Clarke courier. [volume] (Berryville, Va.) 1869-1997, 1906-06-27
BANKS IN A FIRE CITY
me PRESSING NEED or MONEY IN
A STRICKEN COMMUNITY.

House I'm fSzf-Greed OF Depo.Gtors |
aud How ne showed ItseIf-An I'm
expected Proposition
Whenever n great fire devastated a
large city the first effort OF those con-
ccrned with the work OF restoration Is
TO get the banks open SO that tho press
Ing needs OF homeless population
may be cared for. At such times bust
ness Is done on n strictly cash basis,
and everything sells at premium.
Inc consequence Is an extraordinary
demand for hand TO hand money, since
tho merchant can use the poor mans
dollar TO better advantage than the
rich mans credit In buying supplies 10
replenish his flame emptled warehouse.
The struggle that ensues TO obtain
all the cash in sight is full OF human
interest. IL has its picturesque fea-
lures. On Monday. Oct. 10. 1871, when
all Chicago trudged downtown to see
what was left of the city. great crowds
besieged the banks. Some men were
crying others talked incOherently, and
everybody seemed half dazed. An Off
Ger OF one OF Chicago's greatest banks.
who fought his way through the smol-
dering cmbcrs to the white marble hall
which surrounded his vault. gave the
following description OF what occurred:
Although the Iron door OF the vault
had been somewhat expanded by heat.
L found that the combination worked
perfectly. That reassurcd me. and aft
or hunting about the debris I fished
out one or two Iron crowbars and by
wcdglng them IN finally opened the
vault door The inclOSure smelled
smoky. but I soon found that the cash
was all right. and SO were our books.
That made me feel good. and l got
down TO work I'm short order. The first
thing did was 10 look nj the balance
sheet ana sec what our exact resources
were. 4 glance showed me that by
collecting what was due from out OF
town creditors the bank could pay cv-
erything II owed and declare a 10 per
cent dividend besides. even II II lost
eyery dollar due from its Chicago eli
ents. That was all I wanted TO know.
ION leaving the vault saw four mon
waiting for me I'm what had been the
cashiers office. They were among our
largest deposltors. and knew well
enough what they wanted. They were
of very different typcs-onc a shrewd
money lender who had $4,000 10 his
credit on our books. another was n
school treasurer In an outlying district
who would have been ruined had we
not been able 10 pay him $4,000 a
third was an ont OF town banker with
S1Jo.0oo 20 the credit OF his institution
in our hank. anil the fourth was man
who has since become one OF ChiCago's
greatest capitalists and who had always
progressed his sincere friendship for me.
IL was trying orlcal and one cnlculat-
eel 10 make each of my visitors show
the real stun that was I'm him. AZ
events proved. this did not take long.
The littic money lender grabbed me
first With a strange little wink he
forced me one side and said In half
whisper. 10 YOU know how much
have I'm your bankT
Il said. Yes. about $4,000
"'Wcll. ! will give YOU $4,000 II you
viii give me the cash right away
%" I WON'T DO that said l. Your
money Is all right. but YOU Will have TO
wait a week for II until we gee In
shape again
What he fairly gosped. do you de-
cline $4,000 That IS n good deal OF
money in city that has gone TO de
struction.'
Il answered no. that would not
ana told Him In plain English what ]
thought OF him. I said: L am not lInave
enough TO take your bribe and give you
an unfair advantage over the other de-
q.
do IL. because I know rs soon as YOU
discover the bank paid It's claims with
I'm week you would sue me for the
$4,000. Get out of here right away"
THAT was the last OF him. lie took
his money when the week was ont and
kept clear Of the bank after that. Then
the school treasurer came 10 me with
straightforward story of how his bonds
men were anxious to know how he
stood. When told him that his money
was safe ami that he would not lose
cent he burst into tears. saying the
news was too good 10 Ice true. The out
OF town banker was also very nice.
saying that lac did not care 10 with
draw his money so long rs he knew II
was safe. Then the man who has since
grown enormously wealthy accosted
me with the remark that he had come
down - see how things stood. That
gave me chance TO test him, so l said
brusQuely:
"'You know how things are rs we'll
rs do. Can't You see the position we
are inT oh, yes. yes he answered
hastily. L don't care about the fire. We
are all in the same fix. But l want TO
know how you stand personally. Have
you plenty Of ready cash? You cannot
get credit these days. SO II you need
anything from the grOcer's YOU want
hard cash. I brought you Il little
with that the man threw open his
coat. dived down into his pocket and
dragged out roll Of bills as big rs his
hands could grasp. Then he straight
ened them out and divided them into
equal piles, retaining one himself and
handing me the other. He was dread
fully in earnest. but told him l could
not accept the money and that l
thought could manage without It,
He assured me that whatever he had
would always be ut my disposal. That
man has always been one of my best
friends. New York Post
"
His Compliment.