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Show Story of United States Bank i How Head of tho Savannah Branch Forced Stranger to Carry Away $200,000 In Silver and Checked Plot. The most famous president of the tnited States bank, which President Jackson forced out of business, was Nicholas Biddle of Philadelphia, who after being a director of the bank for a matter of four years, became its president In 1823 and remained in that post until the bank went out of business busi-ness in 1836. "Nick" Biddle, as he was known to his associates both in finance and society so-ciety he was a member of Philadelphia's Philadel-phia's exclusive set kept a firm grip upon the atfairs of all the branches of the United States bank from his desk In the bank's headquarters in Philadelphia. Phila-delphia. He vas very careful to get reports from the branches regularly and as Bpeedily as the mail facilities of the time cou.d deliver them to him, and he studitd these reports with minute care. One day he notWed that a report rrom the Savannah branch did not show the average reuemption of bank notes, and each subsequent report showed a constant falling off in redemptions, re-demptions, so that Mr. Biddle became ery much disturbed. At last he said to himself: "There's gofng to be trouble trou-ble of some kind at that branch. Somebody is collecting Savannah branch bank notes and they may offer of-fer them all of a sudden for redemption.. redemp-tion.. But I will see to that." Thereupon There-upon he caused a large amount of silver sil-ver money to be collected and shipped to Savannah. Then he waited. A few weeks after the silver had reached the Savannah branch a stranger called at it and stated that he had some bank ' notes which he would like to have redeemed at once in silver. He was asked what was the value of the notes. "Two hundred thousand dollars," he replied. "Very well," said the official of the bank, who was acting under instructions instruc-tions from President Biddle. "bring your bills here so that we can count them." Whereupon, the stranger protested pro-tested at the delay. "What," exclained the bank official, "you surely do not think we are going to redeem notes until we have counted them and seen e that the amount you give us is right?" So the stranger went away, returning speedily with a hand barrow filled with notes, and all the rest of the day the bank force was occupied in counting count-ing them. That task over at last, the manager of the branch turned to the stranger. "The amount you stated is correct, sir," and your silver Is ready. Can we help you in sending it anywhere?" "You've got the silver here?" gasped gasp-ed the stranger. "You're going to pay me in silver on the spot?" "Certainly," said the bank manager. "Isn't that what you asked for?" "But " began the stranger. "Yes," smiled the other, "two hundred hun-dred thousand dollars in silver does make a very bulky parcel. I suppose you will take it to a vessel?" The stranger hesitated, doubtless reflecting re-flecting that If he took the silver it would cost him a pretty penny for insurance in-surance and another for freight. At last he said: "Well, I think I will take drafts on New Orleans. On the whole, they will do just as good." This time a grim smile came to the banker's lips. "You will not take drafts on New Orleans," he said. "You will take the silver, and you'll take It at once." There was no other way around it; the stranger had to lug off his two hundred thousand dollars in silver, and pay insurance and freight charges on it to its destination in the north. For he was an agent of a group of state bankers in the north who had combined to break the credit of the United States bank, if possible. They hit upon the plan of getting together a lot of the bank notes of the Savannah Savan-nah branch and suddenly presenting them in a lump for redemption, feeling reasonably certain that the bank would not have on hand sufficient silver sil-ver with which to redeem at once, word would go throughout the country coun-try that the United States bank at Savannah had failed, and the other branches and the headquarters itself would be imperiled, If not ruined. But in building. their beautiful scheme the Jealous state bankers failed to take into consideration President Biddle's painstaking study of the reports of his bank's branches, and so they were confounded, and not he. (Copyright, 1910. by E. J. Edwards.) |
