18074. Mercantile Bank (Memphis, TN)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Closure
Bank Type
state
Start Date
February 9, 1914
Location
Memphis, Tennessee (35.150, -90.049)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
3dcac85f7c122de3

Response Measures

None

Description

The Mercantile Bank of Memphis was closed by its directors in early February 1914 after discovery of large embezzlement by President C. Hunter Raine; the state superintendent (J. L. Hutton) was appointed receiver and the bank remained in receivership and was wound up with settlements to depositors. Cause was bank-specific (embezzlement/speculation). A small mob incident is reported but the closure and receivership are the primary events. OCR variations of C. Hunter Raine's name (appears sometimes as C. H. Rains) were corrected based on consistent context.

Events (3)
1. February 9, 1914 Receivership
Newspaper Excerpt
The directors will ask that General Luke E. Wright ... be appointed receiver. J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banking, arrived here today and was at once appointed receiver for the bank in accordance with a chancery bill filed by attorneys representing the bank's directors.
Source
newspapers
2. February 9, 1914 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Directors closed the bank after discovery that President C. Hunter Raine had misappropriated/ lost large sums (cotton speculation/embezzlement), leading to insolvency.
Newspaper Excerpt
With an admitted shortage of approximately $600,000 ... the Mercantile Bank of Memphis ... closed its doors this morning following a meeting of the directors
Source
newspapers
3. March 27, 1914 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Chancellor Francis Fentress has approved the receiver's plan of settlement ... Depositors of the failed Mercantile Bank with claims less than $1,000 will be paid in full; other depositors will receive 75 per cent of their claims at the outset with a probability of more in the future.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (22)
1. February 9, 1914 Atlanta Georgian Atlanta, GA
Article from Atlanta Georgian, February 9, 1914

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RAINE, OF MEMPHIS, ADMITS DEFAULT President Confesses Speculations-Pays Back $400,000. Luke Wright for Receiver. MEMPHIS, Feb. 9.-With an admitted shortage of approximatey $600,000, which C. Hunter Raine, the president, says he lost on cotton speculations, the Mercantile Bank of Memphis, one of the largest financial institutions in Tennessee, closed its doors this morning following a meeting of the directors Sunday afternoon, when Raine confessed having wrecked it through his plunging on the wrong side of the cotton market. The directors will ask that General Luke E. Wright, former Secretary of War and ex-Governor General of the Philippines, be appointed receiver. Raine, the defaulting president, has for twenty years been one of the leading business men of Memphis and has stood high socially, belonging to the exclusive clubs and trade organizations. He has been leading the fight for Memphis bankers to secure a regional reserve bank for this city. He has turned over $400,000-all of his personal property-to the directors to secure part of the bank's loss. The men behind the Mercantile Bank are largely interested in the Memphis Street Railway, Memphis Gas Company and Memphis Commercial-Appeal, three of the strongest corporations in Tennessee. None of those concerns is expected to be materially affected by the bank's failure, as they are considered strong enough to withstand the losses they may suffer. Hunter Raine is a brother of Gilbert D. Raine, owner and publisher of The Memphis News-Scimitar, but they have not been associated in business enterprises for many years.

2. February 10, 1914 The Pensacola Journal Pensacola, FL
Article from The Pensacola Journal, February 10, 1914

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BY ASSOCIATED PRESS. Memphis, Feb. 9.-With the discovery tonight that of the $527,867 listed as actual cash on hand when the bank closed its doors, $410,000 is represented by the personal checks of President C. Hunter Raine, the amount of the apparent discrepancy in the accounts of the Mercantile bank here advanced to more than a million dollars. Beyond the announcement of the directors that more than three quarters of a million dollars of the funds had been misappropriated and lost in speculation no statement is yet available in the affairs of the bank which closed today. C. Hunter Raine, the president is now in jail. He was arraigned today on the charge of embezzlement and entered a formal plea of guilty and elected to go to prison. The bond was fixed at two hundred and fifty thousand, which he did not try to make. Raine turned over his property valued at several hundred thousand to the bank RECEIVER IN CHARGE. C. Hutton, state superintendent of banking. arrived here today from Nashville and was at once appointed receiver for the bank in accordance with a chancery bill filed by attorneys representing the bank's directors. A rigid investigation of the present contion of the bank's resources was immediately started. There was little excitement evident in the financial district today because the troubles of the bank ware not due to any general business conditions J. T. Ottinger, president of the Memphis Clearing House Association, Issued a statement early in the day declaring none of the members of the association was affected by the failure of the Merchants bank. According to Mr. Ottinger there is a greater amount of money in the vaults of local banks than at any time in the past two or three years. The warrant was served on Mr Raine at his home shortly before noon. He was taken before Criminal Judge Palmer, where he pleaded guilty. Despite his protest that he did not want any bond fixed. Judge Palmer placed the amount at $250,000, but Mr. Raine declared he would make no effort to get the security and accompanied a deputy sheriff to the county jail.

