The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1899-06-16
ANOTHER BANK FAILURE.
The Dane County Bank at Stoughton
Assigns.

INVESTMENT OF FUNDS IN OUTSIDE SPEC
ULATION THE CAUSE.
CONSERVATION and surprise was caused
here Saturday by the report that the
Dane County Bank at Stoughton had
failed, for it could hardly be realized
that, at time when there was an album
dance of money everywhere, there could
be any good cause for the suspension of
bank. Later in the day Atty. G. e
Roe of Madison was appointed receiver
by the Dane county circuit court and
the bank was Immediately placed in his
hands for liquidation. From reports
sent out it is gathered that the suspen-
sion can be laid to the doors of the
Grand Falls Irrigation Co. in the Pecus
Valley, Texas, which practically alb
sorbed the main assets of the bank. No
statement of the conditions of affairs can
be made for several days yet. 1t is as
serted that the bank holds the paper of
this company and it's agents for nearly
$4,000, the other large debtors are [.
O. Erickson $4,000, and President Tur-
| ner S30O00 The assets Of the bank that
are considered good outside of the notes
and the liability of the stockholders,
amount to but few thousand dollars, SO
the hope of the depositOrs in getting
back their money lies in what can be
realized out of the paper of the Grand
Falls Co., Erickson and Turner. The
I. l..
$4,000 of which $4,000 is due to de-
positors.
A gentleman who said he was asked
few months ago to assist in raising the
necessary funds to enable [. O. Erickson
and the Dane County Bank to meet it's
obligations, and confidentialy got the full
the Madison Democrat as saying:
| believed then that Mr.. Erickson
would be able to raise the needed money
until he could dispose of his gigantic
holdings of Mexican and Texas land,
some Of which, at least I believed to be
very valuable. [ am positive he thought
so himself and he had seen the lands
both before and after he bought them.
He is as good judge of land as anybody
in Dane county, and that is the common
opinion among all who know him, as far
| as [ have heard. But for me, do>not
like any company with big schemes like
the Grand Falls Irrigation company. [
O. Erickson is the president of this
company. He was born and raised here
in Dane county and was two years ago
worth about 100000. He has always
| enjoyed the best of regulations and been
Iaconsidered Keen and cautious business
man till he, three years ago, ventured
into specializing in southern land deals.
He first bought some Texas land for
about $4,000, that promised well. The
Eagent that sold this land to Mr.. Brick
son, a Chicago operator, a Swede by the
name Of E. w. Olson, retained an interest
and was elected superintendent of the
Istock company. Two friends of Mr..
Erickson, RasmusFB. Anderson of Madi-
son, and J. Fl. Joice, cashier of the now
defunct Dane County State bank, were
elected vice president and secretary re-
spectively. The interest Of the former is
/ only nominal, while Mr.. Joice is more
heavily interested, just how much can
not at present be learned. Mr.. Olson
brought with him to Stoughton an active
and able salesmans~G George M. Curtis,
| who soon sold on easy payment plan con-
siderable of the Texas land at big
profit, and it is claimed that Olson, tax
! ing advantage of this, soon had |. O.
| Erickson interested in one of the largest
| land deals in Observation-Disclosures Jose de
| las Russias. Why, here was "a tract of
| land pictured to Mr. Erickson consider
l ably larger than Dane county, fully as
| rich and tillable, only little distance
4 south ofTexas, along the seacoast, a
lovely climate and near to market,
only across the Gulf from New Orleans.
And all this richness could be had for a
| few hundred thousand dollars, less than
| so cents an acre. Erickson went down
| to Mexico saw the land and the temp
| tation was too much-he bought it and
made the first payment. Olson assured
him of his confidence of selling the land
at great profit in short time but so
| far it has brought the company nothing
better than enormous personal expenses
and several $4,000 payments in the last
| twelve months. How much J. Ell. Joice
and the bank is interested in the Mexi-
| can lands remains to be seen. But one
| thing is certain, they have had too much
! faith in [. 0. Erickson and backed him
| so far that they had to rely on him to
| save them all.
| The Dane County State bank was
organized in 1883 by o. M. Turner as
| president and O. NJ Falk as cashier. Mr..
Turner was also an old settler of some
means, and therefore when Mr.. Falk
| sold his interest three years ago to the
present cashier j. H. Joice, ayoung man
not wealthy, but gentlemanly and re-
spected, the good will of the bank was
fully retained. Although it had been
| we'll known for over year that the bank
was heavily involved in Texas and Mex
| lean land only few of the denositnrs