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AETNA BANK IS INSOLVENT (Scripps Telegraph Service.) WASHINGTON D. C., Oct. 19.The Aetna Banking & Trust company. of this city, and a branch of the same named company at Butte, Mont., were today closed by the comptroller of the currency, and Robert Lyons appointed receiver. National Bank Examiner Saxe's examination showed the branch to be Insolvent.
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BUTTE BANK IN TROUBLE (Scripps News Association.) WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.-The Aetna Banking & Trust company, of this city, and a branch of the same company at Butte, Mont., weer today closed by the comp= troller of currency. Robert Lyons was appointed receiver. The national bank examiner says examination showed the branch insolvent when last reported.
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AETNA BANK CLOSES DOORS PENDING PROBE (Continued from First Page.) and Receiver Lyon in studying out the condition of affairs. He said: "The Aetna Banking and Trust Company of Butte is a good bank, and I have confidence that it will provide the means to settle all claims in Washington and continue the institution," "Then you expect the bank will reopen?" "That is my expectation. I have wired to Butte the facts about the situation here. and am awaiting advices." The depositors in the local institution were composed largely of department people, though it is stated that some business men also carried accounts with them. The only connections held locally were with the Commercial National Bank, in which small amounts were placed on deposit, and at the present time that bank held about $1,500 of the savings bank's money. The Commereial did not clear for it, but simply took deposits. The notice on the door this morning stating that the bank had been closed by order of the Comptroller attracted but little attention.
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AETNA BANK BOOKS FOUND IN TANGLE; OUTLOOK SERIOUS Depositors of Poorer Class Weep When Told of Their Losses. "The farther we go into it, the less encouragement we find?" said Acting Comptroller Kane today, speaking of the closing of the Aetna Banking and Trust Company's banking house in Washington. Beyond this Mr. Kane would not discuss the situation. Bank Examiner Reeves and Receiver Lyons have been at work on the books, and will not be able to make a statement about conditions for several days. It has been found at the outset, however, that the accounts are in such shape that it is going to be hard to get them straightened out. The institution did not keep regular bank books, but instead, employed a card system. It develops that some of the cards are missing, and this adds to the difficulty of determining conditions. Parent Bank Closes. The parent bank at Butte, Mont., closed its doors yesterday after it had received information of the Comptroller's action in Washington. F. E. Garside, cashier and manager at Butte, made a statement saying that on account of the closing of the Washir ston branch. the institution had been closed, at least pending further information. "Should it be necessary to appoint a receiver." he added, "there are assets which should largely protect the depositors." The Butte bank, with $100,000 capital, advertises deposits of $695,000, surplus of $29,500. and loans and discounts of $581,800. The bank is said to have been profitable so long as Heinze conducted it. because its business was largely in scalping the time checks of employes of the Heinze mines. Depositors in Tears. There has been little excitement about the doors of the Washington branch of the bank today. Possibly a dozen depositors, mostly aged colored persons, have called, and with many tears and protestations have explained to the officials in charge their need for the small pittance they had placed in the institution. lured by the promise of absolute protection. for their savings, and 4 per cent interest, compounded quarterly. Bank Examiner Owen F. Reeves. jr., who has had wide experience in examining banking institutions under similar conditions, says the pleas have been most pathetic. coming as they do from the poorer classes.
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BRANCH BANK CLOSES DOORS BUTTE, MONTANA, CONCERN IN TROUBLE Aetna Banking and Trust Company Notified by Wire from Washing. ton That Receiver Has Been Appointed By Associated Press. WASHINGTON Oct. 19.-The Aetna Banking and Trust company (branch) of Washington, D. C., has been closed by direction of the acting comptroller of the currency and Robert Lyons has been appointed receiver. This company is a branch of the Aetna Banking and Trust company of Butte, Mont. incorporated under the laws of West Virginia. The assets and liabilities, according to the last statement, are $123,943. Among the assets are $95,247 in bonds, securities, claims, etc. The management of the bank issued a statement this afternoon to the ef. fect that the Butte bank will not open tomorrow. The statement follows: "We were notified by wire today from our Washington office that the comptroller of the currency had ordered that bank closed and had appointed a receiver there. On account of this, and until we can ascertain the result of his investigation, through the advice of our attorneys, it is deemed best not to open for business in the bank here This is done to protect all concerned, and . there can be no injustice or injury to any one by so doing. "I can give no further statement at this time but would say that I shall do all in my power to bring about the best results. It will be necessary for a few days to elapse before we can get at the exact situation. "Should it be necessary to appoint a receiver there are assets which should largely protect the depositors."
