20. Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada (Fairbanks, AK)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Closure
Bank Type
state
Start Date
January 4, 1911
Location
Fairbanks, Alaska (64.838, -147.716)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
83cfa6fa

Response Measures

None

Description

The bank 'closed its doors January 4, 1911' and a receiver (Frank W. Hawkins) was appointed; later indictments and suits allege embezzlement and wrongful management. No article describes a depositor run prior to suspension — this is a closure/suspension that led to receivership and permanent failure.

Events (5)
1. January 4, 1911 Receivership
Newspaper Excerpt
Frank W. Hawkins, who was appointed receiver after the failure.
Source
newspapers
2. January 4, 1911 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Bank failed/closed due to insolvency and alleged wrongful management (embezzlement and mismanagement) revealed by investigation and resulting deficiency to depositors.
Newspaper Excerpt
closed its doors January 4, 1911, owing $900,000 to depositors
Source
newspapers
3. December 1, 1912 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Trial of the men indicted for alleged violation of law in connection with the management of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada ... which closed its doors January 4, 1911, owing $900,000 to depositors, will be begun in the federal court at Valdez, Alaska, tomorrow. Elbridge T. Barnette, former president of the bank, is charged with embezzlement, as also is Frank W. Hawkins, who was appointed receiver after the failure.
Source
newspapers
4. December 28, 1912 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
United States District Judge ... sustained ... motion for an instructed verdict in the 12 misdemeanor cases against Frank W. Hawkins, receiver of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada, at Fairbanks, Alaska, and a verdict of not guilty was returned by the jury.
Source
newspapers
5. July 5, 1915 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Suit to be brought by F. G. Noyes, receiver of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada ... suit for $250,000 in connection with the sale of their stock ... receiver of the defunct bank ... Depositors in the defunct bank have been paid only 50 per cent of their claims.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (8)
1. December 2, 1912 Albuquerque Morning Journal Albuquerque, NM
Article from Albuquerque Morning Journal, December 2, 1912

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Article Text

E BANK OFFICERS IN ALASKA MUST STAND TRIAL Government Goes After Men Presumed Responsible for Failure of Institution at Fairbanks. (By Morning Journal Special Leased Wire.) Seattle, Wash. Dec. 1.-The trial of the men indicted for alleged violation of the law in connection with the management of the WashingtonAlaska Bank of Nevada, of Fairbanks, Alaska, which closed its doors January 4. 1911. owing $900,000 to depositors, $450,000 having been paid to them will be begun in the federal court at Valdez, Alaska, tomorrow. E. T. Barnette, former president of the bank. is charged with embezzlement, as also is Frank W. Hawkins, who was appointed receiver after the failure. Former Vice President J. Albert Jackson is accused of aiding and abetting Hawkins and of making an alleged false entry in the bank's books. Lew Wing is charged with perjury in signing alleged false statements of the condition of the Fairbanks Banking Company, of which he was cashier t and which was consolidated with the Washington-Alaska Bank of Washington. to form the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada. Falcon Joslin, W. H. Parsons, F. E. Barbour and E. L. Webster, residents of Seattle, are charged with signing false statements of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Washington, of which they are officers, It is expected that the trial of Barnette will take place first. He is a millionaire winter resident of Los Ang geles and has large interests in Mexn ico,

2. December 2, 1912 The Salt Lake Tribune Salt Lake City, UT
Article from The Salt Lake Tribune, December 2, 1912

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Article Text

CROOKED BANKING IS CRIME CHARGED Several Alaska Citizens Will Be Placed on Trial at Valdez Today. SEATTLE, Wash.. Dec. 1.-Trial of the men indicted for alleged violation of law in connection with the management of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada, of Fairbanks, Alaska, which closed its doors January 4, 1911. owing $900,000 to depositors, half of which has been paid to them. will be begun in the federal court at Valdez, Alaska, tomorrow. Elbridge T. Barnette, former president of the bank, is charged with embezzlement, as also is Frank W. Hawkins, who was appointed receiver after the failure. Former Vice President J. Albert Jackson is accused of aiding and abetting Hawkins and of making an alleged false entry in the bank's books. Lew Wing is charged with perjury in signing an alleged false statement of the condition of the Fairbanks Banking company, of which he is cashier and which was consolidated with the Washington-Alaska bank of Washington to form the Washington-Alaska bank of Nevada. Falcon Joslin, W. H. Parsons. F. E. Barbour and E. L. Webster, residents of Seattle, are charged with signing false statements of the Washington-Alaska bank of Washington, of which they were officers. It is expected that the trial of Barnette will take place first. He is a millionaire winter resident of Los Angeles and has large interests in Mexico.