3. February 10, 1914 Pine Bluff Daily Graphic Pine Bluff, AR
Article from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, February 10, 1914

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Pres. Raine, of Mercantile Bank, Looted Institution of Nearly Million Dollars IS PLACED IN JAIL. Heavy Draft Sent New York Bank Prompted Eastern Capitalist to Investigate and Unearth Shortage. Memphis, Feb. 9.-C. Hunter Raine, president of the Mercantile Bank, which did not open its doors for business this morning, and who has acknowledged that he has defaulted to the extent of nearly $1,000,000 of that institution's money, was committed to the county jail early this afternoon after being arraigned In Judge Palmer's court on a bench warrant sworn out by Attorney General Estes charging embezzlement. "I am guilt, send me to jail: I want no bond," was Raine's reply to Judge Palmer, after the court had read the charge to him. The court fixed the bond at $250,000. When seen early this evening at the county jail Raine said "I am ready to go to the penitenHary. I will make no defense." His former friends have apparently deserted him. None of his former associates have visited him at a late hour this evening. Mr. Raine was arrested shortly before noon at his palatial home on Cooper avenue by a deputy sheriff and drove to the courthouse in his automobile. When the deputy arrived at the Raine home he found the banker dressed in a night robe. As he paced the floor before the deputy he seemed to be laboring either under intense strain or some drug. Servants in the house said they believed Mr. Raine insane. They told callers that Mr. Raine had not acted naturally since his wife's death a year ago. The Mercantile Bank which Raine looted, was placed in the hands of a receiver this morning by the Chancery Court on application of the bank's directors who held a lengthy meeting Sunday night. After learning of Raine's shortage the directors decided not to open the doors at the usual hours Monday morning. Heavy speculation in the cotton market is the cause of Raine's collapse. His losses are approximately $800,000. At the directors' meeting Sunday night Raine turned over all of his personal holdings, said to agggregate $350,000, to the bank. The receiver who took charge of the bank's books early today had reached no definite accounting at a late hour tonight. General indications are, it is said, that the audit will show a shortage of about $1,000,000. The liabilities, according to the bill in chancery, filed by attorneys for the institution, total $2,196,893.67. Individual deposits reached nearly a million dollars, and the total deposits about $1,800,000. The condition of the bank was discovered Sunday morning by the viceesident of a New York bank with

4. February 10, 1914 Atlanta Georgian Atlanta, GA
Article from Atlanta Georgian, February 10, 1914

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$1.500,000 SHORTAGE TOTAL AT MEMPHIS Beats August Ropke's Defalcation at Louisville by $100,000. Widow Loses $58,000. MEMPHIS, Feb. 10.-A new record in embezzlement will be recorded against C. Hunter Raine, president of the defunct Mercantile Bank of Memphis, whose shortage, it was estimated to-day, will reach $1,500,000 or more. The largest previous individual defalcation was that of August Ropke, of Louisville, who is serving ten years in the penitentiary at Frankfor* Ky., for having taken $1,400,000 from a Louisville trust company in 1909. Auditors going over the books of the Mercantile Bank to-day uncovered another shortage in addition to the $1,100,000, which Raine, in his cell at the county jail, has admitted he lost in cotton speculation. The auditors said that the records of the bank would show the largest embezzlement ever known in Tennessee and likely the largest ever known in the United States. Efforts are known to be made by the directors of the defunct Mercantile Bank to replace the money taken by Raine, but to-day it was said that only $300,000 had been pledged by the directors, who, under the Tennessee banking laws, are responsible for all of the depositors' money. Among the heavy losers in the failure of the bank is Mrs. Eldridge Wright, whose husband was killed three years ago at Kinmundy, III., when an engine crashed into a private car and killed J. T. Harahan, former president of the Illinois Central Railroad, and the party of men who were his guests. Mrs. Wright is said to have had $58,000 in the bank. Grand Jury Starts Probe. With Raine a prisoner in the Shelby County Grand Jury to-day was investigating the condition of the bank's accounts, with a view to returning indictments against Raine, charging embezzlement and fraudulent breach of trust. Other indictments were said to be considered today by the Grand Jurors against the other officers and directors of the bank. The officials of the bank, all of them prominent in financial and social circles of the South, include Vice President J. M. Fowlkes, Second Vice President Luke E. Wright, Cashier Claude Anderson. Directors C. Hunter Raine. Luke E. Wright, R. A. Speed, J. W. Schorr, E. B. Lemaster, A. S. Caldwell, T. J. Turley, H. H. Reese, F. G. Jones, E. W. Porter, S. T. Carnes, W. G. Reed, W. T. Overton, J. M. Fowlkes, F. G. Barton, S. Lundee and C. D. Smith. No Others Affected. No other banks or business houses were closed to-day on account of the failure of the Mercantile Bank, and announcements were made to the effect that the defalcations of Raine would not affect any other institution in Memphis or other cities. Attorney General Z. N, Estes, of Shelby County, is directing the work of the Grand Jury and compiling the figures on Raine's admitted shortage. He agreed to allow the receivers for the bank to take charge of the cash in the bank's vaults, about $52,000. will ea

