OCR Text |
Show UGLIER GROWS THE BANK SCANDAL The action of the board of directors of the I "tali Xatioual bank in dismiss ing or furloughing several employees who are manifestly guiltless of the 'bank robbery brought down upon t he heads of some of the directors a storm of adverse ad-verse criticism. Man persons denounced the act as wholly beyond defense and without a fitting precedent. Tt is Imown that President Mc'Corniek and former Cashier Cash-ier Nelson have repeated!" declared that two of lhe employees had nothing to do with the robbery and the acbion of the board, at, the instance of President McCorniek and others, was a complete surprise. Especially bitter arc the friends of Q. B. Kelly, the chief bookkeeper, book-keeper, whose name had not been associated as-sociated with the alleged $106,250 robbery rob-bery in even the slightest, particular. These friends are asking why other bookkeepers and employees were not let out with Kelly if it was the purpose of tho directors to make a houseclcaning. Some go so far as to suggest that if the bank's directors sought to clarify the atmosphere by reorganising tho bank and ridding the institution of all whose names were connected with the affair that, the president, whose name has been used about, as much as that of others, had apparently been overlooked. over-looked. President McCorniek is charged "vith bad faith by those on both sido3 of tho ! controversy. Mr. McCorniek, himself, knows that he lias boon brought into the affair in the most undesirable way; and this last, act, of which he is most accused, has set. afloat stories and charges of the most serious character. Ugly developments are daily expected. There is so much connected with the bank scandal, that, it is most difficult to determine what is reliable and what is fiction. The fact that the church-controlled church-controlled newspapers have been forbidden forbid-den to discuss the bank case and to print facts in their possession, adds to the complications. The' know that the bank ease is the biggest financial story in the history of Salt Lake. And yet their reporters are not detailed to the work of uncovering it. Some persons arc now expressing doubt that there was in fact a robbery of the reserve chest. . They are saying that when the story, is known in its entirety that' it will be found that the money went out. as a "loan" or as an accommodation " to some official, and that the stress of the times made it im-possible im-possible to restore it without disclosing disclos-ing au irregular transaction to othei' officials of-ficials who would not stand for such methods; that, the robbery story was a fake, puro and simple It must be conceded that, there is as much reason in this theory as in other theories that havy been advanced by officers of the bank. When the Pedernl grand jury meets y i next vcek. some persons expect that Mr. Adams will bo asked to explain what he meant when he said in his statement to The Tribune, that on his return from the East, ho found evidence of some transactions that he could not approve. It is believed that Mr. Adams will feel justified in giving facts to the grand jury that, he, as a banker, would feel loath to volunteer to the public. ' Some of his friends say that in view I .of tho treatment accorded him by Presi- j dent McCoruick, Bishop Miller and others oth-ers of the directorate, in calling for his resignation Wednesday, that he is absolved ab-solved from any ailcnce, no matter how injuriously it might; reflect on other officers of-ficers of the bank. . The grand jury which will' be organized organ-ized and instructed by Federal Judge, Marshall next week will doubtless go deep into the affair if powerful local influences do not interpose to nullify the deliberations of the jurors. And if this is attempted it is likely that there will be a lot of things for some persons to account for. If there was a robbery in fact, a thing that scans- in the light of recent events tp have been improbable, it. will be cleared up. even if a strong department de-partment of the Government has to take a hnnd. If thero was no robbery, then the contempt of the ' public will be brought down on influential men. who have clouded the lives of several innocent inno-cent bank employees. , . i. T |