The advocate., 1894-02-07
[COPYRIGHT.l
The Dead Line
By GIDEON LAME, ID. ID.
stOy

4
All I had was invested in the stock Of
the bank. Last week my stock was
worth more than par, and l counted
myself worth a hundred and fifty
thousand dollars; but the moment that
notice was put on the front door all
my fortune vanished, for the stock be-
came worthless. When the run COM
menced l mOrtgaged my hOme-all l
had in the world besides my stock
mOrtgaged it for all / could get on it
and more than can ever hope to repay
now, and paid out every cent over that
counter trying to save my bank and
the depOsitOrs who had trusted me. l
have but 80 cents on earth, and of
course my credit, even at groceries, is
utterly gone"
John began to feel sorry for the bank
president, and was about to offer to
lend him a few dollars to buy prOVi-
sions and tide him over till he could do
better, but the president continued:
81 am innocent of all wrong in this
matter, COtterell, although you can't
make everybody understand it that
way. You know life insurance COM
panies base their business on mortality
tables which have been long proved re-
liable. They estimate that among a
thousand people of given age only so
many will die in one year, so many in
another year, and so on. Now suppose
that more than half the policy holders
should die Of cholera in single year,
don't you see the companies would be-
come bankrupt and the insurance could
not be paid? Yet the officers would
not be in the least to blame. 1t is just
so with bank. Experience has shown
that in the ordinary course of things, if
a banker keeps on hand certain per
centage of his deposits he can pay all
checks which will likely be drawn upon
him; so he can safely lend down to that
amount. But some day, the banker
cannot tell when nor why, depOSitOrs
get uneasy and there is a run on the
bank. Every depOsitOr demands his
entire deposit. The greater portion OF
the deposit has been lent and can't be
got in right away; most of it is not even
due. The banker finds currency is not
to be had for his securities, the last dol.
lar has been paid out, and nothing re.
mains but to close the doors, with per.
haps the neediest depositOrS unpaid
Nobody has been dishonest, there has
been no mismanagement: an unusual
state of things has simply upset the
theory of banking. Now that is the
plain story of this banks collapse. Am
| to blame9 Am l not myself the
greatest sufferer by what all blame me
for, but which l could no more have
prevented than could stop the eclipse
of the mOon2"
John was nonplussed. This was al
entirely new view to him. He OBJ
served:
"Wen it looks to me as if safe bank
ing s out Of the question, and the only
way to make the savings of poor folks
safe is to give 'em postal savings
banks"
"You are right, Cotterell," " said the
president. "I wouldn't have said that
ten days ago, but it's true"
John now offered to lend the banker
a few dollars, but the latter remarking
"You have lost enough, COtterell, y
thanked the blacksmith and declined
assistance. The two shook hands and
John left. He was hopeless now OF
helping his father. His savings were
gone, and he had no means of raising
the money to send home. Before he
went to bed that night he wrote the
news to his father and advised him tC
borrow the interest money of chatte
mortgage broker; John intending tC
save again and send his savings home
instead of putting them in a bank
Since his talk with the bank president
he wanted nothing more to do with
banks. A scheme by which people car
| he rnhhah of their money and nnh0nH