Jasper County Democrat, Volume 10, Number 39, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 December 1907 — WORSE THAN M’COY FAILURE [ARTICLE]

WORSE THAN M’COY FAILURE

Remington Bank Will Probably Pay Only 25 to 35 Cents On the Dollar.

LIABILITIES $258,500; ASSETS ONLY $91,000. Conditions “Worst I Have Ever Seen,” * Bank Examiner tllnshaw Is Reported To Have Said, and Criminal Prosecution Is Being Freely Talked Of at Present Time.

It now develops that most everybody was fooled about the Parker bank failure at Remington last week. The state officers and the public generally then believed it would pay out in full. Depositors, except for tne inconvenience of having their money tied up, were not uneasy, fer they had known “Bob” Parker for many years and trusted him explicitly. Therefore there could not be anything badly wrong exoept the general scarcity in currency. He would have plenty of assets to pay out in full, and then some, Everything was all right, and all they had to do was to be patient and they would get every dollar coming to them ere long. Now they are talking differently. The examination of the bank’s affairs by State Bank Examiner Hinshaw has shown it to have been one of the rottenest institutions imaginable and the failure one of the most complete that ever occurred in this section of the state. The assets, good, bad and indifferent, are only one-third the f " liabilities, and when these are sifted down and ail realized on them that can be, it is likely that at least another one-third will be cut from these figures even. A worse showing could scarcely he made. , From unofficial sources it is reported that the total assets are only about 190,000, while the liabilities reach the enormous sum of $258,000. The above figures, as we understand, are the apparent assets, and considerable of these are said to be worthless. If the bank itself pays 25 to 35 cents on the dollar it will do better than many now expect who have heard hints dropped by the bank examiner. A large number of farmers in easy circumstances about Remington and several of the retired farmers in town who had money in the bank who still had explicit confidence in Mr. Parker, felt like helping him nut and starting the bank up again with* him at the head raising SIOO,OOO for the purpose, providing the books showed up all right, and they so stated to the bank examiner. That official said: “No! No! You don’t want to put anything more in there, you have lost enough already.” “Is it pretty bad?” was asked. “The worst I ever saw,” he replied, “and things have been done that I would be ashamed to tell you.” This puta dampner on their good intentions and has caused a change in public sentiment, It has also given rise to talk of criminal prosecution and the statement that an attempt would be made to reoover the sum of s2l,OOOpaid to the treasurer of Jasper county and the $3,000 paid to the treasurer of Benton county, the demand for whioh and the payment thereof oaused Mr. Parker to Bell bis stook in the First National Bank of Remington and close the doors of his own bank. The payment of this money at the time, it is said, when the bank was known to be" insolvent and intending to close its doors, placed these treasurers in the nature of preferred creditors, and it is believed by many people there | that they should share with the balance of the creditors in shouldering the loss. “What beoame of our money?” is the question the depositors are now asking. Mr. Parker was a man who soarcely ever went out of town, his family was not an extravagant one,, he had no bad hab-

jits, neither drank, used tobacco I in any form or was “sporty” in any way. Morally he was a model man, an ardent church and Sunday School worker, always interested in every movement to- better the morals of the tdwn and the community. Not a spendthrift by any means, butrathermosteoonomical in everything. How such a man could have gotten away with all this money is beyond the comprehension of the people who have been his friends all these years. Even yet as no official report has been filed, the story * remains a mystery, but it is the general opinion that the trusted banker has been an “easy mark” for unloading get-rich-quick schemes upon, such as Arkansas lumber lands, oil stocks, etc. He is said to have been interested with exState 8- nator Eben H. Wolcott in the Ruetenberg automobile engine plant at Logansport, and now has about $30,000 there. Wolcott says however, that this plant is paying big dividends and is away behind on orders, and that the $30,000 Parker now has in same represents for most part at least,his profits. Mr. Parker was superintendent of the Fountain Park Assembly, a stock company, where considerable money has been spent in improvements to the-grounds, etc., but it is understood that these were made out of the r> ceipta and from sale of stock. In years gone by he has “backed” quite a number of business men in Remington and no doubt lost a great many thousands of dollars in their failure to make good. We could mentipn a half dozen or more now, but prefer te wait qntil the official figures are made public. He himself states that his greatest mistake perhaps has been bis inability to say “No,” and stick to it, at times where he should have so. Mistakes of judgment in making investments and over-confidence is also responsible for the failure. The bank has generally been considered by bankers close run for the past couple of years, or Since the failure of the McCoy and Oilman banks, bat it was generally believed that it was gradually getting into better shape. Socpe transactions may seem “peculiar,” to be charitable, but we should remember that most men will do things when they are harassed on all sides by debts that they would scorn to do when everything is prosperous and finances easy. t Mr. Parker has done much in the past to condone the faults of the present, and this should not be forgotten in passing judgment. Following is ah unofficial list of some of the heaviest depositors In the bank as currently reported. We do not vouch for the correctness of these figures, but believe they are approximately correct. The heaviest depositor was John Burger, now of Huntington, Ind., a a brother-in-law of Mr. Parker’s and a former partner with him in the banking business years ago:

