The Washington herald., 1908-01-27

Nov it has passed into the hands of a
receiver. having been deserted by most Of
its depositors since Morse was forcibly
eliminated three months ago.
After an alI-day conference between
those interested in the affairs of the Ma
tionaI Bank Of North America, it was de-
cided late this afternoon to close the bank
and liquidate. The decision was gsached
by President w. F. Havemeyer, Bronson
Winthrop. counsel for the bank, and
Comptroller Of the Currency w, B.
Ridgely.
Meeting of Officers.
Earlier in the day President Havemeyer
met the directors of the bank who are in
the city at the Metropolitan Club, and told
them the condition of affairs. 1t was de-
eided that to open the bank tomorrow
would only force run. AS the bank IS
not in condition TO meet any heavy with
drawals after that which took place on
Saturday, it was decided it would be bet
ter to give up the struggle TO put the
bank on its feet. and 10 liquidate while
the institution was solvent.
This decision Of the officers Of the bank
was put before the Comptroller at the at
ternOOn session. The Comptroller was
asked to act in accordance with the ex-
pressed desire Of the bank officials.
COmptrOIIeF's Statement.
At 4 o'clock Comptroller Rldgely issued
the following statement to the press at
the Waldorf. and declined to comment fur
AT the request of the board of direc-
tors Of the National Bank o. North Amer
lea. the Comptroller Of the Currency has
ordered the bank to be closed for liQuida-
tion, and has appointed National EX-
aminer Charles A. Hanna as receiver.
This action of the board Of directors
was not taken because they considered
the bank insolvent, but on account Of the
difficulty of realizing on the assets of the
bank rapidly enough to meet the heavy
demands of depOsltOrs in the last few
days and probable further large with
rawals
The receiver viii proceed at once with
the liquidation OF the bank and the pay
ment of its creditors. 1t is estimated that
all the depositOrs will be paid IN fun"
etateHieht OG EFesluenN.
The Comptroller's statement was fol-
lowed later in the afternoon by a state
ment by President Havemeyer. as fol-
lows:
The directors of the National Bank Of
North America have decided to request the
Comptroller of the Currency TO assume
charge of the affairs of the bank
There had been persistent rumors
aflOat in the past ten days that the bank
would be obliged TO Hquidate or else go
into the hands of a receiver. These
rumoTs, coming apparently from unknown
sources. have been so insldious that it
was impossible to meet them. They have
resulted in a continuous drain or our
resources.
"On Saturday there was still heavier
withdrawal of funds, indicating that on
Monday the demand would be increas sed
so that we would not have enough cash
in our vaults to meet it. As the commit
tee of the clearinghouse announced their
intention to issue no more clearinghouse
certificates, the directors thought ii ad-
visable to request the Comptroller TO put
some one in charge. at least temporarily.
so that all our depOsitoTs would be treat
ed alike.
Became President Reluctantly.
Il accepted the presidency of the bank
temporarily, with reluctance. at the urg-
ent request Of prominent fnanciers, last
October, at the time when Mr.. Charles
w. Morse retired as vice president.
During the panic the bank lost over
slO000,000 in deposits. It's deposits now
amount TO a little over 100000.
i had hoped to get back a large num-
ber of our depositors. and so rehabilitate
the bank The state of our cash reserve
and the difficulty on our part of lending
money to those who might have returned
to US put it out of our power to offer
them a sufficient reason for Tesuming
banking relations with US.
In my opinion. the bank is perfectly
solvent. There is every indication that
the stockholders will receive par for their
stock with a careful and conservative
liquidator."
Morse Loans Small.
Mr. Havemeyer was asked what loans,
if any. were stin standing against the
account of Mr. Morse
Mr. Morse owes the bank but
a small amount which is amply secured.
There are a number of tainted loans in
the bank. The security is fairly good"
An officer Of the bank intimated that
while Mr.. Morse had no personal loans
outstanding with the bank. there were
Morse corporations which owed the bank
money, and also that much Of the securi-
ties of the bank were still Morse stocks
and bonds
This officer said that between Decem-
ber and last, at the order Of Comp
tToller Ridgely, there had been struck
off the list OF the banks assets 81 500 900
which were considered bad loans. and
which the Comptroller did not think
could be realized on.
Surplus and Profits shrink,
II was also pointed out by this man
that on December 3 the bank had a
surplus and undivided profits Of 81 O76OOO.
and now its surplus and undivided profits
We're less than 100000.
According to the statement given out
by Comptroller Ridgeley, the hank has
only paid of sSS5,00 Of its debt to the
clearing house in the last six weeks, as
on December 3 il owed the clearing house
s2.5O0000. and still owes S2.200000.
At the time that the clearing house
lent the bank money on the certificates,
il is said that the bank threw open its
vaults TO the members of the clearing
house loan committee and practically let
them choose what securities they wanted.
so that the clearing house is we'll Sc
cured.
History Of the Bank.
TIL Bank of North America was found
ed in 1851 by John ]. Flske. with a capital
stock of si.OO0000. Two months later Mr..
Fiske lost his health and retired.
he was succeeded by the late William
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