St Charles Savings Bank - St Charles, IA

Bank Information

Episode Type: Suspension → Closure
Bank Type: savings bank
Start Date: *
Location: St Charles, Iowa (41.288, -93.809)

Metadata

Model: gpt-5-mini
Short Digest: 5f66291e

Response Measures

None

Description

Article (Iron County Register, 1904-09-08) reports that George D. Wood, president of the First National Bank of Colfax, IA, committed suicide and that the bank was found on examination to be hopelessly insolvent. No run is described; the bank appears to have failed/been closed following insolvency. Date of failure not given in article.

Events (3)

1. * Other

Newspaper Excerpt: Preaching Prosperity and High Prices Results in Disaster and Suicide in Iowa. ... George D. Wood, president of the First national bank, of Colfax, Jasper county.
Source: newspapers

2. * Receivership

Newspaper Excerpt: George D. Wood, president of the First national bank, of Colfax, Jasper county ... all the banks have been found, upon examination, to be hopelessly insolvent.
Source: newspapers

3. * Suspension

Cause: Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details: Bank found hopelessly insolvent after examinations following the president's suicide.
Newspaper Excerpt: have been found, upon examination, to be hopelessly insolvent.
Source: newspapers

Newspaper Articles (1)

1. September 8, 1904 Iron County Register Ironton, MO

Article from Iron County Register, September 8, 1904

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Article Text

# SHAW'S ADVICE FOLLOWED. Preaching Prosperity and High Prices Results in Disaster and Suicide in Iowa. Republican prosperity and accompanying high prices that Secretary Shaw thinks are so prevalent and that he says are the result of republiacn policies have had a disastrous effect in Iowa. When business is good and people are prosperous it would naturally be expected that the banks would participate in the prosperity, but in Iowa it seems to be the reverse. Seven bankers have taken their lives in that state during the past seven months, and all their banks have been found, upon examination, to be hopelessly insolvent. A press report from Sioux City, published in the Washington Times, enumerates the gruesome list: Harry Mayne, cashier of the Bank of Lynn Grove, Buena Vista county. George D. Wood, president of the First national bank, of Colfax, Jasper county. Frank L. La Rue, president of the Corning state savings bank. George C. Wood, cashier of the St. Charles savings bank, St. Charles, Warren county. Henry C. Spencer and Charles H. Spencer, cashier and assistant cashier of the First national bank of Grinnell, Poweshiek county. G. F. Utterback, cashier of the Sigourney savings bank, Sigourney, Keokuk county. The dispatch adds that five of these bankers "blew out their brains" and "two committed suicide by drowning." In every case the men had been esteemed among the most reliable and honorable citizens of their community, and the unfortunate bank officer nad been driven to take his own life after a long and hopeless struggle to save his institution and restore his credit. The loss to the depositors and stockholders of these banks must have been enormous, for we are told that all the banks "have been found, upon examination, to be hopelessly insolvent." Yet, Secretary Shaw prates of prosperity and points to present high prices as a sure indication of it. Now Shaw, before he became secretary of the treasury, was a small banker, and being acquainted all over the state of Iowa he must have known the general condition of the banks and their unsoundness. It was known in Wall street, it was known by Dun and Bradstreet, but Shaw evidently did not know what was going on, or if he did, feared to "hurt the party" by warning the poor deluded victims, the farmers and business men of Iowa, of what might be expected. The secretary of the treasury is supposed to be the watchman on the tower of finance to warn his countrymen and save them from danger. "Watchmen what of the night?" asked the Iowa farmers. "All's weil," promptly came from Watchman Shaw. "Thanks to the beneficent protective tariff we are on the highest point of prosperity. Listen to Gov. Cummins and the apostles of the "Iowa idea" and you will have trouble, but follow me and you will have high prices and prosperity." Secretary of Agriculture Wilson is another member of Roosevelt's cabinet who is another boomer the whole brood are impregnated with it-listen to him: "The farmer's pocketbook is full, he is a capitalist only hunting for investments, flooding the western banks with more money than they can can handle and sending millions to the east for investment." A good many Iowa farmers must now wish they had sent all their millions to the east instead of flooding the western banks with their hard-earned money. The high prices came all right, too high for the banks and the customers. Instead of prosperity came disaster. The tariff fostered high prices, begot extravagance and speculation. Lands advanced to unheard of prices, far beyond their true value, where it was impossible for the owner to produce enough to pay interest on the investments. The banks under Shaw's exhilarating promise of continued high prices loaned to the land and stock speculators on boom estimates of values and those that are able are still paying interest. Other bankers speculated with their customers' money; some of them have paid the forfeit with their lives. Secretary Shaw is still talking high prices and prosperity and is, as the leading member of Roosevelt's cabinet, to stump the country for the republican ticket. Stand pat is his slogan and prices will still advance and the republican tariff is panic proof, all you voters have to do is to "let well enough alone"-that is vote the republican ticket. Dollar wheat and 60-cent corn is the result of the beneficent republican policy. Fools rush in where angels fear to tread and Shaw is to rush 75 speeches at the poor dupes who will listen to his vaporings, and other bankers will speculate until the inevitable comes. If Shaw is followed.