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BUTTE BANK NOT OPENED. Butte, Oct. 20.-In accordance with the announcement of Cashier Garside last night, the Aetna bank of Butte did not open for business this morning. The suspension is in consequence of the failure of the Aetna Banking and Trust company of Washington, a branch of the 10. cal concern. There was no demonstration today and the bank management said It had no further statement to make at present.
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FAILURE OF BRANCH INVOLVES MAIN BANK Aetna Banking & Trust Company of Washington Closes; Butte Bank Affected. WASHINGTON, Oct. 19.-The Aetna Banking and Trust company (branch) of Washington, D. C., has been closed by direction of the acting Comptroller of the Treasury, and Robert Lyons has been appointed recelver. This company is a branch of the Aetna Banking and Trust company of Butte, Mont., incorporated under the laws of West Virginia. The assets and liabilities, according to the last statement are $123,943. Among the assets are $95,247 in "bonds. securities, claims. etc." The branch had $42,271 in savings and $38,808 in individual deposits, and was liable to the head office at Butte for $40,397. The management of the main bank at Butte Issued a statement this afternoon to the effect that the Butte branch will not open tomorrow morning The statement follows: "We were notified by wire today from our Washington office that the Comptroller of the Currency had ordered that bank closed and had appointed a receiver there. On account of this, and until we can ascertain the result of his investigation, through the advice of our attorney. it is deemed best not to open for business in the bank here. This is done to protect all concerned, and there can be no injustice or injury to any one by so doing. "I can give no further statement at this time, but would say that I shall do all in my power to bring about the best results. It will be necessary for a few days to elapse before we can get the exact situation. "Should it be necessary to appoint a receiver, there are assets which should !argely protect depositors. "F. E. GARSIDE, Cashier."
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BANK'S AFFAIRS TANGLED. Treasury Officials Unable to Ascertain Real Condition of Aetna. Little of interest developed yesterday in connection with the suspension of the Washington branch of the Aetna Banking and Trust Company. Deputy Comptroller Kane said the books, or rather the accounts, of the bank were in a tangled condition, so that the Treasury officials and the receiver were experiencing great difficulty in getting at the condition of affairs. He said there were no real book accounts, the entries being kept on cards and slips. Some of these seem to be missing, and the accountants are unable to trace some of the depositors' accounts. Yesterday the news was confirmed that the parent bank at Butte, Mont., had closed its doors. Few of the depositors appeared at the bank building yesterday, and these few were poor people, mostly colored men and women, who had deposited slender savings there, because of the high rate of interest offered.
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WARRANT NOT SERVED Cashier of Aetna Bank Refunds Money to His Late Depositors. BUTTE, Mont., Oct. 20 -A warrant for the arrest of F. E. Garside, cashier of the Aetna bank, which closed its doors yesterday under orders of the acting comptroller of the currency, was issued this afternood on the instance of a lady depositor who had deposited ten dollars in the defunct institution shortly before it closed. The warrant was not served. however, as the lady, with all others who had deposited money with the Aetna yesterday, were refunded their money. Cashier Garside showed to the officers that the depositors of yesterday had not been entered on the books of the bank, but were placed in envelopes and deposited in the vaults, as though they were aware of the straightened condition of the bank, and official orders closing the Butte institution had not yet been received from Washington. Rather than precipitate a run, and excite the people it was decided by Cashier Garside to accept deposits and lay them aside for the depositors, as was done. The closing of the bank hardly caused a ripple of excitement in the city, business conditions remaining as usual.