3. December 6, 1912 Bonners Ferry Herald Bonners Ferry, ID
Article from Bonners Ferry Herald, December 6, 1912

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NORTHWEST NEWS NOTES J. M. Roland of Orofino, Idaho, was recently killed by a train near Black river junction in western Washington. Ora Knight, a well known young man of Pendleton, Ore., killed himself recently by firing a bullet through his body. At Mullan, Idaho, Mrs. John Anderson cut her throat by slashing from ear to ear with a razor. Physicians say she will recover. Salt Lake City officers are unable to determine how Joseph Evans, whose body was found on the shore of Great Salt lake Sunday, lost his life. The details of the annual stock show of the Northwest Live Stock association to be held in Lewiston, Idaho, December 9 to 15, have been completed. Suit to regain possession of 100,000 more acres of Southern Pacific oil lands will shortly be brought in the United States district court of southern California. The jury in the $50,000 damage suit of W. W. Ferrell of Coeur d'Alene lake versus the Washington Water Power company, returned a verdict of $3000 in favor of the plaintiff. James Haughey and George Starkal were so badly burned that they will die when the contents of a ladle containing four tons of copper was accidentally spilled upon them at the Washoe smelter at Anaconda. Soldiers from Fort Yellowstone have been stationed on the borders of the Yellowstone National park for the past few days attempting to drive back the large band of elk which is drifting over the border. Fire which broke out early Sunday morning in the Geiser building, Baker City, Oregon, occupied by the Racket store and the Vaughan Investment company gutted the building entailing an $18,000 loss. A. J. Trumbull, a mill man, who lives a few miles east of Whitefish, Mont., recently sold 13 turkeys for $48.25. The turkeys were only six months old and cost him practically nothing for feed, as they ran wild all summer. "Based on reports from the horticultural commissioners and the county fruit inspectors in the different counties, the Oregon apple crop this year represents a value of a little over $7,000,000," says W. K. New, chairman of the state board of horticulture. At Bishop, Cal., five hundred miners and prospectors, banded together recently in the Prospectors' Alliance of America, forwarded to the governors of 11 western states a memorial, asking their assistance in combating "government bureaucratic interference with mining operations." Trial of the men indicted for alleged violation of law in connection with the management of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada, of Fairbanks, Alaska, which closed its doors January 4, 1911, owing $900,000 to depositors, half of which has been paid to them was begun in the federal court at Valdez, Alaska, Monday. The new monster Mallet compound locomotives recently received by the Great Northern and placed in service on the Whitefish, Mont., division are proving satisfactory. They pull much more tonnage than the former Mallets and do it much easier and with a great saving of fuel, which is due to the fact that the steam is superheated in both the high and the low pressure cylinders. A plan to make a feature of the live stock parade at the Lewiston, Idaho, stock show is being considered by the Northwest Live Stock association, which is shaping its permanent details for the big exhibition. With the stock show will be held the first annual convention of the associated commercial clubs of the Idaho-Washington Development league to review work of the league. Z. A. Johnson, builder of the Nez Perce and Idaho railroad between Vollmer and Nez Perce, and promoter of the proposed Lewiston and Vollmer line, has filed his bond of $5000 with the transportation committee of the Lewiston Commercial club, which insures the completion of the proposed $2,500,000 railroad within a period of three years, after the raising of the $150,000 subsidy. Work on the line will begin within 30 days after securing the amount promised by the Lewiston property holders and the farmers tributary to the line. The democratic federal patronage for Idaho, while not quite to rich and juicy as that of Washington, is nevertheless filled with many good things, to-wit: 86 jobs with a grand yearly salary of $167,200. Here they are: $118,400 70 postmasters 3,000 Surveyor general 15,000 Five land office registers Five land office receivers 15,000

