Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 40, Number 33, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 31 December 1907 — REMINGTON BANK IN BAD PLIGHT [ARTICLE]

REMINGTON BANK IN BAD PLIGHT

State Auditor Billheimer Applies For Recover Following Examiner Hinshaw’s Investigation, Which Shows a Deplorable Condition, and Indicates Poor Prospect For Creditors.

DEPOSITS $258,255

in the sum of $29,411.67, and this makes a total of liabilities of $287,667.07. The total of the assets is $199,834.04, leaving a shortage m $87,833.53 at the outset Asked if There would be a shrinkage of the assets Mr. Hinshaw said there would be, and he estimated this to be all of $60,000, and said this was very charitable to Mr. Parser. This would make a total shortage of $137,833.23, and would mean that the bank would pay out about 50 cents on the dollar, provided the assets can be converted into cash at small expense. “Where did the money go!” This question was asked and Mr. Hinshaw could not answer it He said that so for as the Texas rice lands and Arkansas lumber lands were concerned the investments were not so bad. He thought Fountain Park had cost Mr. Parker considerable money. He denied that he had been duped on mining or other stocks. Bad loans figured extensively bat Mr. Hinshaw figures that there is .vet some other cause for the disappearance of the cash. He said he could Burmise but would not state what he believed this method to be. Asked if the auditor’s department would prosecute Mr. Parker for the alleged false reports, Mr. Tlinshaw said, ‘*No, that is nob Its province, but it will point out the duty to the prosecuting attorney.” He said Mr. Parker had un doubtedly been guilty of preferring several creditors, and cited the case of County Treasurer Nichols. - He said that Mr. Nichols had, by errer, overdrawn his account $37 and this was named as an overdraft asset While preferments made within four months of the date of the bank’s closing are not legal, the law differs in the matter of the withdrawal of public funds, and Mr. Hinshaw said there was n* way by whioh either Nichols or his bondsmen could be made to fall for the amount he had withdrawn. Mr. Hinshaw exhibited considerable friendly feeling for Mr. Parker and reluctantly related some of the renditions about the bank. As they are all bound to come out tho, as the matter proceeds, he agreed that there was no use in withholding them now. The books of the bank were improperly kept, and Mr. farker probably had little knowledge of his own condition. He was so distracted by the condition of affairs that he had apparently lost hope, and hundreds of business letters are said to have accumulated that were never opened. On request of Mr. Hinshaw the Parker home and other real estate has already been transferred to the examiner in trust for the hank. Mrs. Parker, brave and good woman that she\is, signed the deeds along with her husband. The Rueteuberg engine stock was not named as an asset, and the examiner believes Mr.. Parker has disposed of that within the past few months. The remarkable disclosures of the examiner have come as a great shock to the people of Remington and Mr. Parker’s acquaintances all over the county. He had been considered the very soul of honor and no one could have believed him to be guilty of the false methods now exposed. It is a commendable thing that he should have decided to transfer his property without reserve for the benefit of creditors, and to have executed without delay this decision. It shows his desire to do all he can to mitigate tho

False Reports of Bank’s Condition Alleged to Have Been Hade In Response to Auditor’s Call. v State Auditor Billheimer and Bank Examiner Hinshaw, who were in Rensselaer Saturday and made application for receivers for the Remington and Goodland banks, left on the 2:04 train that day for Indianapolis. Judge Hanley set Jan. Bth, at Rensselaer; as the time for making the appointments. Before that date, however, it is quite certain the Parker bank at Remington will have been placed in the bankruptcy courts on petition of creditors. Asked about this Mr. Hinshaw said that he considered bankruptcy proceedings the most proper, altho it was the duty, of his department to apply for a receiver. Mr. Hinshaw had with him a complete list of the depositors and all other creditors of the - bank, so far as he had ascertained up to this time. There were approximately 1,000 deposit accounts, varying in amount from $1 savings accounts to $28,000, the amount Mr. Parker's brother-in law, John Burger, had on deposit. The total of these deposits was $258,255 90. On last September 30th Mr. \ Parker made a sworn statement on call of the auditor of state, in which he showed the demand deposits to be $72,000 and the time deposits to be $36,000, a total of SIOB,OOO. Developments of the examiner thus far indicate that there must have been in the neighborhood of $300,000 on deposit at that time. According to the investigations of the bank examiner Mr. Parker must have made other false reports of the bank’s condition, and in mak* ing these reports be merely assembled a number of resource items and then showed enough deposits to strike a balance without regard to the actual amount of deposits on hand. Since the report only as far back as Sept. 30th showed the deposits at SIOB,OOO and Mr. Parker states that there was a continuous withdrawal since Oct. 24th, and yet there was more than $258,000 on deposit when the bank was closed shows that there was a misrepreseutation of the bank’s condition of at least $150,000 and probably $200,000. Had the full amount of deposits been shown in the report, it would have been necessary to havejcovered it by the items named as resources and had the difference been showu as real estate holdings, due from other banks, mortgage securities, or other assets, it is probable the auditor would have at once directed an examination. There was no fraud to the creditors by the report more than that of granting the bank a further lease on business, and Mr. Parker doubtless hoped against hope that he would be ahle to make some turn that would allow him to clear up the business. The bank’s affairs, however, had been so bad’ly managed that, had he possessed in actual currency SIOO,OOO more than he had, the bank would hare still been insolvent and would have been closed doubtless by the examiner when he made his first rounds under the new law providing for the exaprin&tion of private banks, a Had a private bank been subject to official examination it is probable ‘ the Parker bank would have been ( found insolvent five years ago. ' In addition to the deposits Mr. I Parker is indebted to other banka

loss his -friends have so long reposed in him. And it is probable many of his acquaintances will attribute the bank’s condition to his SOO liberal consideration of the appeal of those in need. The outcome and the proceedings will be awaited with interest. In the meantime Mr. Parker is completely crashed, and has been confined to his home by illness unassumed. The state auditor and Mr. Hinshaw take much pride in the law just gone into foroe providing for the examination of private banks. They propose to see that these institutions are all right and to keep them so. These examinations will injure no institutions that are legitimately conducted, but should discover every weakness, said the examiner. It is not State or Nationait banks that ars having trouble, but private banks whose managers are unrestricted in their investments.