The Washington times., 1902-07-04
American Savings Stock
holders Will Respond
to Early Call.
HISTORY OF THE INSTITUTION
Description Given of Many Alleged Ir-
neutrality-suspicious. Cash Cap
ital-Court May Consent to Issue a
Restraining Order.

/ Duuh lAtl Il VI thC uSPooitVA1
and other creditors of that institution
will be called in week o. ten days.
The purpose of the meeting, 1t is TN
derstood, is to decide upon some definite
course of action in connection with the
proceedings fled on Wednesday by the
receivers against William Oscar Roome,
the president of the bank, and the di-
rectors asking for an accounting and in
junction.
Tho restraining order Is asked to
enjoin certain OF the defendants from
disposing of certain real estate and
Iromissory notes, which It is claimed
should be taken as assets of the bank.
The complaint flied Wednesday by the
receivers, Charles F. Carusi, Tracy L.
Jeffords, and Alexander Wolf, against
William Oscar Roome. president of the
bank; Marie Paret Mercier, Nicholas T.
Haller. Charles W. Powers, Edgar 3.
Stocking, william NJ. Harris, jr, Will
liam B. Matthews, Leverett F. Englesby,
Charles N. Wake, George P. Robinson,
John H. Mccormick. Joseph Haller, and
George T. Parker, directors. asking for
an accounting, alleges to set out sue
cinctly history of the transactions of
the institution from its inception to the
time it was put into the hands of the
receivers.
The bill states that Immediately upon
its organization in December, 1897, this
corporation began business in the Dis
trfpt Of nj,
1t was placed In the hands of receivers
by this honorable court, the said Amer
ican Savings Bank had It's only Office
and place of business, kept its books,
papers and records, and carried on all
its business on the ground floor of prem
ises No. 1907 Street northwest, in the
city Of Washington.
Roome Given Control.
'"rhe board OF directors of the said
bank. having the general control and
management of it's affairs, consisted of
the defendants, William Oscar Roome,
Edgar B. Stocking, William NJ. Harris,
ir., William II. Slater, and William H.
Myers.
This board. by bylaws adopted at
its first meeting. placed the control and
management of the business of said bank
in the hands of an executive committee
of three persons. composed of the said
defendants, William Oscar Roome, Ed
gar B. Stocking. and William NJ Har-
ris. jr. And the said William Oscar
Roome was likewise elected president.
and the said Edgar B. Stocking vice
president, and William NJ Harris, jr..
elected secretary and treasurer and
cashier OF the said bank
The entire capital stock of said bank
consisted of S2I0. the remainder of the
supposedly paid up cash capital of $780,
600 being made up of demand promissory
notes OF the said Roome and his asso-
ciates, as follows: The demand note of
William Oscar Roome for $27 900. the
demand note OF Nicholas T. Haller for
10000. the demand note OF John G..
Myers for $4,000. the demand note of
Charles W. Powers for 5000. the demand
note of William NJ, Harris, jr, for $3.50,
and other notes for smaller amounts of
other persons, aggregating s49,7 ,730.
Not Cash Payment.
''In order the more effectually to con-
ceal the true purport of this transaction
and give 1t the fallacious and delusive
oPPShA ahNc VI a. tdSH dEu 10
furnish them with a pretense of having
complied with the law regulating the
stock of such corporation, the said de-
fendant Roome, with the knowledge and
concurrence of the executive committee
of the said bank on or about December
13, 1897. few days after said bank be-
gan operations, went through the form
of discounting his demand note for S27.-
900, and so credited himself with that
amount. Thereupon he transferred such
paper credit to the bank as II in pay
ment by cash of the stock issued to him
self
THE result of this manipulation of
bookkeeping was to give said bank a
false appearance of having received S27,-
COO In cash. in purchase of stock where
as in truth and In fact there was no such
money in the bank and the said stock
was issued by said Roome as president
TO himself upon his own credit. and
without actual consideration. the bank
receiving therefor nothing but his mere
promissory note. payable on demand
THE same pI ocess was gone through
with the dema I'd notes OF Haller and
Myers for $4,000, as well as with most
of the smaller notes remaining the re-
suit being that the bank was given the
false appearance of having received $JO,-
COO in cash. whereas no such sum had
been received.
Notes Were Never Paid.
These demand notes OF the said Will
liam Oscar Roome and Nicholas T. Hal
Ter, executed in 1897, passed wholly un
paid into the hands of the complainants
when. as receivers, they assumed charge |
of said bank. With the exception of
about $3.50 credited as interest on
Roome's note for $4,000. no money was
ever actually paid upon them, the re-
naming credits for interest. and Qn the
case of the Roome note) for the partial |
payments aggregating $4,000. which ap-
pears upon said notes, are false, being
credits entered by means of the |
further discount of other equally worth
less paper. which also passed into the |
hands of your complainants unpaid.
Neither the said Haller, nor the said |
Roome. although demand for the pay
ment of said notes was made upon them
after the said bank passed into the
hands OF receivers, has paid the said
notes. or any part of them. or offered or
either to pay them or to secure
their payment, although the said Roor;e
and the said Haller both know that the
said bank is insolvent and clearly in