5. February 10, 1914 The Times Dispatch Richmond, VA
Article from The Times Dispatch, February 10, 1914

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Audit Not Yet Completed. Memphis, Tenn., February 9.-Beyond the announcement of the directors that more than $750,000 of the funds had been misappropriated and lost in speculation, no statement was available of the affairs of the Mercantile Bank, of this city, which to-day was closed and its president, C. Hunter Raine, imprisoned. charged with having wreck4d the Institution. J. L. Hutton, State Superintendent of Banks, to-night stated that his audit of the books had not been completed, and until this had been done an accurate estimate of the alleged discrepincy was not possible. Raine, in his cell at the county prison, maintains silence. When arraigned to-day on a warrant charging embezzlement, he entered a formal plea of guilty and elected to go to jail, declining the proffer of friends that they endeavor to arrange bail, fixed at $250,000. He was arrested at his home, one of the most palatial in Memphis, shortly before noon, and within an hour had been assigned to a cell at the county jail. Representatives of other banks here to-night Issued statements declaring that the suspension of the Mercantile Bank was without effect on their institutions. Only normal amounts were asked by depositors, and a number of new accounts were opened by former depositors of the Mercantile Bank.

6. February 10, 1914 Valdez Daily Prospector Valdez, AK
Article from Valdez Daily Prospector, February 10, 1914

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STOLE MILLION FROM THE BANK President Raine Had Lots of Opportunity, So He Worked at the Job and Made Big Haul. MEMPHIS, Tenn., Feb. 10.-The Mercantile Bank of this city closed its doors today and the court appointed a receiver in order that whatever assets remained might be conserved in the interest of the depositors and the owners of stock in the institution. President Raine is under arrest charged with having looted the bank out of more than a million dollars. The president has confessed to the crime and says that he lost it all speculating on the stock exchange. Feeling ran high when the bank closed its doors and a mob of angry depositors stormed the doors, but the police drove them away. Raine stated today that he would plead guilty and take his medicine and hoped the trial could be expedited so as to have his troubles quickly over. He says he has no part of the funds left.

7. February 11, 1914 Atlanta Georgian Atlanta, GA
Article from Atlanta Georgian, February 11, 1914

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$1.500,000 SHORTAGE TOTAL AT MEMPHIS Beats August Ropke's Defalcation at Louisville by $100,000. Widow Loses $58,000. MEMPHIS, Feb. 10.-A new record in embezzlement will be recorded againsti C. Hunter Raine, president of the defunct Mercantile Bank of Memphis whose shortage, it was estimated to-day, will reach $1,500,000 or more. The largest previous individual defalcation was that of August Ropke, of Louisville. who is serving ten years in the penitentiary at Frankfor Ky., for having taken $1,400,000 from a Louisville trust company in 1909. Auditors going over the books of the Mercantile Bank to-day uncovered another shortage in addition to the $1,100,000, which Rains, in his cell at the county jail, has admitted he lost in cotton speculation. The auditors said that the records of the bank would show the largest embezzlement ever known in Tennessee and Hkely the largest ever known in the United States. Efforts are known to be made by the directors of the defunct Mercantile Bank to replace the money taken by Raine, but to-day it was said that only $800,000 had been pledged by the directors, who, under the Tennessee banking laws, are responsible for all of the depositors money. Among the heavy losers in the fallure of the bank is Mrs. Eldridge Wright, whose husband was killed three years ago at Kinmundy, III., when an engine crashed into a private car and killed J. T. Harahan. former president of the Mlinois Central Railroad, and the party of men who were his guests Mrs. Wright is said to have had $58,000 in the bank Grand Jury Starts Probe. With Raine a prisoner in the Shelby County Grand Jury to-day was investigating the condition of the bank's accounts, with a view to returning indictments against Raine, charging embezzlement and fraudulent breach of trust. Other indictments were said to be considered today by the Grand Jurors against the other officers and directors of the bank. The officials of the bank, all of them prominent in financial and soclal circles of the South, include Vice President J. M. Fowlkes, Second Vice President Luke E. Wright, Cashier Claude Anderson, Directors C. Hunte: Raine, Luke Ex Wright, R. A. Speed. J. W. Schorr, E. B. Lemaster, A. S Caldwell, T. J. Turley, H. H. Reese F.G. Jones, E. W. Porter, S. T. Carnes, W. G. Reed, W. T. Overton, J. M. Fowlkes, F. G. Barton, S. Lundee and C. D. Smith. No Others Affected. No other banks or business houses were closed to-day on account of the failure of the Mercantile Bank, and announcements were made to the effect that the defalcations of Raine would not affect any other institution in Memphis or other cities. Attorney General Z. N. Estes. of Shelby County, is directing the work of the Grand Jury and compiling the figures on Raine's admitted shortage. He agreed to allow the receivers for the bank to take charge of the cash in the bank's vaults, about $52,000. --

