The mirror. (Stillwater, Minn.) 1894-1925, 1907-12-26

: ~ "a = =
dimming our sights,s so that we at last
see only thieves and robbers, financial
spoilers and manipulators in every per-
son connected in any way with q 'finan-
cial institution OF O. commercial cor.
poration of any siz :, Snaps or form.
Here, as iparenthelic illustration, j
will give you the following actual fact
that happened in New York during
one of the newly past dark days Of g.
nancial calamity and industrial insta.
bility.
One Of the leading financial institu-
tiOns of that city, q bank as safe and
as sound almost as the national treas
ury under ordinary conditions, the
managementpf whichiss worid.known
for its unimpeachsble business princi-
Piles and Epersonal integrity, was threat
ened by the black thunderclouds of
non-confidence and distruste by its
thousands, of depositors. These de-
positorss. had read $50 laagsthe poison
ous wailings' and evil-creating prattles
of the Mysteries and calamity howlers
in the daily press and the monthly
magazines, that they became more and
more mentally unbalanced, and the
fear Of loss rose before their unhealthy
mental visions as the very embodied
spirit Of half-crazed inspiration. So
they fically made sgrun on the bank,
demanding their money. The bank
had on, its records not less than $685.
600, 900 OF depositors money. How in
the name of common sense would it
be possible for that bank or for any
other financial institution in the world,
in a short time TO rsise that enormous
sum of cash? Especially at a time of
frenzied finance and shortage Of mon
ey. 1 remember well that 1t has been
an impossibility for some of the gov.
ernments Of this world to raise on
short call even half of that amount.
And the money supply in New York
and other great financial centers OF the
country got So contracted that there
was actually offered a premium ofseyen.
ty per cent OH call money. That is to say
for every dollar you loaned, you con.
tracted to pay back one dollar and
seventy cents; and then. too, your, cred.
itor had the right, to call on you fol
his money at. any time he pleased
which stipulation is even worse than
the seventy per cent extra premium
" ell, the bank referred to stood the
run. for awhile. At the start it had
eight millions of gold and banknotes
stacked on its counters and inf its
vaults, but this enormous mass o1
money melted away under the run like
the first snowflakes Of fail, fluttered
down in the night, and met in the fail
morning of our Indian summers by
the first warm rays of the morning sun
And then came the end. The bank
closed. 1t had to. The management
could not raise more funds, even ii
they offered their souls and the warm
blood of their hearts as barter. The
bank closed but it did not 20 into
bankruptcy. 1t had assets enough on
hand to cover every cent of the deposi.
tors money three times over. These
assets consisted OF government gold
bonds, state and county bonds, school
bonds and first mortgages in valuable
farms, town and city real estates, etc
But it could not realize on those giIt.
edged securities at such q time of d.
nancial upheavals. Consequently, IL
had to close its doors and respectfully
decline to ruin itself and its half.
crazed depositors BY throwing its val.
uabie papers ion1s market that was
fast failing to pieces lin wreck and
ruins on every. hand. So much for an
illustration. 80
Now / want to reiterate that il il
were not for the Mysteries, we would
not have s0ch times of national finanI
ciKl troubles aud ruins, swrecks tand
misery. The speeulating dishonest
manipulators would certainly cause
trouble now aud then, but the tro1bls
would mainly 81 local and sp6fa fadig
and never dsseIop as'b great iihAA6iaI
calamity of1nsti6nai OF even interaa-
tiopal extent. d Bot when the whole
body polite. 6Ociok economic and Il.