The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1922-07-19

full weight of the financial storm.
They adjourned that night from the
bankers library to Sherry's, where,
at one o'clock that morning, the lead
ing partner in the foremost banking
house called in the financial reporters
He said that the subject of that
nights conference had been the af-
fairs of the Trust Company of Am
erica.
Even then, the New York press re-
fused to name the Inflated institution,
with one eXception-a jewish owned
newspaper which enjoys the favor rSof
the Street.
Early the next morning, Wall Street
was packed with the desperate de-
postors Of the Trust Company of
America, an institution which boast
ed resources of $76,O0O,0OO. The
company paid out $l2,0OO,00O the first
day, $9,000,000 the second day, and so
continued paying daily for period of
some as days. AS shown before, the
depositors camped all night in the fin
ancial district, so as not to lose their
places in line. The trust company was
slowly bled white. Then the dictators
of the Street compelled the associat-
ed trust companies to advance the
unfortunate institution $25,000,0O0 of
their own funds. The order was that
the Trust Company of America must
not close down. In all, $34 100000
was withdrawn by depositors during a
run unprecedented in the history of
banking.
The president of the Trust Company
of America was Oakleigh Thorne. He
stuck to his post without a word, and
paid out his millions until the run was
ended. Then he continued the COM
pany, and paid off the $25,00O,000
loan of the associated trust companies.
He even brought his concern back to
point where it once more paid divi-
dends upon it's stock. But the harsh
emperors of the Streets arena had
turned down their thumbs. Their die
tum was that Oaklcigh Thorne must
depart forever from Wall Street, with
all woh had been associated with
him.
did not see Mr. Thorne again un-
til the day of his departure. When l
called at his narrow office on the
mezzanine floor of the Trust Company
Of America building, he was seated,
smiling, before his desk, above which
hung a sign: "Don't Worry" His
hair had turned absolutely white.
Thorne said to me: "Whcn the
storm broke, to my utter amazement,
its chief force was directed against
the Trust Company of America. 1t is
idle now to discus sthe reason why. I
am going acros sthe river. I have
bought the Corporation Trust Com
pany of New Jersey, to provide Jobs
for the boys who stood by me-"
The National banks of Wall Street
had saved themselves, and protected
the great pool in Tennessee Coal &
Iron stock. Now the exchanged $780,
100000 in United States Steel sinking
fund five per cent bonds for the stock
ownership of the T. C. & l., held as
collateral under the $25 100000 loans,
and thus, without the expenditure of
one dollar the great Tennessee Coal
d Iron property, whose corner had
been the handspring of the panic, fell
into the possession of the United
States Steel Corporation.
While these tragic events were
Transporting in Wall Street, how Jared
it with the country? The banks of
the nterior--in other words. the
country banks-had not been idcnti-
fed in any way with the "stock pools"
and "stock corners" of Wall Street.
The great bulk of the American peo-
pie had not been gambling in the
stock market, and, in fact, knew moth
ing of it's speculative ventures. And
when the approaching catastrophe en-
quilted them, it came like a bolt from
the blue unknown.
Toward the end of October of that
year, the country was in need of
funds to move it's crops. 1t owned
an ample surplus of many hundreds
of millions. Unfortunately. this
money had been intrusted by it's local
banks to the New York National
banks, in the shape of demand de-
p0sits.
Turn Down Country Banks
Now, the country banks called on
Wall Street for the return of a Ger
tain amount of their funds They
little suspected that their millions had
already been loaned out to stock
gamblers and tied up in the fo' of
frozen credits. Their conste~ ion
may be imagined when the NeN York
banks coolly replied that they were
| refusing to ship coin or Currency
against the deposit balances of their
country correspondent
But it was true. The New York
National banks, totally disregarding
the country's rights and interests,
closed their money vaults, refused to
pay out funds, and kept business go
ing between themselves by the in
tcrchange Of Clearing House ccrti-
fica. They bluntly refused to pay
the cost of their mismanagcment.
They let the country paw.
Immediately, the panic, born in
Wall Street, extended it's ravages to
the Middle West, the South and the
West. Business men desperately of
fered high premiums for currency.