The Detroit times., 1909-07-28
POOR man LEFT
. OVER A MILLION
Charles 7. Barney, Banker, Thought
He Was Bankrupt, But Company
He Built Up Is Prospering. /

+ NEW YORK, July zS.-f Charles
L. barney. the banner, whose suicide,
following the panic OF October. lyv..
during which ne was removed froL
me presidency OF the knickerDocker
Trust company, did so mucn To pai-
uIyze financial conditions In the east
killed himself solely because he be-
lieved ne Vas bankrupt. he sacrificed
his life needlessly. ihis fact is es
Ftablisned by the MINIS of report
which shows his estate today Is worth
Sl.l73.2l5.09.
And the knickerbocker Trust COM
pany, his tavor.te enterprise. which.
according to popular belief at the time
OF his death, nc feared was ruined be-
yond redemption. now ranks with the
foremost financial institutions OF the
city Altogether Charles T. Barney
appears TO have been unduly pessimis-
tic when he fired bullet into his
,itals. infiicting a wound he knew
would not result fatally for hours and
thus grant him time t. make final dis
position OF his affairs legally and Ia
the presence Of Witnesses.
In the light Of developments OF the
East twenty months In connection with
the affairs OF Charles T. Barney and
the Knickerbocker Trust company II
would seem that another cause than
financial disgrace drove the banker TO
self-destruction. II such cause ex.
listed IL Is secret known to but few.
and Will probably never be fully re.
vealed. But there are persons In New
York who cannot fail TO shudder every
time they hear or see the name OF
| Charles T. aBrney. unless they arc
abnormal In being without conscience.
Outside of his private worries Mr..
Barney was In position TO face the
world without trepidation. as the favor
able harvest OF his investments shows.
He had overplayed himself In business.
but he was not alone In that predica-
ment One Of his closest business as
sociates. Charles W. Morse. Is now
fighting to ward of the serving OF a
long prison sentence. and another, F.
Augustus Heinze. Is under indictment
In the United States courts for trans
actions perfected shortly before and
during the panic.
Because OF his association with
Morse. Henze and other players In
the game OF high finance, Mr.. Barney
! had long been the object OF close SUI
VIGILANCE on the part OF the Wall-st.
powers--the great interests that bear
the hallmark OF convervatism and use
safe business methods as a shield for
exploitation. Charles T. Barney was
outside the dominant Wall-st. circle
and his financial doom had been pro-
nounced n,any days before the panic
broke through the crust OF public con-
fidence and spread all over the bank
ing and business world.
Barney Was Vulnerable.
The best informed bankers in Wall
st. knew long before the ten-day panic
period Of October, 1907. that a finan-
cial cataClysm was inevitable. Those
who possessed unassailable resources
bulwarked themselves against the
pending tide OF disaster and. at the
same time, plotted and planned 20
fasten the odium OF the panic upon
men who were vulnerable. 1t SO hap
pened that Charles 7. Barney presi-
dent OF the Knickerbocker Trust COM
pany. director In SO other corpora
tons. real estate Spectator, CLUB
man and society leader. was extremely
Vulnerable TO attack at that particu-
/ lar time.
The ruling Wall.st. interests, watch
! ing every move OH the financial board
and knowing that panic could not
be forestalled. got ready for the worst
and waited for 1t TO happen. To the
casual gaze OF the general public, how.
ever. there appeared TO be no particu-
, lar significance in the rumbling warn.
ings OF the approaching storm In the
realm OF money.
On Wednesday, Oct. 16, 1907. cor.
ncr In copper which the Heinzes had
been backing collapsed. This opened
the breach In the door that had been
holding back the food OF distress.
The big interests got busy.
+. Augustus Heinze was forced to
retire from the presidency Of the Mer.
camille National bank on Oct. IT, On
Oct IS, Friday. the Clearing House
Committee forced the entire director
ate of the Mercantile National to re-
sign The high financiers OF the
Morse Heinze school were fioundering
In whirlpools OF difficulty and Charles
r. Barney. s5.000000 in debt and un-
able to raise money, was in deeper
water than he imagined.
The panic had grown to proper
tons truly alarming on Oct. 10. when
the great money clique forced Charles
w. Morse out of the directorate OF
fourteen banks and financial institu.
lions.