1860, and to the commencement of the
war, times had not improved to any
great extent. There was no business;
the people were pauperiZed; there was
no money save wildcat rags. state, coun-
ty and municipal scrip. There being no
railroads, what wheat WAS raised was
brought in wagons from way back in
the couutry-from Rochester, ,0watonna,
Faribault and other places, i'll some
cases over 100 miles, to Hastings, Red
Wing and WinOna, the wheat narts in
those days. That i'll the Minnesota val
ley came down the Minnesota river by
steamers and in barges to st. Paul, and