The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1914-06-24

The following document was
filed in Chancery Court today in
the matter of the. Commercial Bank
4 Trust Co. s affairs:
Brookhaven, Miss. June "a, 1914.
To Hon. P. z. Jones, Chancellor
of the Fifth Chancery Court Dis
trict of the State of Mississippi,
including Lincoln county:
We, the undersigned committee
of the Depositors of the defunct
Commercial Bank & Trust Com
pany. duly and regularly appointed
by said Depositors in. public meet
ing to act for them, respectfully
beg leave to state as follows:
We first wish to call your atten-
tion to the fact that at the time
said institution closed its doors, it
was with the most positive assur-
ance that its affairs had been con-
Quoted regularly and on a high
plane; that conditions over which
it had no control necessitated its
closing, and that the Depositors
would receive dollar for dollar.
The matter was presented to Your
Honor, the assignment made, the
assignees from the officials of the
bank, with attorneys from the off,
cials and their relatives, made be-
fore any depositor, or the public,
knew it. There was, therefore,
no opportunity for any Deposition
to object to Your Honor's appoint
ment.
Thereafter, however, when the
same report made to Your Honor
was just as positively repeated to
the stunned Depositors, that every
thing was regular and dollar for
dollar would inevitably be paid,
they, with the intent to be perfect
ly fair. and relying on the assur-
ances Systematically handed out to
them, chose to await developments
and made no protest, in legal form,
against said appointments and the
proposed liquidation of the bank 3
l1affairs.
We remind Your Honor that this
attitude was maintained consist
emily, in spite of the rumors which
constantly leaked out, until the
report of the first auditor was filed
in your court, showing situation
to amaze and alarm the most SAN
guine Meantime. the manage
ment of the bank, which was sup
posed to be in the interest of the
depositors. had frankly and boldly
manifested an attitude which was
not only, in our opinion, not in the
interest of the depositors, but care
less of them, and even inimical to
them.
1t being indisputably apparent
to the Depositors that the manage
ment of the bank before its failure
had not been what it should have
been, and that the methods of the
assignees and their attorneys, in
fiuence1 naturally by family and
business ties, were not what the
interests of the Depositors demand
ed, there were held several meet
ings of the Depositors, which re-
suited in the passing of resoIu-
tions expressing the condemnation
of the Depositors for the past and
present MANAGEMENT, and calling
for relief in various forms.
Influenced, as we are persuaded, !,
by these resolutions, and TO the enc
that justice might be done to sll
concerned, Your Honor, as means
of obtaining basis upon which to
act inteliigently and justly. propos-
ed the appointment of commission
of three impartial, disinterested,
nonresident gentlemen, of busi-
ness, legal and accounting skill. to
thoroughly investigate the records
of the defunct institution and
made due report Of their findings.
In this proposal of Your Honor's
the Depositors acquiesced, but the
assignees and their attorneys OBJ
tjected. Nevertheless, a we'll chosen
commission was appointed by Your
Honor on the 9th day of April.
1914. who began work promptly
and who have now made the pre-
liminary report their duty requir-
ed.
With this summary of the pro-
ceedings, we desire to say now that
50 far as said report goes, we wish
to express our approval of the
same, and urge that Your Honor
Eact upon it's recommendations with
out delay. We desire further to
say. however, that in our opinion
| the report could have been more
drastic with entire justice. and its
Recommendations more far.reach-
ling, il view Of the conditions
drought to light BY their inyesti-
IgatioDs.
We call the Courts attention to
the fact that Assignee L. II. Bag
gett, a stakeholder. director and
assistant cashier Of the defunct
bank now stands charged with hav-
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