8. February 12, 1914 The Oskaloosa Herald Oskaloosa, IA
Article from The Oskaloosa Herald, February 12, 1914

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EFAULTING BANK HEAD IS JAILED President of Wrecked Memphis Bank Admits Guilt. WILLING TO TAKE PENALTY Cotton Speculation Is Cause of Defaication-Declared Shortage Will Reach $1,000,000- Liabilities Placed at Over Two Million. Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 10.-Acting under supervision of J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banks and receiver for the Mercantile bank, officers of the institution, which closed its doors yesterday morning, are examining the books in an effort to determine the exact amount of shortage, for which C. Hunter Raine, president of the bank, asserts he alone is responsible. A report in circulation late Monday was that a director of the Mercantile bank, one of the heavy losers in the failure, had announced that he was willing to stand his share of the loss necessary to pay savings department depositors. It is understood that If other directors agree it will cost this director $40,000. His loss in the failure is said to amount to $60,000. Up until a late hour, Receiver Hutton had reached no definite acounting. General indications are, it is said, that the audit will show a deficit in the eighborhood of $1,000,000. Raine Is Arrested. Mr. Raine has made no effort to give bail, according to attaches of the criminal court. He was arrested shortly before noon on a bench warrant charging embezzlement of $788,804.76 of the bank's funds, and was taken to the county jail. The bank president was escorted before Judge Palmer by Sheriff Tate and Deputy Sheriff M. W. Palmer. Taking the warrant under which the banker was arrested and which was sworn out by Attorney General Estes, the court read the document to Mr. Raine and asked him if he had anything to say. "I am guilty," replied the banker. "Mr. Attorney General," continued the court, "what bond do you recommend?" Before the attorney general could reply the banker interrupted with: "I don't want to give bond; I want to go to jail." He was taken to the jail by Deputy Sheriff Palmer. When he was searched at the jail, preparatory to being committed to a cell, he informed the jailer that "You needn't be afraid. I'm not going to make any trouble." Bond Fixed at $250,000. Judge Palmer fixed the banker's bond at $250,000. It is understood, however, that Mr. Raine will make no effort to furnish bail. His attitude is taken by the county authorities as indicating his willingness to take with out resistance any punishment that might be meted out by the criminal court. Criminal proceedings against the banker came as the culmination of the bank's failure. An application for the appointment of J. L. Hutton. state superintendent of banks, as receiver for the Mercantile bark, was granted by Chancellor Fentress. Mr. Hutton arrived in Nashville early in the day, and immediately upon the chancery court's decree naming him receiver, took charge of the bank's affairs. The bank was officially closed fol lowing an order by the board of directors, who subsequently filed a bill in chancery, charging C. Hunter Raine, president of the institution, with having lost, through cotton speculations, $788,804.76 of the bank's funds. Owing to the bank's extensive operations, a complete report of the receiver's audit is not expected for several days. A detailed statement of the institution's financial condition could