Robert May ...$25,500 Mr*. Robert May . 1,000 John Burger 28,000 Reuben Crane /..... 5,500 Hercules Baatlan .......: 5,000 John W. Tayler ; 4,800 Mr*.Elisa Park* 3,000 JamerW. Burling.... 2,000 Margaret A. Partheu*.... .... 2,400 Mr*. Louella Schofield. 500 LHTylor 2,500 Regina Oußoi*.. 1,000 Cha*. Burling 1,000 HughTreanor 4,200 August Walter. 1,100 John Dunham and wife.................. 2,500 John T. May.... .... 2,000 Susan Brown 2,000 Mis* Ollie Henriek* 2.000 Jame* Clowry 2,000 John W, Park* 4,200 E, A.8art00.... 1,000 Mrs. J.R. Thompson.... 1,000 John J0rdan....... 2,00 k Jame* Hogan 4,000 W. H. lywln.. ... 8,200 Christena Zea 1,000 Jame* Shannon $.200 Jame* a Irwin... 1,700 Alma Babb 1,700 Frank Shand 1,000 Chris Heusler... 8,000 John 8r0wn...... 1/100 C.G. Austin.... 1,500 Wm.H. Moorhead.... 1,300 Wm. Bralner. 2,000 me. O’Neal 2,500 A H. Gilbert, trustee Gilboa tp 4,000 A. A. Fell, trustee Carpenter tp 0/100 Among the Meets ere some real estate, including the home resi-

denoe in Remington, whioh Mr. Parker says are worth $45,000 or $50,000, all of which he asserts will be deeded to the bank for the benefit of creditors. If all is turned over it will leave Mr. Parker in a bad condition at sixty years of age with bis wife an invalid and one daughter a cripple for life, and the sympathy of many who lost their money in his bank will go out to him. Application for a receiver will be made to Hanley today, and the whole affair will then be sifted down and probably go through the bankruptcy, courts. The report of the bank examiner will no doubt show that the bank has been insolvent for several years. It is also expeoted that application tor a receiver will be made here today for the Baldwin & Dague bank at Goodland, unless a movement succeeds that has been ou foot for some Indianapolis parties who have been figuring on assuming the liabilities and taking over the assets and re-open the bank. It is" said that Cashier Lawrence Wiles who was in charge of this bank had his books all in excellent shape, and except for the BaldwiiT & Dague notes it is not in bad condition.

Thd Democrat received a personal letter from Mr. Parker precisely the same as that published in the Rensselaer Republican, in which he requested that we go not into details of the bank failure, etc.; that the preliminary report of the examiner showed apparent assets of 65 to 70 per cent of the liabilities, but that the liabilities would be reduoed considerably on actual proof. He admits some of the assets are practically worthless however. This letter we had considered confidential and not intended for publication, and were it not that the Republican published it entire we would not have referred to it at all. However, the above is the gist of the entire communication, and in onr reply to Mr. Parker we stated that while we did not intend to make any misstatements of the facts or enlarge unnecessarily npon them, yet a duty was owed to our readers that could not be ignored; that they were entitled to know the facts and would get them as they are.