The Wenatchee daily world. [volume] (Wenatchee, Wash.) 1905-1971, 1908-01-09
RESUME OF THE PANIC
How the Financial Squeeze Grew
From Small Failure.
CITIES GREATEST SUFFERERS

Three Kinds of Bank Runs-Novel Way
in Which One Was Ssarted-ln-
stances of Tragedy and Comedy.
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 In 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 shiv-
er of alarm. In many of them, how
ever, is found humor, in others tragedy.
For instance, back in kankakee the
experience of the old tight wad"
money lender who went to the city to
collect note, insisted on currency and
had to charter a truck and a freight
car to get 1t 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 its doors whole night and
day and came home when the suspen-
sion notice was posted weakened in
body and literally scared to death.
The whole trouble seemed to start
from one apparently at that time insig
nificant failure. The failure, however
was followed by rumors involving the
names of several prominent bankers.
ont Of
and runs started on their banks. The
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 Il 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
their hands, the officers just call them
into the upholstered back office and
explain the situation.
There have been, bankers say, thres
kinds of runs-panic runs, silly runs
and runs started by mistake. The
panic runs We're the general order re
sulting from the unsettled state of
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 were
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 in such a way in
the headline of an afternoon newspa-
per that a misleading statement was
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 bank up New York state
was caused IN this way: The cashier
got telephone message from home
that some medicine was needed imme-
diately for the baby The cashier call
ed an Office boF, followed him to the
door of the bank in telling him the
errand and sped him on his way with
the admoniti0n. Nov. rum" Unf0r-
tunately two o. three p2nicily 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 Immediately
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 on money have re-
suited in some curious incidents. In
| st. Louis the certificates were accepted
on street cars. in one town in the
middle west where the lack of curlea-
cy 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 a currency of
! its own, supplemented by that of Uncle
| Sam.
| In the mining communities and
| towns in which large railroad opera.