17195. Cincinnati Savings Society (Cincinnati, OH)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Run Only
Bank Type
state
Start Date
March 15, 1899
Location
Cincinnati, Ohio (39.103, -84.515)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
6b858e03

Response Measures

Accommodated withdrawals

Description

Multiple contemporary papers report a panicky run on March 15, 1899 attributed to a disgruntled depositor who allegedly circulated false stories. The bank met withdrawals and announced it would reopen the next morning; there is no mention of a suspension or receivership.

Events (1)
1. March 15, 1899 Run
Cause
Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details
Officers suspected a disgruntled depositor circulated a story that the bank was in bad condition after being asked to withdraw his account.
Measures
Paid out all checks presented rapidly; called policemen to preserve order; stretched ropes and used patrol wagons to control crowd; closed at 4 PM with announcement to reopen next morning.
Newspaper Excerpt
A run was started on the Cincinnati Savings Society to-day... The officers... attribute the run to the malice of a depositor who had a dispute in settling his account, and who threatened to get even.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (5)
1. March 16, 1899 The Indianapolis Journal Indianapolis, IN
Article from The Indianapolis Journal, March 16, 1899

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

RUN ON SAVINGS SOCIETY. Disgruntled Depositors Supposed to Have Started False Rumors. CINCINNATI, O., March 15.-The Cincinnati Savings Society, Nos. 43 and 45 West Fifth street, to-day was the scene of a panicky run. A disgrantled depositor had been asked to withdraw his account. He threatened to get even. The officers suspect that he circulated the story that the bank was in bad condition. It has nearly fourteen thousand depositors. When the bank opened to-day there was a clump of depositors waiting to draw their money. Some of them neglected to bring their books and were sent after them. These spread the alarm. Frightened women and men crowded into the place. Policemen were called to preserve order. Meantime the bank paid out as rapidly as possible. In the afternoon the crush was so great that two patrol wagons were brought up and ropes stretched across the sidewalk so that the crowd could be kept in order by the score or more of policemen sent to preserve order. At 4 o'clock the doors were closed with the announcement that they would be open at 9 Thursday morning. The police, with difficulty, cleared the sidewalk. All banks of the city believed in the soundness of the Savings Society and freely offered it all the money it needed.

2. March 16, 1899 Wheeling Register Wheeling, WV
Article from Wheeling Register, March 16, 1899

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

RUN ON A BANK. Cincinnati, Ohio, March 15.-A run was started on the Cincinnati Savings Society to-day without apparent cause, which was promptly met by the payment of all checks presented. The officers of the bank attribute the run to the malice of a depositor who had a dispute in settling his account and who threatened to get even.

3. March 16, 1899 The Salt Lake Herald Salt Lake City, UT
Article from The Salt Lake Herald, March 16, 1899

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

by the state health officials in suppressing the prevalence of smallpox at Laredo. It is reported here that there are now 500 smallpox patients sick in bed in Laredo. The state health officer will take charge at*once. A run was started on the Cincinnati Savings society without apparent cause, which was promptly met by the payment of all checks presented. The officers of the bank attribute the run to the malice of a depositor who had a dispute in settling his account, and who threatened to get even.' The proposal to attempt to establish a system of pigeon post on board the steamers of the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique between Havre and New York, which has been for some time under consideration, has finally been approved and it has been decided to begin the experiment next month. Hon. H. A. Willit, late justice of the Texas supreme court, and ex-congressman, died suddenly at Galveston, of heart failure.

4. March 16, 1899 The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer Wheeling, WV
Article from The Wheeling Daily Intelligencer, March 16, 1899

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

Malice of a Depositor. CINCINNATI, Ohio, March 15.-A run was started on the Cincinnati Savings Society to-day, without apparent cause, which was promptly met by the payment of all checks presented. The offlcers of the bank attribute the run to the malice of IL depositor, who had a dispute in settling his account, and who threatened to get even.

5. March 17, 1899 Little Falls Weekly Transcript Little Falls, MN
Article from Little Falls Weekly Transcript, March 17, 1899

Click image to open full size in new tab

Article Text

BIG RUN ON A BANK. Score of Policeins Necessary to Keep the Crowd in Line. CINCINNATI. March 15.-The Cincinnati Savings Society was the scene of a panicky run during the day. The officers of the bank suspect that a disgruntled depositor who had been asked to withdraw his account and threatened to get even circulated the story that the bank was in bad condition. It has nearly 14,000 depositors. When the bank opened a crowd of depositors were waiting to draw their money. The alarm spread and frightened men and women crowded the place so that it was necessary to call policemen to preserve order. Meantime the bank paid as rapidly as possible. In the afternoon the crush became so great that two patrol wagons were brought up and ropes stretched across the sidewalk so that the crowd could be kept in order by the score or more of policemen.