Salt Lake Telegram | 1918-10-25 | Page 1 | Last Desperate Effort to Save Merchants Bank

Las Desperate Effort to Save Merchants Bank DISCLOSURE OF PROBE ffJlii. Petition. Asking. Grand I Jury Action Against i Men Involved in Failure Fail-ure Ready to Be Filed THE informatiuu given by The Telegram Tburtkia.v evening that a petition bad been prepared and possiblr- vmild be- filed today, to-day, MNkiiiff for the HUiumonin j? nf a grand Jury to ronidr the affair of the Mrn-hanta bank. tothr with prediction, that arnaarton In business and political circle would result from rout em plated movemenia. created Intense In-tense Interest throughout th city and considerable dinmay among those directly di-rectly concerned. Numerous confereni-ee were held lunt evening, following the apiiearance of The Telegram, and these were continued con-tinued this morning, and others are being held thla afternoon. MANY CONFERENCES. There were business conferences, polfticat conferences and gatherings of those, who nre working In the re I Interests of the depositors of the bankrupt financial Institution. Most of these conferences. naliirHlly, j mere held behind closed. If not locked, doors; but, so far aa known, none was I open to th general public, and the) verba) sign was out that nepuperj njen would not he welcome. . J TO SAVE BANK. j The absence throughout a greHter . portion -of the -day- from- eher offw of one or more county officials, who have heen or may be active In the de.- j velopment of the case, waa notice- able. v j Various rumors were In circulation ss to th outcome of some of the con-ifpieneee. con-ifpieneee. One of these waa to Hie effect ef-fect that. With the hope of delaying. ,..r possibly dropping, the threatened ef-' ef-' fort to have the grand Jury aummoned to consider fhe bank s afTilr. another ' J.itiempt would be made to effect a re- , otginixation of the InM'tutioii an ef4 ! fort which was given up a Rope lews i a few da a ago. ! PETITION READY. I It was learned that such a move would be futile and that the etition. already prepared, asking for the selection selec-tion of a grand Jury, or one similar In nature, would te filed either lata this afternoon or tomorrow morning. While the exact verbieae of the petition pe-tition has not Iteci, disclosed, the document doc-ument I siiid to contain to charge that some of the bank officials had teen granted loans In excess of the legal restrictions, that they mere war of the Insolvent condition -of the in- stitutton, and that they accepted de-i de-i posits with the knowledge , thsi the bank was Insolvent. WHAT SHERMAN SAID. "Hell will soon toe popping. today declared one of the depositors, who is working for the Interest of the depositor deposi-tor aa a whole. He wdded that while there might he m sligfet 4liay, a match already had been touched to the f oae w hich would aet off t he legal pyrotechnica. Th auditor recently appointed bv the court, on petition of those working . (Continued on page 12.) j action which may he the basis of Jurli-I Jurli-I cml critictam and which may-have 1 ken place at any time from -the day the hank first opened for business until the hour the receiver took charge will le reviewed In the report. Thia document. It is predicted, will contain Information which may cauae much worrfment in some political and tuiKiness circles and may necessitate a cnnsiilerable amount of explanation hy officiwls other than those connected witifHhe bankrupt Institution. . . , DISCLOSURE H'nntinu - p:ge 1 in behalf of the depositors, to make a thorough examination of the affairs of the bank from the time It first was ; organised until the doors were closed by the receiver last July. Is making i mp id progress with his work, and be- lief Is expressed by some that his report re-port will prove even a greater sensation sensa-tion than that of the- accountant em- ployed by the federal reserve bank at 1 the reqnest of the Halt l-ake riearlns; House association. CAU8E FOR WORRY. ! ltls the expectation that any trans