The Leavenworth echo. [volume] (Leavenworth, Wash.) 1904-current, 1913-02-28
That Open Letter TO The Editor of The
Echo

MI. blllngs, manager OF Inc RACINE
Building and Loan Co. addressed an
open letter to the editor Of this paper
last week, in the course Of which he
said it was true that he had considered
bringing suit against the editor of The
Echo but found that it would be hard
to recover on judgment. This will
cause a smile of incredulity to go
round this community, where the peo-
pie will suspect, not without good rea-
son, that Mr.. Billings was deferred
more by the notoriety his company
would get and the fear Of having the
costs of suit assessed against the plain
tiff, than inability to collect judgment.
He said in his statement that The Echo
mentioned only the Minneapolis build
ing and loan association failure. At
tention was called to that other most
rotten failure which occurred last sum-
mer when the bladder like Standard
building and loan company caught
a number of Leavenworth people.
Yes, unfortunately We did invest in
Mr.. Billings company on the strength
OF the statements made by his accred-
tied agent, sent here to solicit BUSH
ness, and the editor of The Echo is
not the only one that was lead into
Mr.. Billings trap by the false and
misleading statements Of the agents ne
sent here. Mr.. Billings should have
warned the public that his agents were
unworthy of belief and the company
would not be bound by any statements
made by them. In the absence Of
such warning, under the common law,
his company is bound by the acts OF
its agents. 1t is quite probable, if his
company is solvent, and a judgment
can be collected, that the courts may
be asked to determine the matter of
the responsibility Of company for the
acts OF its agent.
= If, upon the representations OF Mr..
Billings accredited agents, you, Mr..
Reader, go into the Pacific Building
and Loan association. and after the
lapse of fifteen months or two years,
and after you have paid into his COM
pany $50, 5000, or more, as the case
may be, you decide you want to Dor
row on your deposit, or you may want
to Withdraw your deposit, Mr.. Billings
will tell you your dollars have shrunk
to sixty cents, and you can borrow that
much of your own money, or you may
withdraw it. Yet you went into the
company on the representation OF its
agent that you could withdraw all
your money at the end Of six months.
II you complain Mr.. Billings will cody
tell you you are sucker, and ought to
have been taken in. You should have
investigated first. Reminds one Of
Get Rich Quick Wallingford.
In his open letter he prints the fol-
lowing paragraph:
Permit US the privilege Of sinking
to your level just long enough to tell
you, in the language Of the streets,
that you are one Of the class Of muck
rakers that is fast becoming a menace
to this country"
That is just about what Clarence D.
Hilman, who got out Of the federal
penitentiary last week, said when GER
tain Seattle newspapers charged him
with swindling people. In substance
it is what Wappenstein, still in the
penitentiary, said when the Seattle
newspapers charged him with swindling
and grating. 1t has been the whine
Of every rascally cut purse that ever
wore stripes. Evidently Mr.. Billings
did not know that his cry Of muck
raker" is quasi evidence Of guilt. II
is as il he would frighten somebody
from the scent.
He says our criticism OF his company
has been valuable as an advertisement
and he will doubtless take the same