4. December 28, 1912 Evening Capital News Boise, ID
Article from Evening Capital News, December 28, 1912

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ALASKAN CASES ARE DISMISSED BY COURT Valdez, Dec. 28.-United States District Judge Thomas R. Lyons sustained yesterday the motion for the defense for an instructed verdict in the 12 misdemeanor cases against Frank W. Hawkins, receiver of the WashingtonAlaska Bank of Nevada, at Fairbanks, Alaska, and a verdict of not guilty was returned by the jury. These cases related to alleged wrongful conversion of the funds of the bank. As soon as the court announced its ruling, the government's counsel dismissed the embezzlement charges against Hawkins and J. Albert Jackson, formerly vice president of the defunct bank, because these cases came under the court's ruling in the misdemeanor cases.

5. December 31, 1912 The Madison Daily Leader Madison, SD
Article from The Madison Daily Leader, December 31, 1912

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END OF ALASKAN BANK CASES Instructed Verdict of Not Guilty Is Returned. Valdez, Alaska, Dec. 31.-The fedoral court docket has been cleared of the last indictment resulting from the failure of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada at Fairbanks two years ago, when an instructed verdict of not guilty was returned in three cases against Frank W. Hawkins, receiver of the defunct bank. Hawkins was charged with making improper disbursements of the bank's funds after he took chare as receiver.

6. December 31, 1912 Daily Kennebec Journal Augusta, ME
Article from Daily Kennebec Journal, December 31, 1912

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New York to Massachusetts of Gelmn F. Farmer, indicted on 16 counts in Boston for alleged larceny and fraudulent schemes to swindle lovers of rare books, was granted, Monday, by Gov. Dix at Albany. It is claimed that in Boston alone Farmer and several colleagues who are still at large, secured over $175,000. The syndicate operated in various parts of the country. D. F. Deaton, one of the 15 men charged with the assassination of Ed. Callahan, the Breathitt county ex-sheriff, was placed on trial, Monday, at Winchester, Ky., after a jury had been accepted by both sides. Deaton pleaded not guilty to the indictment and the court was adjourned until Tuesday, when the statements of the attorneys and the hearing of testimony will begin. The battleship Arkansas, which landed President Taft at Key West, Sunday, arrived, Monday, at Havana, where the ship's company will spend New Year's day. Later the ship will proceed to the New York navy yard to make ready for the approaching mid-winter cruise of the fleet to the West Indies. The Delaware, which convoyed the Arkansas on her Panama trip, after landing her passengers in Florida, sailed directly for the New York navy yard. The Theodore Roosevelt criminal libel case against George A. Newett, editor of Iron Ore, a paper published at Ishpeming, Mich., will be postponed, Tuesday, it was announced, Monday, at Marquette, Mich., until the disposal of the colonel's civil suit against the editor. Newett is charged with having published an alleged libel injurious to Col. Roosevelt and personal reflections on his character. The civil suit is scheduled to be heard in February. The steamship Edernian arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, with the crew of the British steamer South Atlantic on board. The ship-wrecked sailors were picked up in mid-Atlantic, after they had abandoned their vessel, which left Barry, Wales, on Nov. 27, for Buenos Aires. According to Lloyds the report that the Edernian had rescued 26 of the crew of the Norwegian bark Nordstern, is erroneous. Search was begun, Monday, in San Diego, Cal., for the body of Ned Kline, a musician of thec ruiser California, who lost his life, Sunday, attempting to rescue Miss Anna Hidden, who was drowned. Kline and Miss Hidden were standing on a rock, taking photographs when the girl fell 20 feet into the ocean. Kline sprang after her and was dragged down in the surf. Miss Hidden's body was recovered. Kline enlisted from Memphis, Tenn. The Interstate Commerce Commission, Monday, suspended proposed trans-continental freight tariffs advancing rates on lumber from British Columbia and Alberta, Canada and Oregon, Washington, and other North-western states shipped through Colorado gateways to Eastern destinations. The effect of the proposed tariffs would be to advance the rate from Portland, Ore., to Chicago from 65 cents a hundred pounds to 80 cents, and from Portland to New York City from 85 cents to $1.08½. Rates between other points show a similar advance. The federal court docket at Valdez, Alaska, was cleared, late Saturday night, of the last indictment resulting from the failure of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada at Fairbanks, two years ago, when a verdict of not guilty was returned by instruction of the court, in three cases against Frank W. Hawkins, receiver of the defunct bank. Hawkins was charged with making improper disbursements of the bank's funds after he took charge as receiver. Of the 39 indictments returned against seven former officers of the bank, only one resulted in a conviction. An explosion of the boiler of a rotary snow plow on the Great Northern and an avalanche that wrecked a stalled freight train laden with Oriental imports for the East on the Chicago, Milwaukee & Puget Sound Railroad complicated conditions, Monday, in the Cascade mountains, where the Northern trans-continental roads are fighting one of the worst blizzards in the last 20 years. Five men were injured, two probably fatally, in the boiler explosion and one man was severely hurt in the avalanche. The Milwaukee Line probably will be blocked several days, but the Great Northern expected to get trains through, Monday night.

