The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1903-10-30

ment of President Julius s. Walsh of
| the Mississippi Trust Company. whose
sentiments are echoed by other trust
| company officials of st. Louis, that
| the situation is thoroughly in hand,
| the excitement has subsided and from
| TINS on we expect business will be
| conducted in the usual orderly man.
| ner expresses the opinion that
| seems general tonight, after the un-
wonted financial conditions which pre-
| vailed here during parts of yesterday
and today.
Officers OF all the trust companies
state that voluntary offers of help
| were received from financial institu-
uons in New York. Philadelphia, Chi
! Cago. New Orleans. Kansas City. Bos-
| ton and many of the smaller towns
of Missouri and Illinois, but all were
| declined. for the reason that they had
! sufficient cash with which to handle
| their business Expressions of con-
| hdence and offers of aid on the part
| OF the national banks, financial and
| other institutions of ST. Louis have
helped to strengthen the situation and
restore confidence.
| Long before 10 o'clock the hour of
| opening, lines of depositors stretched
/ away from the closed doors of the
| Mississippi Valley Trust Company,
| the Lincoln Trust. Company, the Mer-
| camille Trust Company and the Mis-
souri, Trust Company. Small crowds
were assembled before the doors of
| some of the other savings institutions
| also. 1t was observed that most of
| those In line were working people and
many OF them women, whose savings
-
| taken last night by the officials of the
eight trust companies doing business
in St. Louis, requiring thirty and sixty
day notices of intention to withdraw
| funds depOsitors were not able to get
any money. All they could do was to
declare their intention of withdrawing
their deposits at expiration of the
time limit.
| The greatest crush was before the
doors of the Mercantile Trust Com
pany. on Eighth and Locust streets
At 9 o'clock the doors were opened
and the crowd surged in with a force
) that swept aside the lines of police
and bank employees formed to pre-
serve a regular line to the windows of
the paying tellers. The policemen
t were unable to handle the crowds and
, Festus J. Wade, president of the Mer-
camille Trust Company, mounted a
chair and made a statement that un-
! less the depOsitOrs formed in line they
would be all elected from the build
ing. He explained that it was I'M
! possible to wait on them if they in
sisted on crOWding in such a manner.
This announcement had the desired
) effect and some sembance of order
. was restored.
, BY 10 o'clock the crowd around the
trust company's building had in
creased to such an extent that the
: | tn rn1
II and the officers stationed at the
: doors were swept away from their
t stations almost as rapidly as they
= could regain them. Women VINO CON
. stituted large percentage of the
crowd were crushed in the jam and
III the struggle their dresses were torn
i and their hats knocked off. The po-
I .icemen in trying to handle the crowd
. ! pushed many of them into the gutter
; AND in several Instances persona
I fights were averted only by the IN
I IerpOSitiOn of cooler persons.
n shortly after the doors or the Mer-
: camille Trust Company were opened
J the streets were crowded for a dis
u Utnce of several hundred feet and al
= efforts to keep them clear were prac-
tically abandoned. while the police di-
rected their efforts chiefly toward
maintaining some degree of order al
the doors.
Uleasiness Of small depostOrs in the
trust companies seemed to have beer
removed. At this hour there were
only few depositors withdrawing
daily balance accounts or giving no
= rice of withdrawal of savings deposits
: ~ the Mercantile and the Mississippi
: Valley companies. Many persons wht
withdrew money yesterday deposited
> Il again today and In some instance:
: new savings accounts were opened.
t Officers of the different institution:
e made reassuring speecnes to the de
e pOsltorS before their doors and thi
il helped to send others away. The ar
d rival Of several boxes of gold and sil
e vcr IN express wagons guarded b,
e armed officers seemed to restore a de
s gree OF confidence in the crowd befor
= the Mercantile Trust Company build
T ing.
: At the other trust companies tn
withdrawals were but little in exces
l. of the normal. One effect Of tn
y Withdrawals was observed at the cit
d hall in the great increase In the pay
Of