Durango semi-weekly herald. (Durango, Colo.) 1899-1907, 1906-09-10
END LIVES IN DISGRACE.
Wildcat Finance Lead Many Proml
nent PhiIadeIphians to See Death.


e nent Philadelphans to See Death.
e PARLIAMENTARY wildcat speculs
s ton, followed or preceded either b
defaication or betrayal of trust. ha
e been responsible for startling nun
0 OF suicides in Philadelphia among me-
, OF affairs and prominence In the SC
cial world.
beginning with the sensational fall
ure OF the Keystone National Banl
IN 1891, which ruined men whose rem
ntations were as untarnished as that
Of the president of the Real Estate
trust Company, and which resulted
In jail for two of them, Philadelphia
mas had an amazing series of finan
cial scandals and bank wrecks. Rank
depositors have lost millions, but the
largest inroads of the wildcat finan.
ciers were made in asphalt and in
Consolidated Lake Superior, In these
TWO companies the public, largely in
Philadelphia, dropped upward OF
500, 100000.
In nearly every suicide caused by
wildcat finance attempts have been
made to suppress the facts, as In the
case OF the president Of the Real Es-
tate Trust Company, whose suicide
was known to the members of his
family, the coroner and the coroners
physician, for six days, and was even
suppressed by Philadelphia papers.
Unfortunate speculation without
| Unfortunate speculation wIthou
the self-inflicted death of Franklin
r. Gowen, president OF the PhiIadel.
phin and Reading Railroad, and one
of the most brilliant and successful
lawyers in the Keystone State. He
shot himself in December, 1889.
| When an appraisal of his estate was
made 1t was found that he had left
but $450,000 in personal and real
property OF an estate that in his life.
time was estimated to be worth be.
tween $2,0O0,000 and 100000. He
had been induced to invest in South
ern lands, where, It is believed. he
suffered great losses.
William NJ. singerly, proprietor of
the Philadelphia Record president OF
the Chestnut Street National Bank
and the Chestnut Street Trust Com.
pany, died under circumstances which
pointed Enthusiastically to death self
inflicted Cyanide of potassium Is be-
lieyed to have been the agent, but so
far as the records of the coroner's Of
fee go that cause is not ascrIbed.
Both banks failed, and Singerly was
found to have secured 100000 from
one of them on collateral security of
only $4,000.
| Joseph G. Ditman, president of the
| Quaker City National Bank, disap-
peared mysteriously and for two days
1t was believed he had been robbed
and murdered. After drive through
| Paramount Park, his empty carriage
and the horse were found. Forty
composed body of the banker was
found floating in the scbuykill river
| His fortune had been lost In specu-
lation.
BENJAMIN II. Gaskill. a stock brok.
err, cheated his friends and then killed
| himself to avoid facing them. He
was a thief and a forger. Int this dis.
coyery was not made until after his
| death. His forgeries forced the CITY
Trust. Safe Deposit and Security Com.
pany into bankruptcy. His methods
were ingenious and he reaped some.
thing like a million dollars on raised
stock certificates.
Robert Adams Jr., Familiarity known
az "BertIe" Adams former minister
to Brazil. prominent as one of the