High finance

Four years ago when that Alexander of high finance, Charles W. Morse, was seeking for more banks to conquer, it was publicly announced that he had gained control of the bank in which the account of the Institute had been carried for about twenty years. The Finance Committee was informed that the acquisition of a “string of banks” was a suspicious circumstance; that when a notorious speculator controlled a bank, he might at any time borrow its cash upon questionable collateral, and thus weaken or even wreck the institution. After thoroughly considering the matter, the Finance Committee authorized the transfer of the balance of $10,439.95 to another institution, and as the recent panic caused no embarrassment to the Institute treasury, it is evident that the recommendations of the committee were based on sound conclusions. What shall be said of the hundreds of other depositors whose balances in the various Morse banks amounted to over $25,000,000? Too much reliance has been placed upon the so-called bank examinations. The advent as a bank-owner, of a speculator interested in the issuance of doubtful securities, should be a danger signal to every depositor. These operations are frequently carried on with such secrecy, that the innocent victims are caught unawares, so that it becomes of the utmost importance that all depositors should satisfy themselves that the standing of the financial institutions to which their funds are entrusted are of the highest character.