Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-06-17
LESSONS IN CROOKED BANKING
System by which "a New York FinRn-
cier Got Away with the
Money.

The strange ms and outs of high finance
as they are displayed in the narrative Of the
collapse of the Carnegie Trust company OF
New York are detailed in an article In
Hampton's by Frank Parker Stockbridge
Equally interesting are the life stories OF
some Of the men concerned In that huge
failure. OF Robin, the immigrant who be-
came a powerful banker, Mr.. Stockbridge
says: "
Deposits accumulated in Robins North
western bank, where he was chairman Of
the executive committee, until more than
s. 100000 mostly the funds of small trades
men doing business in Harlem and the
Bronx were in it's, Golfers His Riverside
bank was prosperous. People were flock
ing to put their money into his Washington
Savings bank and he began to look around
for other ways OF getting the money.
He got into the Fidelity Development
company, a real estate concern which
owned the old Morris Park race track, and
soon controlled It. He acquired control of
the Bankers Realty and Surety company.
To carry out his schemes he needed a title
insurance company. The Aetna Indemnity
company of Hartford. which had formerly
been one of Fritz Heinze's concerns, owned
the Title and Guaranty company of Roch-
ester Robin bought control of the Aetna
and from it purchased the Rochester con-
| Germ.
The savings bank could lend money on
| the real estate owned by the realty com
panies. The Title and Guaranty company
could guarantee the mortgages to satisfy
| the bank examiners and the two CONNER
cial banks could lend money on the CAPT
| tai stock of any of the other companies OF
OF each other. With all these institutions
under his control Robin could take money
out as fast as the public put it in.
His personal tastes were luxurious, even
oriental. He established himself in luxuri-
Gus apartments. gorgeously furnished, in
an expensive house In Gramercy park.
Like other players in the big game. he
wanted a country place He built a mag
nificent mansion at Wading River, Long
Island. One OF the important details Of
"Driftwood Manor" as called his place,
was it's well-stocked wine cellar.
Robin entertained house parties of kin
dred spirits. men and women. The resi-
dents of the little village of Wading River
talk of the things that went on at these
house parties. They tell stories of the
Snow Waltz" in which, after a night of
revelry, the dancers would whirl out
through the open door and, regardless of
low necks and thin slippers. would finish
their dance on the snow-covered verandas.
Other tales are of a summer sport of a
somewhat similar nature in which the pond
near the house took the place of the
verandA
No matter how fast the money came in.
Robin always needed more. There was no
end TO his schemes-and for the most part
they were good and perfectly legitimate
schemes. He conceived the idea, for exam
pie. of running a trolley line across the
new Queensborough bridge and through
Long Island City to jamaica Such q line
would tap a large, undeveloped section OF
Long Island and be OF real public service.
He obtained a franchise for this line, in
GLIDING the only available route to Jamaica
He organized the South Shore Railroad