9. February 12, 1914 The Tabor Independent Tabor, SD
Article from The Tabor Independent, February 12, 1914

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HEAD OF MEMPHIS BANK IS ACCUSED OF HUGE SWINDLE Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 10.-C. H. Rains, president of the Mercantile bank, one of the leading financial institutions of the city, was charged with embezzlement in a warrant sworn out today by z. N. Estes, county attorney. The accounts of the bank, which is a state institution, are alleged to be short between $700,000 and $1,000,000. Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 10.-Ten directors of the Mercantile bank, one of the most important financial institutions in the city, today filed a petition in chancery court, charging that the bank was insolvent as the result of the alleged misappropriation of more than $750,000 by C. Hunter Raine, president of the institution. In the petition Raine was held solely responsible for the apparent shortage, approximately $788,804, which, it is charged, he obtained "by a system of handling the bank's drafts, property and exchange in such a way as to deceive the directors and to conceal his manipulations," the total amount of which it was alleged, he lost in speculation. The petition places the liabilities of the bank at approximately $2,196,594 with assets of $1,408,089. In a published statement January 9, liabilities were given as $2,436,197. At that time the total deposits were $1,861,109, of which $344,233, were savings accounts. The bank is capitalized at $200,000 and has a surplus of $100,000. Resources, loans and discounts at the time of the statement, amounted to $1,130,496; actual cash on hand was $424,784; sums due from other banks amounted to $489,165; cash items in transit amounted to $137,778. These amounts with other items balanced the amount given as liablities. The alleged discrepancy was discovered by a representative of a New York correspondent of the bank who was sent to Memphis last week to audit the books of the Mercantile bank, when loans requested were found to be out of proportion to the amounts usually asked for at this season of the year. His report to the directors yesterday, which brought the situation to a climax, was the first intimation that the bank was not in a prosperous condition according to the directors. The bank was ordered to remain closed today by state banking officials, who are making an investigation of its affairs. It is stated that President Raine, who attended yesterday's meeting absolved all of the officers and directors of the bank of implication in alleged shortages and tendered his personal estate, which he valued at $350,000 to the bank. So far he has made no formal statement. G. C. Hutton, state superintendent of banking, arrived here today from Nashville and was appointed receiver for the bank, in accordance with a chancery bill filed by attorneys representing the bank's directors. Investigation of the condition of the bank's resources was started immediately. There was little excitement evident in financial circles. J. C. Ottinger, president of the Memphis Clearing House association, issued a statement declaring none of the members of the association were affected by the failure of the Mercantile bank. The warrant was served on Mr. Raine at his home. He was taken before Criminal Judge Palmer, where he pleaded guilty. Despite his protest that he did not want any bond fixed, Judge Palmer placed the amount at $250,000, but Mr. Raine declared he would make no effort to get the security and accompanied a deputy sheriff to the county jail.

10. February 13, 1914 The State Herald Holyoke, CO
Article from The State Herald, February 13, 1914

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MEMPHIS MAN ADMITS HE IS GUILTY OF EMBEZZLEMENT AND REFUSES HELP. PRESIDENT GOES TO JAIL SAYS WHEN WALL STREET STACKS CARD AGAINST YOU, THE END COMES. Western Newspaper Union News Service. Memphis, Tenn.-With the discovery that of $527,867 listed as actual cash on hand when the bank closed its doors, $410,000 was represented by personal checks of the president, C. Hunter Raine, now imprisoned, charged with embezzlement, the amount of the apparent discrepancy in the accounts of the Mercantile Bank advanced to more than $1, 000,000. The exact amount will not be known until the audit being made under the direction of J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banks, is completed, which will require several days. Raine maintains silence. When arraigned on a warrant charging embezzlement, he entered a formal plea of guilty and elected to go to jail, declining the proffer of friends to arrange $250,000 bail. Representatives of other banks here issued statements declaring that the suspension of the Mercantile Bank was without effect on their institutions. According to a statement made up Saturday, the Mercantile Bank held deposits of $1,381,525, of which approx imately $340,000 was in savings accounts. In addition, $160,000 in certificates of deposit were outstanding. About 2,000 commercial and 4,000 saving accounts were carried. Raine had no comment to make on the bank's affairs other than to admit his guilt and absolve his fellowofficers of implication. "My life is spent," he told a friend. "When Wall street stacks the cards against you the end is there."

11. February 13, 1914 Eagle River Review Eagle River, WI
Article from Eagle River Review, February 13, 1914

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THEFTS WRECK BANK HEAD OF MEMPHIS INSTITUTION ADMITS GUILT AND GOES TO JAIL, LOSES THE MONEY IN COTTON Makes No Effort to Give Ball and Declares He Prefers to Go to JailCriminal Proceedings Follow Closing of the Bank. Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 11.-The Mercantile bank closed its doors Monday. Officers of the institution, acting under supervision of J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banks and receiver for the bank, are examining the books in an effort to determine the exact amount of the shortage. C. Hunter Raine, president of the bank, admits that the alone is responsible for the defalcation. General indications are, it is said, that the audit will show a deficit in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. Mr. Raine has made no effort to give bail, according to attaches of the criminal court. He was arrested on a bench warrant charging embezzlement of $788,804.76 of the bank's funds, and was taken to the county jail. The bank president was escorted before Judge Palmer by Sheriff Tate and Deputy Sheriff M. W. Palmer. Taking the warrant under which the banker was arrested and which was sworn out by Attorney General Estes, the court read the document to Mr. Raine and asked him if he had anything to say. "I am guilty," replied the banker. "Mr. Attorney General," continued the court, "what bond do you recommend?" Before the attorney general could reply the banker interrupted with: "I don't want to give bond; I want to go to jail." He was taken to the jail by Deputy Sheriff Palmer. Criminal proceedings against the banker came as the culmination of the bank's failure. The bank was officially closed following an order by the board of directors, who subsequently filed a bill in chancery, charging C. Hunter Raine, president of the institution, with having lost, through cotton speculations, $788,804.76 of the bank's funds.

