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YOAKUM PEOPLE ARE LOYAL TO BANKERS
Marshall Monroe in the Houston
YOAKUM, Sept. 15.-Just as thousand times and more the Yoakum State Bank has pulled people of Yoakum and the country round about here through misfortune, so the same people are now turning to do their utmost to put that bank back on its feet. The bank was closed by the state banking department September 5, and in the next five days four af filiated banks were closed, one of them voluntarily. The Yoakum bank has come to be more than just a financial institution, 80 many times it has given vital help to the community it has become a really human part of it. Two nights age depositors of the bank here met and it took the city auditorium to hold them. for they numbered 750. Without a dissenting voice, they urged reorganization and offered, a large part of them, to take stock for their deposits.
There were some who offered to add new money to their deposits. Mrs. J. H. Kennedy, one of the depositors, offered a resolution commending the bank and Its founder, Philip Welhausen, for their service Results. to the Yoakum country. It was passed unanimously. O. R. Davis, made active vice president in charge of the bank in of Will F. Miller, president of the Marine Bank and Trust Company of Houston, that the Yoakum bank was able to carry on through the summer months," he said. "I want the people of this section to know that."
Mr. Davis, wholesale grocer and moving spirit In a half dozen en terprises, traced the background for the correspondent. The Yoakum State Bank has always been ready to help. In the 22 years since its inception It has had a leading part in the development of the country around here. It hasn't confined itself to just the big cus tomers, either. It has been close pleats. to the wage earners: It has helped the man who was buying his home or his little farh. Before going further with Mr. Davis' account, it might be well to interpose that he has had no interest in the bank until the state board asked him to serve in April. The bank's difficulties or the reasons for them, go back several years. Some of the borrowers were hit hard by the freeze which killed cat tle and by drouths, Mr. Davis said. The banks perhaps tried to aid them beyond its ability. he thinks. After a drouth in 1925 It en couraged tomato raising and helped many farmers to finance their crops, he said. Of late there had been a steady reduction of old notes. With the cattle business looking good, the bank saw better times for Itself ahead. Mr. Davis went on to recall the events of this year which led up to the closing. In January the state banking de partment called upon the bank to reduce Its "frozen" paper, $210,000, putting that amount of money into the capital account. This was done. That almost precipitated a run on the bank for with the examiners at work and much money raising activity afoot, rumors spread that the bank was in bad condition. It was Davis who talked for more than an hour to 400 employes of the railread shops here and finally persuaded them to withhold de mands which would have started that thing dreaded by all banks, a run.
Then, April 13, the banking department made another demand, this time that $200,000 more of the old loans be taken out. This de mand was met. The $410,000 of thomey thus put into the capital account eatne through liquidation of properties of Philip Welhauses, president, and M. a Driscoll, vice president, owned jointly by the two, except for some $75,000 raised by business men here with a good crop in sight. And repayments from borrowers expected to be large the bank was seelag day. light ahead. Then came September a. with a further demand from the banking department that $387,000 more of the "frozen" paper be taken out of account. It just couldn't be done. The closing of the other four banks, at Hallettsville, Westhoff, Orange Grove and Affee, came about because all had large sums of money on deposit in the bank here. Here it is, expected that if the local bank can be cured the others will be able to reopen. There is some impairment of capital in those banks, but, Davis expects the local stockholders of the different banks will take care of that. Welhausen has offered his personal fortune to put the bank back into operation. "All my personal holdings are available to put the bank back on its feet," he declared.