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TROUBLES OF BUTTE BANK Warrant Issued for Cashier Garside of the Aetna, Which Was Not Served. Butte, Mont., Oct. 20.-A warrant for the arrest of F. E. Garside, cashier of the Aetna bank, which closed its doors yesterday under orders of the acting comptroller of the currency, was issued this afternoon on the instance of a lady depositor, who had deposited $10 in the defunct institution shortly before it closed. The warrant was not served, however, as the lady. with all others who had deposited money with the Aetna yesterday, were refunded their money. Cashier Garside showed to the officers that the deposits of yesterday had not been entered on the books of the bank, but were placed in envelopes and deposited in the vaults, as though they were aware of the straightened condition of the bank, and official orders closing the Butte institution had not yet been received from Washington. Rather than precipitate a run, and excite the people it was decided by Cashier Garside to accept deposits and lay them aside for the depositors, as was done. The closing of the Aetna hardly caused a ripple of excitement in the city, business conditions remaining as usual.
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AETNA BANK CASHIER GONE. Examiner Can Find No Officials of Butte Concern. Butte, Mont., Oct. 25. - The grand jury to-day returned an indictment against F. E. Garside, late cashier of the defunct Aetna Banking and Trust Company, but it was found that he had disappeared. He left his hotel one evening and has not been seen around the town since. Though the sheriff and his deputies have been searching for him, Garside's stenographer said she knew that the cashier was still in the city, but the officers do not believe it. It has been discovered that Garside paid out a lot of money after the bank suspended, but Examiner Wilson has recovered most of it. Four hundred dollars was sent to Boston to pay salaries of several men there who appear to be on the pay roll of the bank. but Mrs. Foster. Garside's stenographer, sent an equal sum to the examiner when the latter took proceedings to obtain the money. So far authorities have been unable to find who owned the bank, or who was president and director of it. It appears that after the bank was found to be on the verge of collapse, the officials drew out and their interests passed to unknown persons. A number of suits have been begun against the bank by depositors. The Butte Smeltermen's Union is suing for $10,000.
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BUTTE BANK IN POOR SHAPE WASHINGTON, D. C., Nov. 17.Reports to the comptroller show that depositors and creditors of the Aetna Banking & Trust Co., of this city and Butte will receive about 32 cents at the Butte office. Out of over $400,000 assets, over 200,000 is declared worthless by the receiver. Nearly 150,000 is doubtful. The total liability is placed at $479,000.
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# AETNA BANK DEPOSITORS # WILL GET IO PER CENT Mistake in Report of Receiver Reduces Amount From 32 Per Cent Expected. Depositors of the defunct Aetna Bank- ing and Trust Company will not receive more than 10 per cent or 12 per cent dividends, although it was announced last week by the Comptroller of the Currency that the prospective dividends had been estimated at 32 per cent. The conclusion of the Comptroller was arrived at because of a clerical error made by the receiver of the Butte bank in transcribing his report to the Comptroller, the estimated losses on doubtful assets being given instead of the estimated value, as required in the report.
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RELIEVED FROM DUTY. BUTTE, Mont., Nov. 29.-Receiver Wilson of the Aetna Banking & Trust company has received word from the comptroller of the currency at Washington that his request to be relieved from duty here had been granted and that Theodore G. Risley of Mount Carmel, III., had been appointed as his successor.
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HEINZE'S DONATION MAY REACH HERE Butte Bank's Local Creditor May Get Portion of Plum. is The Washington creditors of the Aetna Banking and Trust Company may or may not profit by the donation of $100,000 made in Butte yesterday by F. Augustus Heinze. Dispatches from there state that Heinze, convinced that many people gave their confidence to the bank because they believed him connected with it, had sent a check for $100,000 to the receiver for the benefit of depositors. In fact, Heinze was not connected with the bank and had not been for, three years. He was in no way liable. It was pure donation "We can't tell anything about it till we hear from the receiver at Butte," said Assistant Comptroller Kane this morning. "No, we do not know whether Heinze intended it for pro rata distribution among all creditors of the bank, or merely for those in Butte." "But could the make such a gift, through the comptroller, without subjeeting it to the claims of all creditors, whether in Butte or in Washington? Mr. Kane was asked. "That would depend on its terms Doubtless the money will be distributed on the terms on which it was given and accepted." Which means that if Heinze has given his $100,000 for the benefit of his unfortunate neighbors and friends in Butte, they will get all of it and the Washington depositors will get none. If given to all the depositors, pro rata, It would produce something less than 30 cents on the dollar of claims.