12. February 13, 1914 Wauwatosa News Wauwatosa, WI
Article from Wauwatosa News, February 13, 1914

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THEFTS WRECK BANK HEAD OF MEMPHIS INSTITUTION ADMITS GUILT AND GOES TO JAIL. LOSES THE MONEY IN COTTON Makes No Effort to Give Ball and Declares He Prefers to Go to JailCriminal Proceedings Follow Closing of the Bank. Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 11.-The Mercantile bank closed its doors Monday. Officers of the institution, acting under supervision of J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banks and receiver for the bank, are examining the books in an effort to determine the exact amount of the shortage. C. Hunter Raine, president of the bank, admits that the alone is responsible for the defalcation. General indications are, it is said, that the audit will show a deficit in the neighborhood of $1,000,000. Mr. Raine has made no effort to give ball, according to attaches of the criminal court. He was arrested on a bench warrant charging embezzlement of $788,804.76 of the bank's funds, and was taken to the county jail. The bank president was escorted hefore Judge Palmer by Sheriff Tate and Deputy Sheriff M. W. Palmer. Taking the warrant under which the banker was arrested and which was sworn out by Attorney General Estes, the court read the document to Mr. Raine and asked him if he had anything to say. "I am guilty," replied the banker. "Mr. Attorney General," continued the court, "what bond do you recommend?" Before the attorney general could reply the banker interrupted with: "I don't want to give bond; I want to go to jall." He was taken to the jail by Deputy Sheriff Palmer. Criminal proceedings against the banker came as the culmination of the bank's failure. The bank was officially closed following an order by the board of directors, who subsequently filed a bill in chancery, charging C. Hunter Raine, president of the institution, with having lost, through cotton speculations, $788,804.76 of the bank's funds.

13. February 16, 1914 Rock Island Argus Rock Island, IL
Article from Rock Island Argus, February 16, 1914

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Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 16.-Feeling against President C. Hunter Raine, of the wrecked Mercantile bank of this city, is running very high among the 4,000 depositors, many of whom lost the savings of a life time in the crash. The fact that Raine has not sought to secure his liberty on bail gives color to the rumor that he is in fear of crazed depositors who have threatened to take his life. Raine seems to regret that he should have robbed so many people. "I robbed the people who trusted me," he said in jail here. "I took their money and lost. I am ready to go to prison for a life time if I can save one single man, woman or child from any suffering." Raine's thefts total more than a million. He used the money in cotton speculation. Losses by reason of the failure are widespread. A washerwoman had $400, all her life savings in the bank. She said that Raine himself, just before the crash, told her the bank would be all right at present, even if it was in a hole with a rock on top of it. A woman, prominent in society life here, is reported to have lost $52,000. A city detective who had $1,200 in the bank on deposit said that he passed one of the bank officials a few hours before the crash and that the man did not speak to him. He said that because of this he started for the bank to withdraw all of his money, but at the door was delayed by a friend. He lost everything. A liquor dealer is reported to be another heavy loser, having had $20,000 or more on deposit there. Bankers generally predict that the depositors will not realize 25 cents on the dollar.

14. February 19, 1914 Polk County News-Gazette Benton, TN
Article from Polk County News-Gazette, February 19, 1914

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RAINE'S SHORTAGE $788,804 Bond Fixed at $250,000, and Man Is Sent to Cell in Jail. I Memphis, Tenn.-"I am guilty. want to go to jail." This was the reply of C. Hunter Raine, president of the Mercantile bank, which closed its doors, when he was arraigned on a bench warrant charging embezzlement, growing out of Raine's alleged defalcation of $788,804 of the bank's funds. Over his protest that he didn't want to make bond, Criminal Judge Palmer fixed the amount of the security at $250,000, but Mr. Raine went directly to a cell in the county jail. The hearing lasted only a few minutes. J. L. Hutton, state superintendent of banks, took charge of the Mercantile bank's affairs as receiver. An investigation of the present resources of the bank was immediately begun.

15. February 26, 1914 Atlanta Georgian Atlanta, GA
Article from Atlanta Georgian, February 26, 1914

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Raine's Heirlooms Are Sold at Auction MEMPHIS Feb. 25.-All the household goods of C. Hunter Raine, the defaulting president of the Mercantile Bank of Memphis, including many valuable pieces of furniture and briea-brac, were sold at public auction to-day. The furnishings were valued at $200,000. The proceeds will be turned over to J. L. Hutton, receiver for the bank which Raine confessed he looted for nearly $1,500,000.

16. February 27, 1914 The Dickson County Herald Dickson, TN
Article from The Dickson County Herald, February 27, 1914

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PROBE MEMPHIS BANK CRASH Special Grand Jury Called to Investigate Failure of the Mercantile Bank. Memphis.-Preparations for further consideration of affairs that brought about the failure of the Mercantile bank are being made by the grand jury. A special session has been called for, at which only bank matters will be considered. with a view to determining the extent of liability involving officials of the institution. It is understood that the jury will attempt to fix the responsibility of the bank's board of directors, although no further indictments have been drawn against any official with the exception of President C. H. Raine, who is in jail, charged with defalcatons of nearly a milllion dollars. Raine, in his cell at the county jail, has executed a trans. fer of his life estate in the handsome residence and grounds on Central avenue, where he has lived for many years, to the receiver for the bank.

