The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-11-24

in detail. The Mohawk Canal and I'M
provement Company. the Mohawk Val
ley Orange Grove and Fruit Company,
. the Californian Illustrated Magazine,
| the San Francisco Printing Company
and the Panorama Company were all
! financial fakes, in which the McDOn-
aids, blinded by 1at+ery and lured by
/ cupidity squandered thu money Of
/ their depositors and stockholders.
In reference to each of these dishonest
! enterprises hundreds of letters We're
/ written. From these letters the fact
/ becomes apparent that the managers Of
( the Pacific Bank were most dishonest
in their manipulations of the books of
their institution. Whenever a new en-
terprise was launched and thousands
of dollars were lost in it the McDonalds
would command their bookkeeper to
charge the loss to some VIGOROUSLY los
ing venture, such as the John Brown
colony or the Californian Magazine or
one of a dozen other schemes in which
money had been dropped as if into a
bottomless sack. To illustrate these
facts in detail is not necessary.
The public of this city already knows
through the expose in The Call that
the McDOnalds were ready at any time
and for any purpose to falsify their
books and conceal from their creditors
and the Bank Commissioners the de-
tails of their own dishonesty and the
corruption of their confederates. AS al
ready indicated, there is among this
vast, occasional correspondence some
letters that are of timely interest.
There are some, there are many. that
i,,I 70 oil oylrv hno dc
are chosen, even if they cannot be
elected. There are many letters from
schoolteachers in this city, showing how
certain women in the department con-
sumo not little of their time in poll
tics. The personality of these women
is not of general public interest, and
for that reason is not given by The
Call. These women had nothing to do
with the wrecking of the Pacific Bank
or the Peoples Home Savings Bank,
and The Call declared that its purpose
in this expose was to confine itself to
the main facts that give the story of
the destruction of these banks.
The interesting fact remains, however,
that in the latter part of 1892, preceding
the general municipal election of that
year, Dick Mcdonald and one of his most
power sufficient to secure the nomina-
tons of a majority of the members of
the School Board from one of the great
political organizations. 1t happened,
therefore, that several prominent
schoolteachers in the department who
were on terms of close friendship with
Dick Mcdonald induced him to name
some of their friends as nominees for
School Directors.
There are scores of letters from
lawyers, ministers, Mcdonald rela-
tives, newspaper men, merchants and
others not dignified by professions,
each asking for small accommo-
dations, which invariably were given
and as invariably never repaid. There
are letters from men and women in all
grades of society asking to have their
names placed upon the payroll of the
Pacific Bank or upon that of any crazy
scheme in which the McDonalds were
interested. There are letters from men
begging Dick to get them out of jail,
but that was before Dick got there him
self. There are epistles showing what
Dicks agents did not do in their eff
forts to float worthless electric bonds
and other securities in London, Liver
pool and Paris. In this miscellaneous
correspondence there is something of
pathos and humor, appeal and denun-
citation, satire and blackguardism, but
they are essentially of a private nature,
and for that reason are not published
by The Call.
Another of the parasites who fed
upon the McDonalds was E. e. Par
sons, who secured an Overdraft of
bank and did what Dick commanded
him to do in order to save himself from
the satisfaction of his obligations |
Parsons as matter of course was an
AFFECT, disgusting fiatterer The Nc
Donalds would have no other persons |
around them except those that were
willing to stoop to the most humiliating |
servility. Parsons was involved in |
many schemes with Dick Mcdonald. |
The young banker used this man for |
general utility purposes, sending him |
all over the Pacific Coast and into the
Middle States on wild chases that cost |
a great deal of money and resulted in |
nothing.
Parsons outlined to Dick gorge
Gus scheme of supplying tremen- I
dous water power to Carson City and |
ii htlnR the Town with electricity. |
The international Electric Supply and |
Company was organized /
and Dick Mcdonald squandered thou
sands of the funds of the bank in the
scheme Parsons spent q good deal Of
time at Carson City attempting to float
this scheme. Elaborate negotiations
were begun and continued with promi-
1ent electric firms, but nothing was
lone. A great amount Of material was
purchased and Parsons spent a very
ENJOYABLE IT, for which the depositors
If the Pacific Bank paid. The electric
scheme having proved a failure, as so
many had done before, Parsons started
around the country as solicitor in chief
'or the Californian illustrated Maya
line
He went from town totown, from State
o State, attempting to introduce the
magazine among the booksellers and
lewsdealers. Expensive posters were
circulated and a great deal of money
vas squandered, but nothing more ma