Sunday morning globe., 1901-09-29
IS IT BUSTED?"
The American Savings Bank, It's
DepOSitOrS and Standing.
CHAPTER OF REVELATIONS
IN Which The President Of tho Bank Turns Oul
10 be Tho VIOs-PresIdeni Of Tho Philadelphia
Union Surety and Guarantee Company with
Mr. Parker as Special Agent-The HobsOn
Contract and Tho DIscountIng Of Tho Bills.

Contract and Tho DIsCountIng Of Tho Bills.
That the American Savings Bank,
| 1907 G street ~ w.. was forced to sus-
pend payments the past week was no
surprise to The Sunday Globe. The
run on the bank was caused by people
who have had business transactions
with either the president Of the bank,
! William o. Roome, as the vice-presi-
| dent of the Union Surety Company of
Philadelphia, or Mr.. George r. Parker
a special agent Of the surety COM
| pany, who has Offices in and Is in close
touch with the American Savings
/ Bnak.
For some time The Globe has been
| receiving letters and complaints of and
| concerning the bank and the methods
| pursued by Messrs. Roome and Parker,
| as representatives of the Union Surety
| Company, and therefore we anticipated
/ trouble to the concern because of the
revelations made in these communica-
| tions
One case in point win illustrate the
many grievances against Messrs.
! Roome and Parker. It will be recalled
! that the Government contractor, j. II.
! Hobson, who confessed to bribing Capt.
/ King, the army officer, was compelled
/ to turn over his interests to the surety
company which was on his bond.
| Through Messrs. Roome and Parker it
was accomplished in this way. Hob
son needed $4,000 more to complete
his contract This the American bank
I I4.sN s.sl .Hs... %
profit on the work The Messrs.
Roome and Parker substituted their
friends and relatives for the employees
Of Hobson, giving the substitutes large
increase Of salaries. For instance, Mr.
Parker placed his nephew as time
keeper on the works at a salary Of
SIS per week, which he soon advanced
to S25. The original timekeeper, un-
der HobsOn, was receiving only SO per
week. Mr.. Roomes s soninlaw receiv
ed a salary of 5000 per month, al
though he was entirely ignorant Of the
work in hand he was placed I'm full
charge. Mr. Nick Haller the archi-
tect. was hired at $40 per diem and ex-
penses; his brother was put on the
Job at 81 per day, and Bud Thomas !
was discharged, who had a written |
agreement with Mr. Hobson When |
Mr. Hobson took the bank in with him |
he guaranteed them $4,000 profit for |
the $4,000 advanced A safe estimate |
Of Hobsons profit on the contract |
placed the figure at $4,000. but the |
bank and Messrs. Roome and Parker |
soon froze HobsOn out, and by repre- |
sentations to the Government they Sc
cured entire and undivided control OF |
the contract Hobson's securities guar |
anteeing $4,000 profit are still held |
to their guarantee by Messrs. Roome |
and Parker, despite Of the fact that |
all the profits are eaten up By the in. |
creased salaries paid the relatives and |
friends of these gentlemen, who were
substituted for Hobson's competent
and lower paid employees.
There we're, naturally, a great many
bills against Hobson, which the $40,
600 supposedly advanced by the bank
and TO his credit was held to liquidate
Mnen the surety companys representa-
tives, Messrs. Roome and Parker, took
firm hold however these bills could
not or would not be cashed by Mr.
ROome Immediately. The creditor was
put off with one excuse or another
until he learned that by discounting
the bill with Mr. Parker he could
speedily obtain his money The Globe
has a number Of complaints on this
score, and has been furnished the
names Of merchants and other credit
ors Of Hobson who had thus to discount
their bills. We give only a few: Mr.
j. b. Lambie, the hardware merchant,
was one, however, who would not dis
count, and has sued the Hobson con-
tract for $3,500 j. r. Walker Sons,
builders supplies, Tenth street. how
ever, discounted his bill, after trying
more than twenty times to collect II.
He accepted $27O for $500: Mr. Harris
discounted the bill Of G. w. Thomas,
giving him $40 for his bill Of S79:
James McUen, the stone contractor Of
Va, had his bill of 5000
after vain efforts to col
lect It.; Mr. Charles Powers, cashier of
the bank, discounted some bills be-
cause, 1t Is alleged, Mr. Parker, as
agent Of the surety company, was dis
too many, and the home Of
flee in Philadelphia might become Gu
rious or suspicious, Mr.. Powers is a
partner Of the firm OF G.. E. McKnew
& Co., stationers. Ninth street. near r.
The whole nub of this matter lies in
The fact that money to pay these bills
was on deposit in the American bank,
Of which Mr.. ROOme is president; Mr..
Powers cashier, and Mr. Parker the
special agent, with Offices in the bank
Df the surety company Of which Mr..
Roome is vicepresident. These things
being all well understood, it is quite
Easy to see that this system Of surety
company and bank OF deposit working
hand in hand, with a special agent
mandy to discount honest bills, that en-
'mies cropped up and multiplied every
ime a squeeze or a discount was ef-
.ected OF course, people will talk,
md especially people who have had the {
uice or the profit on their bills squeez- ,