St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1895-01-03
How Brander Used the Money,
Securities and Credit Of
the Bank. IA
FINANCIAL PANIC AVERTED.
Bpandep's First Wheat Loss
Footed Up 100000 His j.
Later Losses.


ton of all insurance company. says the
San Francisco Examiner.
George l.. Brander conducted the
great wheat deal of 1887, using the
money, the securities and the credit OF
the Nevada bank, OF which ne was
| cashier.
He confessed his loot of the millions,
and now. for the first time, is made pub
| lie the statement of that confession and
the relation of other facts about the
wheat deal and the manner in which a
financial panic was averted.
Brander used more San Francisco
money that did not belong to him with
out being charged with theft than any
! other man who ever figured in the his
tory of this state as a Napoleon of
| finance.
! The act for which he was indicted
! that of swearing that 523 shares of stock
| of the State Investment and Insurance
company was SAL, $40 cash OH hands a
trffe compared with his grand opera
| ton i'll 1887.
Brander has been absent from San
Francisco nearly fifteen months, and on
California street there is no one who
| expects that he will risk third visit to
| San Francisco. He left shortly after
the collapse of the State Investment
company. and his plans, if he had any
we're not conhded to any Of his former
associates. further than general
promise to return with money enough
to revive the company.
he history of George l.. Brandcr, as
far as his connection with San Fran
| cisco is concerned. would fill book.
Some of it has been written, but good
many inside facts, especially concern
ing his efforts to buy about ali the wheat
in the world-a flyer that came near
wrecking the Nevada bank has es-
capped publicity. ~
Brander first appeared here about
1880. He was not very we'll provided
with funds, and was glad 10 accept any
employment that
Would Enable Him to live. te
Almost the first regular situation that
he secured was as secretary to M. II
de Young, but this occupation he 500
relinquished for berth in the mana
gerial Office of the AnglO-Nevada Assur
ance company. In this position he was
brought into contact with the bonanza
firm and made the most of his oppor-
tunity. He was Scotchman who had
been raised in banks, and he succeeded
in impressing the bonanza people with
his financial shrewdness to such an eX-
tent that he was appointed to the man
agement of the Nevada bank.
He gave satisfaction as long as he
conducted banking business with the
banks money, which was up to the
summer of 1857. That year he had al
most absolute control of the institution.
John w. Mackay was busy i'll Europe,
Flood Jr was away. and the late James
G. Flood was confined to his house most
of the time by illness. Brander, as he
fterward confessed-and it is this con
fession that has never untilnoW OBJ
tanned publicity-thought he saw an
opportunity to take profitable flyer Ill
wheat. William Dresbach was the op-
orator through whom he made his pur-
chases. and he was heavily interested in
wheat in person, together with several
mOneyed men on the street.
The first turn was a disastrous one,
involving loss of something like $780,
900. Here (said Brander in telling the
story he was inclined to stop, charge
up the loss and inform bis employers OF
his mistake. In this event all would
have been well; Mr. Flood would have
pocketed the loss, drawn line to con.
fine Brander and limited him to a
strictly banking business. Dresbach
and his friends resolved to go on with
the deal, however, and Brander, lack
ing the m oral courage 10 confess his
error, Joined in and went on until the
$500, 900 amounted to 100000.
BY Sheer Weight of Gold.
Here he either completely lost his
head or resolved to carry the corner
through by sheer weight of Nevada
bank gold and he plunged harder than
any Pacific coast wheat plunger ever
dreamed of plunging, Friedlander and
his crowd not accepted.
This was in the well-remembered
summer of 1887 A perfect avalanche
of money was pouring out. for wheat at
constantly advancing prices. On the
street the source of this money was
mystery, but everybody took advantage
of 1t to unload, while expecting crash
when settling day should arrive. The
buying went on steadily without any
regard to the foreign prices that control
this market, that nothing else could be
looked for. Buying was not limited to
q w hpt a yta 6ah
to cargoes on the sea, and awaiting sale
i'm foreign ports, and at the lend" of
the market the unknown purchaser had
wheat in every port in Europe. ~
Delivery time came, and with 1t the
crash. Brander paid as long as the
banks cash would stand it. Dresbach
went to the wall, and John Rosenfefd,
who was the least involved, was also
thre atened with determination.
About the last of August. when
Brander was at the end of the banks
resources (as far as he could reach
theml, the big drop came. Wheat fell
from So. 10 to 81 So, which Is about as
far as man would fall if ne would
leap off the face of the EARTH
Flood Was i'm Ignorance rn
All this while j. c. Flood, the man
most interested, was unconscious that
the banks manager was doing anything
more reckless than loaning a few hun
dred thousand or million or two on
wheat at fair protecting margin. The
real state of affairs was unfolded to him
from three sources. One of his intimate
friends was Capt. /. W. Lees. who, in
pursuit of some inquiries down town,
incidentally learned that Brander had
borrowed 100000 from the Bank of Cal
ifornia. Calling on Flood, he asked
him, casually, what he was borrowing
money from the Bank of California for.
Flood was thUnderstruck. He had
borrowed no money from the Bank of
California, and he Immediately pre-
pared to ask an explanation of Brander.
Before he encountered Brander he
received long telegram from Mackay,
who had arrived in New York and
found the banks paper 'kiting," to use
his own expression, about the streets.
Mackay described the rumors ati0at In