Richmond planet. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1883-1938, 1926-07-03
MITCHELL
SPEAKS IN STAUNTON
JOSEPH AND HIS BRETHREN !.
(Reproduced)
Staunton. Va. June 15. 19l

Staunton, Va, June 15, 1926.
John Mitchell, Jr., former president
of the Mechanics Savings Bank of
Richmond, spoke in the Ebenezer
Baptist Church here tonight to an en-
thusiastic audience. Rev. w. E.
Brown, Of Richmond, presided. Rev.
4. c. Pannell, the pastor, introduced
the speaker and paid glowing
tribute to him and the work he had
accomplished for his race. Mr..
Mitchell's subject was "Joseph and
His Brethren"
He likened the white financiers and
others to the Egyptians and drew a
vivid illustration OF his treatment
at the hands of certain X. of p.
brethren. He announced that he was
again in charge of the Mechanics
Bank building. He read the follow
ing letter from COUNSEL:
To the Depositors Creditors. Commit
tee of the Mechanics Savings Bank,
Richmond, Va:
In compliance with the request of
your chairman to report previously
my action in this matter, beg to adj
wise that when your committee en-
ployed me to represent certain of the
depositors and creditors in this mat
ter that there were two suits pending
in the Chancery Court of the Citv or
Richmond. The receivers had fled
with them an offer of $50, 100000 for
the sale of the Mechanics Savings
Bank building and the three resi-
dences adjoining it, which the receiv-
ers were asking the court to accept.
Your committee thought that this was
too low price for this real estate
and employed me to object to the
acceptance of this offer. In conjunc-
ton with Hon. Leon M. Bazile, at
torney, and assistant Attorney Gen
eral of Virginia, who represented GER
tain of the creditors. We filed petit
ton on behalf of the creditors repre-
sented by your committee and by Mr..
Bazile objecting to the sale. In that
petition we also asked for decree
of reference to commissioner in
Chancery to ascertain who the
creditors were, the.amounts due each
of them and all the liabilities and
assets of the bank and the order of
the priority of their payment, if any.
Objection to Sale.
The objection to the sale and the
decree of reference was argued by
Mr.. Bazile and myself and the court
sustained our objection to the sale of
the real estate at s60,OOO.OO and
, ordered a decree of reference in
which it brought all of the creditors
before the court and commissioner
and ascertained the amount due each
of them and had the commissioner re-
port showing the amount due each of
them and the value of the assets
When that report was later filed and
confirmed the court then ordered the
buildings on our motion to be resold
with an understanding that your COM
mittee would start the bidding at
$60,000.00 in order to prevent the
property from bringing less amount
/. than the receivers had offered. The
committee did this in it's efforts to
make the property bring the highest
price it would and the real estate
was advertised for sale accordingly.
Grand Lodge Representatives.
Before the sale was had, however,
Messrs. w. III. G. Brown and j. r.
Pollard, attorneys, claiming to repre-
sent the Grand Lodge, Knights of
Pythias OF Virginia, agreed with me
as attorney for your committee that
when this public sale was had that we
representing your committee and
Brown and Pollard representing the
Grand Lodge would bid OF this prop
erty. The final understanding being
that would appear at the sale repre-
senting the creditors committee and
Pollard would appear at the sale
representing the Lodge, ard that we
woMd run the property up and if we
bid the property in that the Lodge
would become joint owners in the
property along with the creditors
represented by you IN proportion to
the mount of the debts due to them
by the bank. The sale was had and
the property was bid i'm by the
creditors committee at SITS, 800. 90.
Exceeded Aushority.
After this sale Brown claimed that
Pollard had exceeded his authority
in bidding $75,300 and notified the
receivers that as attorneys for the
Grand Lodge they were not going to
be bound as parties to the purchase
and as your counsel / told the re-
ceiver that / had no objection to
their withdrawing If they saw fit so
to do. They did withdraw and the
sale was confirmed to the Creditors
Committee at $75,300.00. You will
thus see that your committee made
this property bring $4,000 more for
the creditors than it would have
brought had they not objected to the
above offer of $60,00O.00 made to
the receivers.
That Special Corporation.
Your committee represented
great number of depositors with
varying amounts and it was not prac-
tical to have the real estate con-
veyed to each one of these separate
creditors. Your committee called
meeting of the creditors represented
by 1T and Mr.. Bazile and these
creditors organized the Mechanics
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