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# Suspension of Payment by the Phenix Bank. Condition of the Bank Dis- covered by New Cashier. Board of Directors Decided to En- force Ninety Days Notice. The valley villages were thrown into a state of excitement yesterday afternoon when it was reported that the Phenix Savings bank had suspened payment. At first the report was discredited, but as the day passed the excitement became greater. The Phenix Savings bank has always been regarded as solid as the "Rock, of Gibraltar," and the announce-ment that it had suspended payment and taken advantage of the law which allowed the bank to claim a notice of ninety days before the payment of any claims was re-ceived with astonishment. The first that was publiely known of the embarrassment of the institution was yesterday when one of the depositors tried to draw a small amount and was informed that it would be necessary to give the ninety days' notice before the money could be with-drawn. It did not take long for the news to circulate and to the majority of the depositors in the bank it came like a thunderbolt from a clear sky. At first the report was discredited, but before night it was evident that there was some trouble at the bank and by evening the excitement, especially among the smaller depositors, had increased until stories of all kinds were circulated and no one seemed to know exactly "where they were at." An investigation by The News man was at first unsuccessful, but finally it was ascertained that the embarrassment of the bank was discovered in the latter part of last week by George E. E. Sheldon, who was recently appointed cashier in place of the late Henry D. Brown who held the position from the incorporation of the bank until his decease several weeks ago. When Mr. Sheldon was appointed cashier he naturally made a thorough investiga-tion of the affairs of the bank and much to his surprise found that the institution was not on the solid footing in which it was thought. He was first doubtful as to his own figures, but when he had veri-fied his books he immediately notified the board of directors. The directors were as much surprised as. Mr. Sheldon, and a meeting was held at which it was found that Mr. Sheldon's call was not without cause. Upon investigation it was found that many of the securities held by the institution had depreciated greatly in value and if they were to be placed on the market on a forced sale their face value could not be realized on them. When a thorough investigation had been made it was decided that it would be the best policy to claim the ninety-day notice and in consequence the scare com-menced at once. This morning there was a number of people at the bank awaiting its opening but they were unable to draw out their deposits without giving the re-quired notice. The bank which was incorporated by a number of the most prominent and wealthy residents of the valley at the May session of the General Assembly in 1858 has always been considered one of the best in the state and today there are nearly 1300 depositors, the amount of the deposits being $418,000. Many of the de-positors are operatives in the valley man-ufactories and the deposits range from $25 upward. The bank is also the de-pository for most of the secret societies in the valley and in consequence the sus-pension of payments, although it may be only temporary, will affect a large num-ber of the residents of this part of the state.
