4575. Metropolitan State Bank (Chicago, IL)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Run Only
Bank Type
state
Start Date
April 11, 1923
Location
Chicago, Illinois (41.850, -87.650)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
145e2cf1

Response Measures

Accommodated withdrawals, Books examined

Other: Special police guard ordered to keep crowds in order; bank officials and state banking examiner publicly declared bank sound.

Description

Two contemporaneous newspaper reports (Apr 11 and Apr 20, 1923) describe the same run on Metropolitan State Bank in Chicago. Causes reported include a burglar-alarm test that set off a false robbery rumor and political agitation; officials repeatedly stated the bank was sound. No suspension, closure, or receivership is mentioned.

Events (1)
1. April 11, 1923 Run
Cause
Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details
Installation/test of a burglar alarm set off the alarm; police response caused rumor the bank had been robbed; bank officials also blamed political foes for stirring alarm.
Random Run
Yes
Random Run Snippet
alarm test set off; rumor spread bank had been robbed (false)
Measures
Special guard of police ordered to keep crowds in order; bank officials publicly reassured depositors and examiner declared bank sound.
Newspaper Excerpt
A run on the Metropolitan State bank resulted in a special guard of police being ordered out last night to keep the crowds of alarmed depositors around the bank in order.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)
1. April 11, 1923 San Antonio Light San Antonio, TX
Article from San Antonio Light, April 11, 1923

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Article Text

RUN ON CHICAGO BANK "Poliites" Blamed for Rush; Institution Believed Sound. Chicago, April 11.-A run on the Metropolitan State bank resulted in a special guard of police being ordered out last night to keep the crowds of alarmed depositors around the bank in order. Officials of the bank declared that the run was "caused by politics." Long lines began to form before the entrance this afternoon and by 9 o'clock last night more than $250,000 had been paid out and a reserve of $500,000 was waiting in the vaults, according to bank officials. Dr. S. A. Brenza. brother of the president of the bank, asserted that politics was behind the run. He said he had been a candidate in the last aldermanic election and that he believed the run was a plot of his political foes. Walter S. Corby of the state banking examiner's office declared that there was no occasion for the run. "The bank is sound and in excellent condition," he declared.

2. April 20, 1923 The Dolores Star Dolores, CO
Article from The Dolores Star, April 20, 1923

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Article Text

Burglar Alarm Causes Run on Bank Chicago.-A run on the Metropolitan State Bank, at Twenty-second and South Leavitt streets, resulted in a special guard of police being ordered out to keep the crowds of alarmed depositors around the bank in order. John B. Brenza, president of the bank, said he believed the run was the result of the installation of a burglar alarm system. In the installation work, it was necessary to set off the alarm to test it. Mr. Brenza said that he believed that when the police answered the alarm the rumor spread that the bank had been robbed.