Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1907-12-07
RESUME OF THE PANIC
Flow the Financial Squeeze Grew
From Small Failure.
CITIES GREATEST SUFFERERS
Three Kinds of Bank Runs-Novel Way
In Which One Was Started-in-
stances OF Tragedy and COMEDY.
Effect of Paying by Checks.

Effect of Paying by Checks.
The financial squeeze has now been
ON for few weeks, and the people all
over the country. realizing that the
worst is over, are gathering about the
stoves i'm the corner stores discussing
what might be called the superficial
developments Of the panic, says the
New York Tribune. Some of these are
mentioned even yet with the old Shiy
err of alarm. In many of them. how
ever. is found humOr, in others tragedy.
For instance, back in I<ankakee the
experience of the old tight Wad"
money lender who went to the city to
collect a note. insisted on currency and
had to charter truck and Il freight
car TO get it home is greeted with up
roarious laughter. But the story of the
little widow Just around the corner is
recalled in silence. Her small sum was
in city bank which closed. She stood
before it, doors a whole night and 4
Cay and came home when the SuSpen
sion notice was posted weakened in
body and literally scared to death
from one apparently ut that time insig-
nificant failure The failure. however.
was followed by rumors involving the
names of several prominent bankers
| These were Scon forced out of Office
ana runs started on their banks Tie
trouble spread in waves over New
York city. The community'S spine WAS
shaken with the cold chills OF panic
and the aGue passed in waves from
Wall street to Harlem the Bronx
Brooklyn and Williamsburg. Bank Of
fcers who had been skating on thin
ice scrambled for the shore. but their
moves only shattered what support
they had had. and they found them
selves struggling in the cold black wa
ter of the law
The panic passed over the country
like wave. with its start in Manhat-
tan Island. The cities through it all
have been the greatest sufferers. The
directors and other officers Of the
banks in the country and the small
cities know nearly every one of their
depOsitOrS personally. When trouble is
brewing and these come around with
blood in their eyes and bank books in
their hands. the officers just cali them
into the upholstered back office and
explain the situation.
There have been. bankers say. three
kinds of runs-panic runs silly runs
and runs started by mistake The
panic runs We're the general order re,
sutinS from the unsettled state CT
credit A number of depositors line up
to Withdraw. others see them and get
the habit. as it were. and soon the line
can be dignifed by the title run
At least two runs in New York wee
started by mistakes in newspaper sto
ries about the general banking situa
ton. One of these was due to the fact
that many persons read no further
than the headlines of the article. The
neighbOrhood in which the bank was
situated was used i'm s"oh q way IL
the headline o. ~ aftt.1lo 81 u2Usl).l
per thar p III ira,li2 statement WIS
made about = bank that was perfectly
solvent and in no trouble. A run the
next morning was the result, although
the body of the article stated the facts
correctly.
A run on a bank up New York state
was caused in this way: The cashier
got telephone MESA sc from home
that some medicine was needed imme-
diately for the baby The cashier call
ell an Office boy, followed him to the
door of the bank in telling him the
GRAND and sped him on his way with
the admonition, ''NOw, run" Cnf0r-
tunately two or three panicky depos-
itors were entering and heard only the
word run" coming from the cashier
They were influential men in the com
munity. and when they immedia ,eIy
drew out all their deposits their exam
pie was followed by several others
Rumor took up the case there and han
died it in its old thoroughgoing man.
ner
The use Of clearing house certificates
and the premium Oh money Ii re re
suited in some curious Incidents III
St. Louis the certificates were accented
on street cars. In one town iii the
middle west where the lack OF ciIrr4n-
g was peculiarly felt the merchants,
nearly all Of whom were manufacture
ers. paid their wOrkmen in the old
fashioned ''shinplasters. and the town
is now in possession of Il currency Of
its own. supplemented by that of Uncle
sam.
In the mining communities and
towns in which large railroad opera
lions are going on the employers have
been put to it 10 pay of their men
and keep them cheerful \ check
means about as much to an ordinary
section hand rs Il Sansllrit handful.
and when the men found they were
receiving these unusual bits Of paper
instead Of their wages they struck.
ana in many instances riot ensued.
And now the climax of The situation
seems to lie past. Factories are resun
ing work aEd paying their men in clu-
rency Money has poured out OF the