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RUINS BANK AND DIES Continued from first paga returned to the depositors, but will lie in the Franklin National Bank until the courts have decided whether it should be paid back. While the depositors were supposedly placing their money with the Real Estate Trust Company, the directors were making strenuous efforts to tide the institution over the difficulty. All day yesterday they worked, but it became apparent shortly after noon to-day that the crash was inevitable. Application papers for a temporary receiver were prepared and left at the offices of the trust company, after which the directors went to the meeting of the Clearing House Association to make a last appeal for help. The newspapers were aware of the trend of events and had men stationed at the bank building ready to flash the closing of the bank, if it occurred. There were probably fifty bank presidents at the Clearing House to meet the directors of the trust company. The latter stated that they needed $7,000,000, but the best the banks could do was to guarantee $3,500,000. This was not enough, and. as all other means for getting money had failed, Vice-President Houston telephoned to the bank to suspend business and send the receivership papers to court. In an incredibly short time the story was on the street and created great consternation. Hundreds of persons gathered about the building, clamoring for information, and the crowd grew so great that a detail of police was sent for to clear the street. There was no disorder The application for the receiver says that the company has a paid up capita! of $1,500,000, an apparent surplus of an equal amount, and deposits of about $10,000,000. The assets consist of real estate in Philadelphia, loans upon collateral upon demand and on time, and other securities. WRECKED BY PRESIDENT HIPPLE. President Hipple, the application says, "by false reports to the directors of the loans made by him, brought about the condition of the company, which was first discovered by the officers of the bank subsequent to the death of the president." The court then appointed Mr. Earle receiver, to the amount of $1,his appointment a conference with the 000,000. and lengthy he entered After security Mr. directors the Earle receiver held and officers of the company, at which was put in possession of the condition of the company, so far as the officials of the concern could inform him. John H. Michener, president of the Clearing House Association, to-night said the failure of the association to subscribe the $7,000,000 guarantee fund requested by the Real Estate Trust Company was due to insufficient security. The trust company he said, offered $2,900,000 in gilt edged securities, a two-thirds interest in the trust company's building, valued at $2.000,000, and $5,400,000 securities from Adolf Segal, valued by the directors of the trust company at $3,000,000. The Clearing House Assoclation did not regard the Segal securities as worth more than $1,000,000, and declined to subscribe more than a total of $4,000,000, unless the remaining securities were more substantial. Samuel F. Houston, vice-president of the company, said to-night that no other banking institution in this or any other city would be in the least affected by the failure. Gilt edged security was given for whatever money was borrowed from other banks. He said he hoped the company would be able to resume business, but would make no prediction on that point. The board of publication of the Presbyterian Church, which had $18,000 and $20,000 on deposit with the Real Estate Trust Company, made an effort to withdraw the money, but failed by three minutes. Hearing rumors of the unstable condition of the trust company, members of the board informed the officials of their intention to transfer the account to the Philadelphia National Bank. A representative of the latter institution made all haste to the office of the trust company. and arrived there three minutes after the doors had closed. The board of ministerial relief of the Presbyterian Church had $50,000 deposited with the trust company. According to last May's minutes of the Presbyterian General Assembly, Mr. Hipple, as treasurer of the board of trustees, had in his charge funds amounting to $963,896. MANY WOMEN DEPOSITORS. The failure undoubtedly means that hundreds of persona have cut short their vacations and are hurrying back from seashore and mountain resorts. The institution was a favorite depository for women and for well-to-do men who make use of purely personal accounts. The company was particularly attentive to this class of business, and perhaps no other bank in the city was so careful always to provide its women clients with clean, new money, even to the nickels. For some days the books had been undergoing a thorough examination, but the clerks supposed this was due to a curious defalcation which was recently brought to light, but which was kept quiet. A young bookkeeper invented a new and ingenious system of stealing which puzzled the bank officials and is said to have aroused serious apprehension because of the difficulty in detecting or tracing it. His method was to forge the name of a depositor whose accounts were posted by him. To cover the forgery he would, by a mental process, include the amount of the check in the total, being careful not to enter the amount of the bogus check. After having secured the money he would tear up the bogus check when it reached his hands. By this method the ledger and "scratcher" always agreed and the books balanced. Recently, while the forger was at luncheon, another clerk entered a number of checks in the former's ledger, including one that had been forged, and the scheme was thus detected. So far it is known not more than $3,000 was stolen from the bank by the clever young forger. The Real Estate Trust Company's last report was made on May 26. At that time the institution's condition was given as follows: RESOURCES
