Mohave County miner., 1913-08-30
Wildcat Banking.

4i'''h ioi Sdi ldS oCOI lLO ihSo- ium, or supposed medium for all kinds of wildcatling. but it apparently re- mains for a bank scheme to take the cream off any mining enterprise here tofore launched in the country. These banking schemes are known as the Union Bank and Trust company, or ganized at Phoenix, and the Ranchers Trust Company of the same place. We have not been enlightened as to the capitalization of the companies, but it is understood to be for large amounts. Agents of these corpora tions have been securing northern Ari zona in search of gullible ones and that they have found many is evi- denced by the fact that practically all the capital stock has been taken by ran@emen in the five northern coun- ties. The subscriptions run from l,O00S to 30,000$. The method en- ployed was for the agent to go to the prosperous ranchman and get him either to make cash purchase or to sign notes payable at some later date. These notes were taken to the banks and discounted. Many of the subscrib- CTS finding themselves in the net have compromised their subscriptions by note to cash transactions of greatly re- du ed amounts and at Flagstaff and other places suits have been instituted to rescind the agreements under winch the notes were given. The men worked this county and secured a large numb Der of notes ranging from l5.000S to 2O,000S. It is said that one of the subscribers who signed up from 5,000S originally compromised by the pay ment of l,OO0S cash and took that amount of stock, his note being re- leased. Clark X Tascher. of Prescott, have commenced suit against the Union Bank and Trust company for lO,0OOS, alleged to have been pald to it by Yavapai county subscribers, and the same bank and trust company has brought suit against some Yavapai county people who have refused to pay their subscription to the amount of 12.0OO$.
 The object of the bank scheme was to establish banking houses at various places along the line of the Santa Fe in Arlzona, one of which was to come to Kingman. Shares in the Ranchers Trust company were sold at 1908 each. a commission of p per cent being paid to the agents. To get this commission all notes were immediately converted into cash, the agents evidently not caring to take chances on such colec- tions from the corporation after the collection of the value of the notes. Just how a banking institution that was supposed to do a legitimate busi- ness could have paid such liberal con- mission to agents has not yet been dis. closed, and why other than agree. ments for the purchase of stock should have been required if the business was to be legitimate is not apparent. The whole matter comes up before the cor poration commission today and from the evidence at hand it is probable that the charter of the bank will be revoked and the court asked to ap- point receiver to protect the inter- ests of the subscribers. Prosecutions will surely follow the action of the Corporation Commission. Leslie c. Hardy, Of the Attorney Generals of- flee, was in kingman Thursday last inquiring into the matter and bad with him mass of detail that will be placed before the Commission when the case comes up.