The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1898-11-25

due time the beautiful, consistent acts
of the Commissioners and Attorney
General and others will be duly en-
| larged upon.
But in this noble band OF conspirators
let us not lose sight of NJ. H. .---erman,
| the general. the grand and noble rep
resentative from the wilds of Arizona,
| the man who, through his dishonest
manipulation of schemes, has prac-
tically wrecked the Pacific, and who,
although until the other day a director
| of the Pacific Bank, now brings suit
against his fellow directors, indicting
them for allowing him to wreck it and
further insists that they are vile and
he and his beloved band are the only
true and good men who should be in
trusted with IT, duty of winding up
this institution. Unless the present
board redeems it's character by assent
| ing to the monstrously dishonorable
proposition of paying him $4,000 in
money and his attorney Baggett, $4,000
and surrendering him guarantees and
obligations that he through his counsel
Baggett, proposed, than which few
propositions of more disgracefu. char
acter could be imagined.
yet this good Sherman Of whom
we shall have much more to
| say hereafter struts about in
glory and joins the beauty of
! legal triumph. He pretends to own the
! power to do almost anything, to infiu-
ence courts, especially the higher, to
| swing the whole power of the Southern
Pacific system through his kind father
! in-law, whom by the way he worries
! to death; and he distributes passes ga
/ lore over that system and provides
positions thereon and on the Los Ange-
| les Electric Road to every one he
wishes to use and spends prodigally
! other peoples money for purposes of
his own and practically plays Prince
Bountiful, asserting that anybody and
anything can be bought; and this is the
man to whom the court has so wisely
turned over the Pacific Bank, and pray,
| for what? To be ruined unless he and
his friends are further allowed to help
themselves to whatever they may find
! that pleases them and with his usual
diffidence about helping himself-of
course, there will be plenty left for the
others when he gets through. But
enough said for to-day"
One of the most vitality important let
ters that was ever written in connec-
ton with the history of the Pacific
Bank was penned by Frank V. McDon-
aid shortly after the foregoing epistle
was written. In his second letter
Frank Mcdonald goes more infinitely
into a discussion of Shermans great
plot to control the affairs of the Pacific
Bank, even after it had failed Sher-
man had placed his cousin J. E. Far
mum into this bank as receiver Far
mum had forced the McDonalds to take
from Sherman 166 bonds of the Valley
Street Railroad Company of Phoenix.
The cost of this road at the very out
side estimate was not more than $50, 900,
but Sherman had foisted upon the Pa
cific Bank sixty-six bonds of the de-
nomination of $1,000 each. This transac-
ton in itself, even If the Pacific Bank
took absolute control of the railroad,
would represent to the bank dead loss
Of $4,000 but Sherman was not salts
fed even with this ill-gotten gain.
He made an additional 100000 bond
Issue and John z. Farnum forced the
Pacific Bank to accept the bonds. Sher-
man had given with each bond his own
personal guarantee, and after the Pa
cif1c Bank failed he determined to get
out Of the possession of the bank this
guarantee and several other obliga-
lions. To do this John E. Farnum was
placed in the institution. These trans
actions in the later history of the
banks are of the utmost Importance and
constitute one of the most startling ex-
poses in the whole secret history of the
defunct concerns In the following letter
Frank Mcdonald exploits thoroughly
the efforts Of Sherman and his con-
federates to cheat the Pacific Bank out
of documents that would now be worth
$166, 900 If they were in existence:
In addition to the legal phases of
this question we call attention to the
fact that the practical working of the
same would be very difficult. The
Bank Commissioners have to super
wise banks all over the State, are only
short time in any one place and could
not give much attention to the actual
management of liquidation. therefore
they must necessarily choose deputies.
and in the choice of those deputies
there is a large chance for grave mis-
takes, Furthermore there lis no direct
responsibility in this case.
THE Bank Commissioners are under
this bank, their deputy under no bond
whatever, and they have no direct per-
sonal interest in the matter nor has
the deputy, and as further proof of the
likelihood of irregularity in this case
we cite the fact that the present
choices that have been made are all
unfortunate. First, the temporary re-
ceiver, H. l. Wiley. that they chose was
a man whose record was anything but
such as to qualify him for the position
and whose business ability and expert
ence were not of kind for the hand
ling Of this class of business.
THE present man, John E. Farnum,
is absolutely disqualified, for the rea-
son that he is almost entirely under the
control of a certain M. H. Sherman, in
whose behalf he is willing at almost
any time to do anything, especially in
the way of securing money or of re-
leasing Sherman from obligation 1t
was this same Farnum that forced
upon the Pacific Bank one hundred and