The comet. (Johnson City, Tenn.) 1884-1916, 1894-12-20

one TO nelp them. Having much
iniLh in johnson City and feeling that
1t had done so well, financially. thus
lar, | helped to organize and start sew.
eral OF the plants here, advancing my
own outside means to tide them over
the rough places which invariably be.
set young manufacturing plants when
trying TO establish business add trade.
Lending aid to these plants and John
son City has cost me about $4,000 in
cash, worry enough to make my hair
turn gray, and energy enough, il prop.
erly paid for, to purchase the best
business block in town, while credit
side OF the ledger was-nOthiug. This
brings us TO the time when the First
National Bank was organized, with
$4,000 capital paid in, over one halt
OF this being contributed by my wife
and myself. This will explain why our
notes are in the First National Bank,
both notes being given for stock in
the bank at time of its organization
and, therefore, do not represent one
dollar OF cash ever withdrawn by us
from the bank. We have always paid
10 per cent. interest on these notes
and gradually reduced them besides
The First National Bank began bust.
ness just as the boom came on, and
work was commenced on the Three
C's Railroad, when johnson City Ger.
tainly seemed to be ON the road to
prosperity. At the beginning of the
year 1890, all must admit that times
were at fiush-tide, everybody was hap
by, rich and paid their debts, and the
bank held nearly 100000 in deposits,
Aith loans and discounts of about
$250,000 in a town of less than 5000
people. Here occurred the second
error in judgment. Knowing that q
depression must follow, we should
have locked our safe full to overflow
ing with money, forced everybody tc
pay up, snaring no man, company OIL
institution, but this we could not vel
afford to- do. Still, we put on the
brake, called in loans gradually anC
had reduced them from $250000 t.
less than 100000 when the bank
closed. During this time we had paiC
out out over 100000 in cash NOR,
than we had taken in-through a tim,
of collapse and liquidation Of differen
Enterprises that no outsider can real
ize. The collection OF 5000, if it haC
to be raised in two or three days
would have proved an impossibility
Failure has succeeded failure, and to
day there are only two men still il
business who were in business min,
years ago, and it is to be regretted
that hardly a man who has entered
business in Johnson City has left tn
town richer than when he came. T,
say that bank could be carried OF
here for the past six years and no
lose money on bad debts and occa
slonally get tied up on slow paper
would be saying something whicl
could not be done, even by the wises
man himself-that is, if there was an,
business done,
The day this telegram was receive,
here-"Barker Bros. failed today
the grip of insolvency was fastene'
upon this section OF the country ant
it penetrated to every nook and cor
ner of upper East Tennessee, through
which the Three C's Railroad was {,
be built, and Johnson City being thei
headquarters felt the effect witt
double weight. While A was congrat
ulatipg himself that the failure did no
"get" him for anything, already it ha
affected him through B or g, VIII
i, were unable to pay A, and in the en-
they all received the sheriff's kind al
fention, and one or another OF on
three banks had to help pay the pipe
by taking some real estate, slow note
} or bearing total loss. The creates
! calamity Of the boom in real estate
} the initiation OF values which seems t
, draw all people into a sea o. specull
} ton, and has thus involved most {