17. February 28, 1914 The Anderson Daily Intelligencer Anderson, SC
Article from The Anderson Daily Intelligencer, February 28, 1914

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SPECULATION PUT CASHIER IN JAIL Memphis Banker's Friends Put Up $300,000 to Save the Depositors. (By Associated Press.) Memphis, Tenn., Feb. 27.-Payment in full to depositors whose individual accounts are less than $1,000 and the refunding of 75 cer cent of their deposits to those whose claims are in excess of that amount, is proposed in a plan formulated today by directors of the suspended Mercantile Bank of this city, who have offered to contribute $300,000 to a fund to be added to the assets held by the bank. The plan has been approved by the State superintendent of banks, J. L. Hutton, and if a majority of the larger depositors agree to the scheme, it will be submitted to the chancery court for approval. Audit of the bank's books showed a shortage of approximately $1,000,000, which it is alleged C. Hunter Raine, president of the institution, lost in cotton market transactions. Raine is in jail, awaiting trial on a charge of embezzlement. To make up this amount $300,000 in cap tal and surplus is available, and the personal estate of the accused banker, which has been turned over to Mr. Hutton as received, will approximate a like amount, it is stated. A contribution of $300,000 by the directors which has been agreed to by them will make up a sufficient sum to settle with the smaller depositors in full and liquidate three-fourths of the larger deposits.

18. March 6, 1914 Pine Bluff Daily Graphic Pine Bluff, AR
Article from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, March 6, 1914

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INDICT CASHIER ON FIVE COUNTS Claude Anderson, of Mercantile, Held by Shelby Grand Jury. MORE AGAINST RAINE. Twelve Additional Ones for Former President-Majority of Depositors Had Small Amounts. 1 Memphis, March 5.-Claude Anderson, cashier of the failed Mercantile Bank was indicted on five counts here today by the Shelby County grand jury. At the same time twelve additional indictments were returned against C. Hunter Raine, president of the bank, now in jail on an indictment charging larceny, embezzlement and fradulent breach of trust, which grew out of the failure of the Mercantile Bank The indictments against Anderson charge fraduient breach of trust, larceny, receiving funds in an insolvent institution, making a false statement to the superintendent of banks, and swearing to a false bank statement. indictments returned The new false against Raine charge issuing a bank statement and receiving in an insolvent institution. Mos. Depositors Small. Only 258 of the 5,500 depositors of the Mercantile Bank had deposits amounting to more than $1,000 each when the bank failed. That includes commercial and savings accounts and certificates of deposit. A small number of hills of exchange, the exact number of which has not been ascertained. is not included. The exchange referred to was refused by New York banks. Some of it is still in transit. J. L. Hutton, receiver, hopes to secure the signature of enough depositors with accounts in excess of $1,000 before the end of the current week to make up the $200,000 shortage which will have to be met to pay I the other depositors in full. More than 5,000 will be paid in full if the plan on which Mr. Hutton is I working meets with success. Mr. Hutton is pleased with the progress , made. Only 258 have been asked to sacrifice any part of their deposits. : They have been asked to concede 25 per cent of their claims in order that the affairs of the bank may be promptly closed up, expenses and litigation avoided and that 95 per cent of the depositors, those the least able to lose, may be paid in full. About two-thirds of the depositors , asked to accept a loss, temporary f only, perhaps, have signed agreen ments to compromise for 75 per cent. Few have shown a disposition to h hold back. a "I have observed less of the letthe-other-fellow-do-it spirit in Memphis than in any other place I have ever been," commented Mr. Hutton G yesterday.

