Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1916-05-16
CASHIER ELLIOTT
MAKES HIGH jump
IN BUSINESS LIFE
Graduates from Paper Hanging to
Running Farmers State Bank
at Decatur in Very Brief
Interval.
INDIANS HELP HIM ALONG
Profitable Work Loaning Them
Money Gives Him Needed
Capital.
THEN BUYS DEPRESSED STOCK

80 (From Staff Correspondeht)
Decatur, Neb, May l5.--(Special) J
How did Cashier John f. Elliott
ef the Farmers State bank OF De-
eatur ever got into the banking
business" is question freely
asked by people in Decatur and
other parts of the state who have
become interested in the meteoric
career OF this banker, whose banking
career was suddenly checked little
over week ago when the State
Banking board closed the doors and
took complete charge.
Six years ago or SO, John +. Elliott
OF Decatur was a painter and paper
hanger. Suddenly he appeared as
cashier Of the Farmers State bank, in
a year after that he declared div
idend OF so per cent, and was paying
per cent 10 depositors and some
times g per cent to favored depos-
itors.
Takes a Promotion.
Well, when Mr. Elliott had
painted and hung paper about as long
as he felt man of his abilities should
be engaged in such a task, he went TO
Rosalie, Neb., and went to work for
his brother-in-l Ted Johnson, in
the Farmers State bank of Rosalie.
At Rosalie Elliott was used as an
Outside man" In other words, he
worked as a kind Of field man." par
ticularly among the Indians Of the
reservation. Many bankers Of the
section around the Indian reservation
do more or less business with the
Indians, and many of them carry a
good deal OF Indian paper
Indians His Customers.
So Elliott was the field man
among the Indians. He was the fell
low who negotiated the loans among
the Indians and traded and dealt with
them III various ways,
Here he accumulated vast stores OF
information and vaster funds OF ex-
perience in banking and in dealing
with Indians. He became more and
more shrewd in these dealings, and
in the meantime he began to amass
o little wealth. The business there
was profitable.
Soon he began TO have ambitions to
be head OF bank of his own.
About this time, i'll the carly part
of the summer OF 1914, when the
Farmers State bank OF Decatur was
not doing especially we'll, the State
Banking board recommended an as
sessment of IS per cent on its capi-
tai stock to help the little institution
along.
This, of course, was before Elliott
came into the life of the bank.
Assessment Levied.
This recommendation was made by
the state board after Examiner Z. II.
Maloney had reported the condition
OF the bank to the state board and
had found some bad paper there. His
examination was made about April !,
1914 The directors of the little De
catur bank levied the assessment on
the stock, and it was all paid except
on about fifteen shares, the holders
Of which either had no money or re-
fused TO pay up the assessment
Now, Elliott came upon the scene.
Up TO this time he had been busy
making his fortune trading with the
Indians and acting as field man" for
the Rosalie bank
When he heard of this assessment
Of IS per cent he knew a number OF
shares were held in Sioux City. In
fact, the bank had been started by the
Live Stock National bank of Sioux
City in 1908, as a branch bank, and
much of the stock was still held in
that city.
Sioux Cityans Sell.
Elliott now made a trip to Sioux
City, went among the stockholders OF
the Decatur bank there and had a
talk with them about the IS per cent
assessment lie used this assessment
talk to depress the stock, and, in fact,
il was not necessary TO depress II
much Tor the Sioux City men were
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