The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-11-18

4 Kansas Bank Closed by q Federal
Examfner-Suicide OF the President.
rhe Failure Surprise so she Public

Emporia. Kas, November fs-This
afternoon the First National pank. of
Emporla. was tiose5 by order Of the
comptroller Of the treasury. An hour
later Charles s. Cross. the BANKS pres
iden. and one Of tre lest lnowa breed
ers of .IErefnrds " the west. shot ana
KILLED himself az Sunny Slope. his IA
nous stock farm near town.
Speculation is said TO have led 20
Crcss' cJwnfall. His fortune has
dcuolless gone down with the. bark
Among the heavy losers by the failure
are Lyoc county ard the city uf En-
poria. All the city and counsy funds
were Cepcsited in the institution.
Cross was Gus - AN OF his athvr'< cs-
tate. which IS also said TO ue al a
wrecked oCnd.iIcn.
Cross ending was tragic. To the
majoriy OF the people Of the town the
comptrollers card in the doors of the
bank came as surprise. but in fnan-
cial circles both here and in the state
the result had been anticipated for six
months. Examiner Charles Jobsz who
closed the bank on orders from the
comptroller, has been going over its
books with the aid of President Cross,
for the past week.
No signs of mental agitation on the
part of the bank president had
been displayed and when Cross
left the bank today, ten min
utes before it closed, he waved his
hand pleasantly TO his associates and
seemed no different from usual. There
was a smile on his face as he passed
his friends on the street. He went i'm
mediate!y to Sunny Slope farm and,
speaking pleasantly to the employees,
passed into the bedroom of Manager
Evans house. Soon after Evens en-
tered the room. He found Cross lying
in pool of blood with a pistol in his
hand. One shot had been fired and
went through the back of the head.
Death must have been instantaneous
The banks statement had been grow
ing and caused comment last May. The
statement issued on September goth
last did not materially improve. Small
Withdrawals of deposits resulted, but
most of the business men kept faith
in the bank and up to l o'clock today
heavy deposits were made. The last
statement showed: Capital $100, 600:
surplus profits s1O1 ,2S9.53; due to de-
positors, banks and bankers. s513, AZ:
circulation $4,000; total resources $780,
SSS95.
AsExaminer Jobsz has been wrestling
With the problem Of the assets for a
week and it is authentically reported
that he had found them badly shrunk-
en-. To reporter he said: while /
do not know exactly what the outcome
of this matter may be, still / think I
am justified in saying that the deposi-
tors will not suffer seriously. Yet,
when a thing like this occurs, it lops
off 25 per cent. Of he assets of the
bank at one blow"
20
the bank, has been regarded by COM
mon consent for many years as one of
the most solid men in Kansas. He
served a number of terms in the Kan
as legislature and has frequently been
mentioned as a candidate for governor.
Cross was the son Of the late Colonel
Harrison G. Cross, who died suddenly
of heart disease at Macinack a few
years ago and who was believed to
have been worth several hundred thou
sand dollars. Young Cross was 80
years old and had worked in the bank,
which his father helped organize,
since boyhood. Thirteen years ago he
became interested in stock raising and
in 1892 began the importation of fine
Hereford cattle. for which his farm is
known all over the country. Sunny
Slope, farm was one Of the best stock
ed farms anywhere and it was Cross
ambition to make it the leading farm
of it's kind in the United States. He
had recently advertised a sale of fine
stock, the money from which it is
said he intended to turn into the bank
Cross was personally very popular
and had innumerable friends. He leaves
a widow and daughter. He had mar
ried twice. His first wife was Miss
Kate Smeed. daughter Of a former
president of the Union Pacific railway.
They were divorced in the '70's.