7. January 1, 1913 East Oregonian : E.O Pendleton, OR
Article from East Oregonian : E.O, January 1, 1913

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# 39 INDICTMENTS AND # ONLY ONE CONVICTION Valdez Bank Failure Results in Fine of $1000 for E. T. Barnette. Valdez, Alaska, Jan. 1. -The Fed- eral court docket was cleared late Saturday night of the last indictment resulting from the failure of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada at Fairbanks, two years ago, when an instructed verdict of not guilty was returned in three cases against Frank W. Hawkins, receiver of the defunct

8. July 5, 1915 The Alaska Citizen Fairbanks, AK
Article from The Alaska Citizen, July 5, 1915

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DEFENDANT IN THE W-A. BANK CASE EXPLAINS WEBSTER MAKES STATEMENTSUIT AGAINST FORMER STOCKHOLDERS. SEATTLE-E L. Webster, John Schram, W. H. Parsons and other Seattle business men, according to a dispatch received from Fairbanks, Alaska, are to be made defendants in a suit for $250,000 in connection with the sale of their stock in the Washington-Alaska Bank of Washington to the Fairbanks Banking Company, which afterwards incorporated as the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada. The suit is to be brought by F. G. Noyes, receiver of the Washington-Alaska Bank of Nevada, which, under the presidency of Capt. E. T. Barnette, failed about three years ago. Depositors in the defunct bank have been paid only 50 per cent of their claims. Noyes has been given permission to bring the action by Federal Judge Bunnell, sitting at Fairbanks. The grounds upon which Receiver Noyes bases his action are that the laws of Nevada, under which the defunct institution was incorporated. forbid a corporation to purchase the stock of another bank, and that therefore the purchase of the stock held by the Seattleites was illegal. Fernand de Journel, of San Francisco. and formerly of Fairbanks, has been retained by Receiver Noyes. BANK IN FINE SHAPE. That there is absolutely no basis in equity or justice in the suit is the contention of Webster and his associates. "In 1909," said Webster today, "the stockholders of the WashingtonAlaska Bank of Washington sold their stock to the stockholders of the Fairbanks Banking Company. They didn't sell it to the bank, but to the stockholders, who were at that time among the wealthiest and most influential people in the district. The Washington-Alaska Bank of Washington at the time of the sale of this stock was in as fine a financial condition as any bank in the United States It had a cash reserve of about 90 per cent and could have paid its depositors any minute and in addition to this it had a capital of $150,000 and a surplus and undivided profits to the amount of about $70,000. It was the soundest and most profitable institution in Alaska. "After We sold our stock the purchasers of it consolidated with the Fairbanks Banking Company and a new company was incorporated under the name of the Washington Alaska Bank of Nevada, which corporation continued the business. About two years after the sale of our stock the consolidated institution got into financial difficulties. Now after a period of six years the receiver of this institution is evidently trying to trump up some kind of a case. The whole thing is perfectly absurd.