The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-12-08

a
got together and deposed Wheeler, and
then he organized the Imperial Loan and
Trust Company, sort of bank, and
the warrant operations were transferred
thither. This bank was the object of sus-
picioE from the very outset and did little
else than the warrant business.
Then came necessity for a reorganiZa-
ton of the Tacoma Trust and Savings
Bank, in order to relieve some of the
wealthy stockholders whom the inevitable
crash might crush. Wheeler and w. Bur-
ton Allen of the Tacoma Trust and Saw
ings Bank concluded to shoulder the
entire responsibility. For shame's sake
they took in a couple of stool-pigeons, to
whom they issued stock and from whom
they Immediately took assignments in
blank, and, giving their own notes for
their own stock, organized the Bank OF
Tacoma, !"bought OUT the Tacoma Trust
and Savings Bank and continued business
at the old stand. The latter bank at one
time had nearly $500, 600 of savings depos-
its. Almost the entire line of deposits OF
the former bank was the city's money, to
the extent of something like $4,000 and
tine accounts, mostly overdrawn, OF rela-
tives and city officials receiving accom-
modations. ana a few Eisled but we'll
meaning citizens.
The expiration of Boggs' term of office
was drawing near. He had $212, 900 of war
rants on hand. He was in a quandary.
The CITY treasury scandal was becoming
more scandalous every day. There was
talk of criminal prosecution of Boggs.
He made the rounds OF the banks and got
a NUMBER OF them to accept the now I'M
saleable warrants as cash deposits, putting
SIS. 900 in the Bank of Tacoma, making the
total amount there SOS, goo or more. Of
course, these warrants were all dated
back" so that the accrued interest on
them made a very considerable sum,
which was not credited to the city nor
charged to the bank, but the profits of
which, when the warrants were sold at par
and accrued interest in the East, as am
informed many were, were divided be-
tween Boggs and the banks.
During Boggs' term of Office two or three
forged warrants appeared in circulation,
bearing his forged CD Endorsement, the
signature of the City Clerk and counter
signature of the City Controller A book
OF 1000 blank warrants was missed. What
became OF the blanks no one knows.
Whether there are numberless forgeries
atloat or not is unknown and how many of
the $212, 600 warrants were forged is I'M
known. The alleged forger (the Deputy
City Clerk) is imprisoned. Though a
pauper when committed his family is liy-
ing in fine style in the city, supported l
am told by some invisible means. The
forger himself said to the City Clerk, his
patron, that 'if he went to the pen he'd
be - well paid for it." The City Clerk
repeated this, the newspapers printed it
and yet few suspected his meaning.
To return to Wheeler: Wheeler took the
warrants and went to New York. You
may ask, "What were the city officers
doing ell this timer"
BY a cleverly contrived plot of Boggs
and Others quarreling over council organi-
cation, tied up from April to June in a
deadlock over who should be president
and, more important. who should be
chairman Of the Finance Committee, while
this fatefui contest was waging, the sue
cessful aspirant for the craftsmanship was
successfully negotiating loans of the
Tacoma Trust and Savings Bank and the
Bank of Tacoma, having peen refused at
the legitimate banks the line of discounts
he thought himself entitled to. Naturally,
having attained this important end, his
duties as chairman of the finance commit
tee ended. Wasn't that naturalP
Now Wheeler, the chief element of evil
in all this bad crowd, went to New York,
established himself in an Office there and
presumably successfully disposed of the
warrants. The plausible excuse given
the city officials was that these securities
had been pledged as collaterals to secure
Eastern creditors, and the city was given
Hobson's choice. "Take bond and such
securities as we have to offer or close the
bank" No one had the courage to close the
bank in the face of decided public opin-
ion that the banks should not be allowed
to fail. So the bond and securities were
accepted, including Aliens and Wheeler
stock, notes and the obligations of the
chairman of the Finance Committee under
a promise that no one except the cashier
of the bank, chairman Of the Finance
Committee and City Treasurer should ever
be allowed to see the securities.
Oh, yes, 1 forgot to say that all this
time the Mayor was president of the
Mutual Investment Company and a
staunch friend of Banker Allen, and bor-
rover from the bank. Boggs' notes for
over 100000 were among. those securities
also l am told.
What have said of this bank is also
true, only in lesser degree, of the Colum-
bia National and the German-American
Savings banks. Methods of operation
were the same, tools the same.
There are now under arrest as the out
come OF all these exposures several hith-
erto prominent members of society and
Napeleons of finance, as follows:
George w. Boggs, ex-City Treasurer.
James W. McCauley, ex-City Treasurer
(removed).
w. Burton Allen, bank president.
W. G. Peters, bank cashier.
Major Henry Oliver, bank president.
A. j. Weisbach, bank cashier.
At present other arrests seem doubtful.
One city officer, member of the Board OF
Public Works named Taylor, is under i'm
parchment for having accepted some $500
from the Columbia Bank for alleged
services which consisted in influencing
certain other officials to refrain from de-
manding public moneys. Taylor admitted