The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-09-17
NEW ORLEANS HAS HAL THREE
BANK FAILURES IN AS MANY
DAYS
A RUN ON THE BANK OF COMMERCE
Morning-Prcsident Nichols Explains
and Says Depositors VIII BE
Paid in Full.

New Orleans, Sept. 1.-THE Bank of
Commerce, which everybody thought
| would be able to weather the wave of
distrust and suspicion which the recent
| wreck of the American National bank
| caused, was compelled to close its doors
| this morning. There was large crowd
outside the bank. but everybody was or
| derby and al the blue coats had to do was
| to clear Il passage way for the pedestrians
to pass on the sidewalk. All manner of
| surmiScs and opinions We're being freelyS
aired, but the sum and substance seemed
to be that the Bank of Commerce had
| adopted the only course left to it.
President Nichols gives the following
| explanations
The Unprecedented run on the bank
| for the past six weeks and the impossi-
| bility of realizing with sufficient rapidity
| on the assets, and after consulting with
! the vice president of the clearing house,
we deemed it advisable, to protect de-
| positOrs in order that they might be paid
in full in Il short time to take this step
of liquidating, step which none feel
more than we do
The bank owes depOsitors between
100000 and 100000, while the assets
| of the bank are about SS00,O00. The
| bank has quite Il long list of small de-
positors
| The Bank of Commerce was founded
in 1887 with Il capital stock of 100000.
In that year several prominent business
| men got together, and dcnming that the
| bank facilities of New Orleans We're in
sufficient made up their minds to remedy
| the defect as much as possible, and the
| Bank of Commerce was the result. The
| plan of the institution was to do Il gen
eral banking business in such Il way as
| to furnish accommodations Ia all classes
| of patrons, from men of millions to wage
| earners. and also to do collecting bust
ness. 1t found a fruitful field before it
and its success up to this morning had
been such as to justify the highest hopes
of its founders.
! AT 80 this afternoon there was lively
run on the Peoples bank. Depositors
! tlOcked to tn, institution and formed
into line before the paying teller's win
down. So many people were in line that it
extended clear into the street. There is
considerable excitement but no trouble
| is anticipated.
| TWO ARRESTS.
New Orleans, Sept. n.-Frank b.
Leefe and Louis Colombo, bookkeepers of
| the defunct Union National bank, have
been arrested. Colombo was not taken
into custody as he was too sick to leave
home. He is under arrest however. at
his house. Leefe was arraigned and held
in $4,000 bonds for hearing. His bond
was Immediately signed. He declined to
make Il statement. The defalcation is
reported to be in the neighborhood of half
Il million dollars.
The arrests were made in order to hold
the men pending further investigation.
| The total defalcation, so far as discov-
cred, amounts to over $4,000. and the
Justification of the books, if not done to
cover up the actual losses of the bank by
the failure of a prominent commercial
firm, which occurred eight or ten years
ago show that the stealing has been go
ing on for some years. The government
believes there was outside collision and
expects that the tracing of facts will re-
veal the conspiracy and result in the ar
rest of a number of other parties some
| very prominent.
Bookkeeper Colombo took dose of
morphine this morning and has been I'M
conscious all day, which prevents his ac-
tual arrest.
President Baldwin of the clearing house
says that the crucial test has been passed.
and he expects there will be no more
trouble among local banks.