The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1905-01-05
IOWA BANKS WRECKED.
Forty of them Wrecked in one Yeay-:
Ten Cashiers who Have Commit
ted Suicide.

Speculative fever operations on the
board Of trade, and last but by no means
least, the decision of the beef trust that
cattle and hogs values must go down,
along with the rise in price to the con-
/ sumers in the country, have combined
to wreck forty Iowa banks in a year,
drive onc-fourth of the cashiers of these
banks to dishonored graves by suicide
and scattered to the winds over $12,-
j 600, 900 savings of the people.
The report of the state auditor to be
made public in a few days will be tho
most startling that Iowa has ever
known. The record of failures will be
labout forty. But these records fail to
disclose the more astounding feature
that these failures have been attended
in many cases by suicide. Another fea-
ture of which the state keeps no record
is defalcations and forgeries which have
been discovered in several banks, but
have not led to a collapse. The Soule
case at,lowa Falls, where the cashier is
900 and the more recent embezzlement
of $50, 900 from an official of the ,Wapello
bank are cases in point. The shortage
in each case was promptly made good.
Soule and the Wapello official. are serv-
ing their time in the state penitentiary.
While actual figures have not been
given out by the state auditor, it is
estimated that the losses in Iowa bank
failures aggregate $12,5OO,OOO.
Practically every loss which may be
brought to mind resulted in speculation
in cattle. Almost every banker who
took his own life held cattle paper
which deprecated when the high val
ues were knocked out at the alleged
command of the great meat combines.
LIST OF FAILURES.
Millard Cox, head Of the banking de-
partment Of the state auditors Office,
has compiled complete list of the
bank failures. AS the state has ii 4 ! y;
l ! pRIIk5 nov liIuUrPJrtOea, 10 70 N -
secure the figures on these. state anu
savings institutions alone are resuiaeeu.
The following is MIR. Cox's startling llso
of failures: i.
Buck Grove-H, $. Green's bank pfl-
vate.
Dow City-H. S. Green's bank, pri-
vate.
Grinnell-Citizens' bank, private.
; w.xorlv- decentralization Loan and
, Trust company.
pisoah Bank of Pisgah, private.
Curlew-Bank Of Curlew, private.
Gaza-Bank of Gaza private.
little Sioux-Little Sioux bank, pri
vate.
Tifin-Corn Exchange bank, private
% Emerson-Farmers State bank.
Sheldon-Sheldon State bank.
Ireton-Bank of lreton, private.
: Germania--State bank.
colfax-Bank of Colfax, private.
Jreton-F. II. McKeever's bank, pr
IL vate.
'i- prov;dence-G. E. Miller & Son
ha bank, private.
ne Linn Groye-H. w. Mains bank, pl
Wn
nv vate.
'is ST. Charles Citizens bank, private
v.o -, yictor-Iowa County bank, private
M Mt. Ayr-Citizens' bank, private.
'no sigourney-sigourney Savings pa1
'er- zHo,.tein-E. Il. McCuteheon s. G.
,om ''o
nc bank, private.
lrs. lrs. COMMISSIONING State savi'
+be bank.
ono Pella-People's Savings bank.
Coin-Bank of Coin, private.
' Garden Grove Farmers bank,
! vate.
. q MISUNDERSTANDING bank, priv
' Pleasanton-Royal Richardson
. = Co.'S bank, private.
- Dixon Bank of Dixon, private.
nooi New Liberty-New Liberty say
:. bank.
Imogene- Citizens bank, private
nA' Rirmingham-E. II. Skinner q
1a.o bank, private.
Olin-Bank of Olin, private.
10 ac"l
:, +ha FEW NATIONAL BANKS.
Among the national bank fal
were those of large institutions at
nell, Storm Lake and Lemars.
ected cashier Of bank at Lone Tree
mitted suicide without causing thu
ure of the bank, and the cashier
bank in small town near Cedar 4
recently committed suicide witho'
pairing the banks capital. II IS
assume the list OF bank fallur
crimes and casualties that neari
suited in failure would come near
fifty than the forty mark.
When it comes to ascribing the
opinions differ. Mr.. Cox who y
adfield. the foregoing material in prepara
-. ,,,,rt;on IF the Forthcoming