19. March 28, 1914 Pine Bluff Daily Graphic Pine Bluff, AR
Article from Pine Bluff Daily Graphic, March 28, 1914

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All Depositors of Mercantile Trust Will Be Paid Off. SMALL ONES IN FULL Objection of One Stockholder to Plans Is Thrown Out by Court as Effort to Block Matter. Memphis, Tenn., March 27.-Depositors of the failed Mercantile Bank with claims less than $1,000 will be paid in full within the next few days. Other depositors will receive 75 per cent of their claims at the outset with a probability of more in the future. Chancellor Francis Fentress has approved the receiver's plan of settlement with the directors, and denied an appeal to Carr Bros, who protested. Notice of an application for supersedeas was served by Judge J. C. Wilson, representing Carr Bros. Settlement with depositors was made possible by the directors contributing $300,000 and depositors with accounts of more than $1,000 discounting their claims 25 per cent. Directors who contributed to the $300,000 fund will be released from any liablity. whatsoever to the Mercantile Bank, its creditors, depositors and stockholders. A direct result of the settlement probably will be the inauguration of a national bank with a capital stock of not less than $600,000 and possibly $1,000,000, whose promoters hope to take over the assets of the Mercantile Bank- Depositors will be paid without the tiresome delays and disheartening litigation incident to winding up the affairs of an insolvant bank. Certified Accounts Received. Inquiry responded to under oath, precedent to the chancellor's plan of compromise, established that C. H. Raine, whose defalcations wrecked the Mercantile Bank, not only kept the directors and his subordinates, with the possible exception of Claude Anderson, the cashier, in complete ignorance of his speculations and peculations, but that he cunningly hid a shortage of $12,000 from a firm of certified accountants. The bank was audited on Dec. 31, 1911 by auditors with headquarters in New Orleans and a branch in Houston, Texas.' Since the bank failed a member of the firm which conducted the audit was in Memphis and stated that he would stake the reputation of his firm that no shortage existed at that time. Nevertheless, according to F. H. Wilkes, an accountant of Mr. Hutton's staff, a shortage og $12,000 did exist, and six months

20. May 23, 1914 The Semi-Weekly Leader Brookhaven, MS
Article from The Semi-Weekly Leader, May 23, 1914

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NOVEL AND INTERESTING CHAPTER IN BANKING. The announcement that the depositors of the failed Memphis Mercantile Bank have already had their losses settled by the bank directors-those with deposits less than $1,000 paid in full and the rest 75 per cent-tells a new and interesting story in American banking. Not that we know of bas there ever been such a ready and full response by directors to the call of duty. The following appreciative comment is reproduced from the Commercial Appeal: Within three months, almost to the day, the losses caused by the failure of the Mercantile Bank through the defalcation of its president, have been as far as possible, repaired. The depositors under $1,000 have been made whole, and the larger depositors have to their credit 75 per cent of their claims. The methods by which these good results have been brought about are unparalleled in the history of American banking. Voluntarily the directors, without thought of the question of liability, put up $300,000. Most of them were heavy losers. In spite of their losses, they undertook this additional burden. Actions such as this strengthen the faith men have in their fellow beings and show to what splendid heights men may rise by the exercise of the manly qualities that moved these directors. The receivership of the old bank, under J. L Hutton, was splendidly handled. Court costs and law fees were kept at a minimum and the general expenses were almost negligible. The Mercantile Bank having been looted once, it was determined that it should not be looted again during the receivership under forms of the law. This is all well said. Only we choose to believe that the action of the directors was prompted, in the main, by a true sense of their "liabilities"-moral and legal. It argues best for the banking business to take this view. For with it thoroughly established as a principle of banking, that directors ARE liable to depositors, there will be a Lew rule of conduct of directors meetings, and of scrutiny of banking statements and affairs. And where directors take their duties and liabilities thus seriously, there will be an end of bank fail. ures.-Vicksburg Herald.

21. June 26, 1914 The Columbia Herald Columbia, TN
Article from The Columbia Herald, June 26, 1914

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MR. HUTTON IN MEMPHIS. The effort to question the good motives or the sincerity of Jo L. Hutton, former receiver of the old Mercantile Bank, is outrageously unjust, in view of what Mr. Hutton did for the depositors in that bank and his remarkably able work in the conduct of the receivership. The splendid returns made to the depositors in the Mercantile Bank, whose money had been stolen, is due probably more to the efforts of Mr. Hutton than any other man. His career in Memphis is such that to attack him in any way cannot hurt him, but rather is a reflecion upon the intelligence and proof of the insincerity of those making it. An attempt to detract attention from the guilty by seeking to besmirch the innocent is a trick which usually exposes itself. -Memphis Commercial Appeal.

22. March 4, 1918 New-York Tribune New York, NY
Article from New-York Tribune, March 4, 1918

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Sues Brokers for $201,895 Action Against Hubbard Bros. & Co. Begins To-day The trial of an action brought by Barber, Watson & Gibboney, of 165 Broadway, as counsel for John L. Emerson, receiver of the Mercantile Bank of Memphis, Tenn., to recover $201,895 from Hubbard Brothers & Co., cotton brokers, of 66 Beaver Street, will begin to-day in the United States District Court. It is alleged that the $201,895 is part of $800,000 of the bank's funds used by C. Hunter Raine, acting president of the institution, in unprofitable speculation in cotton futures through H. Reese, a director, acting as representative of Hubbard Brothers & Co. Under agreements which have the approval of the State Superintendent of Banks in Tennessee, Reese, by the payment of $16,000, and Hubbard Brothers & Co., by the surrender of $11,000 worth of stock, put up by Reese as collateral, have been released from responsibility and litigation in the courts of that state.