New-York tribune., 1907-12-15
ON THE PACIFIC SLOPE,
Deep Distrust Of Banking Methods
an San Francisco.
by Telegraph to The Tribune.


san Francisco, Dec. 1.-THE revelations of the
reckless looting of the funds OF the California
Safe Deposit and Trust Company have absorbed
public interest this week. So profound has been
the distrust of banking methods excited by the
frenzied finance of Dalzell Brown and other off,
GERS of the bank that would have been
started on half dozen banks had it not been
for the holidays declared by Governor Gillett
Not for many years has the public been so
stirred as by the exposure of the alleged Grim
fnal mismanagement of funds by Brown, Bart
nett and Walker. the three officers who have
been arrested for embezzlement
Walker. who was the nominal president, has
been in bad health. and it will probably be found
that most Of the reckless loans OF large sums to
companies and individuals without good security
was the work of Brown. 1T was largely due to
seductive advertisements that he placed in all
the large newspapers that he secured several
thousand small depositors after the fire. These
advertisements promised a high rate of interest
on savings and lower rate on checking
counts. Many We're caught by this latter lure
The Investigations show that Brown lent several
million dollars to a half dozen business con-
Germs in which he was interested which he
favored Then more than a million went into
the mining enterprises of James, John and
Charles Treadwell, the three brothers who de-
veloped the famous Treadwell, Douglass ISL
and. opposite Juneau. Alaska. The Treadwells
have two rich mines in Trinity County. but these
mines are not yet fully developed, and this large
sum of bank money is practically dead money
for the time. The San Francisco and San Joa-
quin Coal Company. the Pacific Window Glass
Company, the El Dorado Lumber Company. the
Carnegie Brick Company and the West Coast
Investment Company are a few larger companies
10 which Brown lent large sums. much of which
Had the great business boom which continued
Nfa-, fy,ndi In hen
been no trouble for this bank. but when the
hard times after the streetcar strike it
felt the pinch early When the financial strin-
gency swept over the state it could not make
good its balances TO the Anglo-Californian Bank,
through which it cleared. and so the crash came.
One practical result OF the failure viii be the
massage of new banking laws. Under the pres
ent laws there is too much chance for favoritisrn
by the bank commissioner. The law requires that
every bank shall have 20 per cent Of reserve in
its vaults, yet the California Safe Deposit had
only per cent. Who was responsible for tins
lax examination has not yet been determined
The American Vineyard Company. of Fresno,
has bought two hundred acres adjoining Goa
chello, in the heart of the Colorado Desert which
will be largely planted to Thompson's seedless
and malaga grapes. This Coachello district is
irrigated by artesian water, which Is reached at
a small depth. The Coachello colony has be-
come famous because of its success in growing
melons
Heavy rainfall this week broke the long
drouth throughout the state and enabled farmers
TO begin winter ploughing. The rainfall In the
San JOAQUIN Valley half an inch, while IN
Santa Clara and Bay counties more than one
inch fell.
Two hundred thousand dollars in gold was
maid ont in pensions at the Soldiers Home. near
Los Angeles, this week. and there was a iiNely
scramble among Los Angeles banks 70 get a
share of this coin, as certificates continue 10 be
the main medium OF exchange
After an exciting election the city of Stock
TON trade centre of the rich San Joaquin Valley
has voted 10 close the saloons on Sunday. THIS
Is 2 great victory for the temperance element
as in previous years any attempt 10 % sae
nth the Sunday sale of liquor has been de-