Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1897-01-07
BAD BUSINESS.

exactly what the gold standard ora
tors promised as result of the cleo
ton of Major Mckinley President
and the triumph of "honest money"
principles. On the contrary, the de-
velopments show that the financial
condition of the country is not gilt
edged by any means, and there is
feeling of uneasiness in the business
world and spreading belief that the
gold standard is not all that its friends
tried to prove it.
The record of broken banks is
startling one. We have heretofore re-
ferred to the failures of some of the
oldest and largest banking institutions
in Chicago. st. Paul, Minnesota, has
also passed through panic from the
same cause. Last Saturday three State
banks went under, and Monday Of
this week the Gernania, the Allema-
MIA and the West Side banks in that
city failed, and runs were made on
other banks. The excitement has been
allayed, but the situation is critical
there. Saturday there was bank
failure at Fargo, n. D., Omaha, Neb.,
and Denver, COL The Commercial
National Bank of Roanoke, Va, has
also gone to the wall, and others IN
the same list the past two weeks are
the Merchants National at Devils
Lake, N. D., the Calumet at Chicago,
one at Superior and one at West Su-
perior, Wis, the Atlas National Of
Chicago, and the Farmers Trust at
Sioux City, Iowa.
Many manufacturing and business
concerns in various parts of the coun-
try have also collapsed, among them
being the failure of Isaac Prayer q
Son, Of Parkersburg, this State, whose
liabilities will run up into the hundreds
of thousands.
One of the distressing features of
the present situation is the number Of
suicides of bank officials, men who,
feeling disgraced by the failure of their
banks, or in remorse at their own
wrong-doing, having taken their own
lives. Richard Cornelius, cashier of
the National Farmers and Planters
Bank of Baltimore, was on Monday
found to be defaulter to the amount
of over $4,000, and when he saw he
could no longer hide his crime he went
out and drowned himself. He was re-
garded as one Of the most upright men
in Baltimore. The bank is solid and
we'll able to stand the loss. Last Sat-
urday Henry Hustled, cashier Of the
National Bank Of Liberty Ind, hanged
himself. The same day VA. Ham
mond, cashier of the collapsed National
Bank of Illinois, drowned himself in
Lake Michigan at Chicago. Otto
Grosmandorff, another banking official
affected by the same failure, blew his
brains out with pistol.
President-elect Mckinley is no more
to be blamed for these failure and the
consequent troubles than Mr.. Bryan
would have been had he been elected
Nor is the Republican party any more
responsible for dishonest bank officials
than the Democratic party. Yet these
occurrences point Enthusiastically to the
truth of the assertions Of the free sill
yer advocates that there is something
wrong with the financial system of the
country, and it will be hard to per-
suade the people that the gold stan
dard is the panacea for our monetary
and commercial evils.
In speech some time ago Senator
Stewart said "the gold standard is
driving unnumbered people to power
ty, despair, degradation and suicide,
He spoke like prophet.