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DECLARES A DIVIDEND. Payment for Creditors of Aetna Banking and Trust Company. The controller has declared a dividend of 20 per cent to all the creditors of the Aetna Banking and Trust Company at Butte, Mont., and Washington, D. C. It will require about four weeks to prepare for payment. The creditors will be notified the latter part of January when the dividend will be paid by the receiver. It was decided by the controller that the creditors of both institutions were on an equal footing, and that the amount received from the various assets of the banks here and in Montana should be pooled and the dividend made equal to all. The Aetna Banking and Trust Company's branch in Washington was subjected to the examination required under the laws of Congress last October. A bank examiner from the Treasury Department found the Washington branch carrying worthless securities upon its books, and closed the doors of the bank here on October 9. The same day the bank in Butte closed its doors, upon receipt of the news from Washington.
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NORTHWEST After being closed for coinage poses for more than twelve years, United States mint at Carson Nevada, may be reopened within next few months. Negotiations between the unions of Butte and the Rocky tain Bell Telephone company are parently off, the situation indicating struggle to a finish. The break in the transmission wire of the Nevada Power company, whic threw Goldfield into darkness, which was charged to the strikin miners, it now develops was by a snowslide. General Funston has ordered a eral courtmartial to convene at field. This order would indicate, army men, that the troops now on at that place would be held there some time to come. Judge Bourquin of the state distric court at Butte instructed the jury acquit A. B. Clements, cashier of failed Aetna bank, on a felony charg growing out of the alleged receipt deposits when he knew the bank insolvent. A dispatch from Denver says tha James R. Barber and Summer Moon. the millionaire lumbermen Eau Claire, Wis., indicted with ator Borah for alleged conspiracy land frauds, may be taken to for trial. Colonel William Crooks, assistan to the general manager of the man lines in the Pacific northwes died in Portland on the 17th of plications growing out of a cold tracted about six weeks ago. He 76 years old. The supreme court of Montana granted a writ of habeas corpus the case of G. S. E. Wisner, an conda bank employee, who had convicted on the charge of receivin deposits when he knew his principa to be insolvent. The Smelter City bank of Durange Colo., a state institution, capital 000, has closed its doors. Lack of fidence, due, it is said, to the indic ments of prominent citizens on charges of land frauds under the eral laws, led to the suspension. O. C. Dallas, chief clerk, and J. McLeod, at the head of the survey partment in the office of United State surveyor general in Helena, have arrested. The indictment alleges fo gery and conspiracy to defraud government of the United States. The state board of pardons of tana has approved the action of ernor Tooele in granting a pardon Elizabeth Morrison, a Butte woman who, upon conviction on a slaughter charge for the killing Richard Finnegan, had been tenced to the penitentiary for thre years. The Hamilton Powder company works blew up Sunday morning at parture Bay, B. C. The loss is $40,00 No one was killed or injured. In couver, thirty-five miles away, house were shaken SO badly that it was lieved an earthquake had occurred many persons rushed to the street
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AUGUSTUS HEINZE SUED BY BANK RECEIVER PECULIAR FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS ARE MENTIONED IN THE COMPLAINT. Butte, Aug. 15.-(Special.)-A suit was commenced in the district court here today by Robert Lyon, receiver of the defunct Aetna Banking & Trust company, against F. A. Heinze to recover about a quarter of a million dollars alleged to have been secured from the depositors of that institution by criminal conspiracy. It is alleged that this amount was lost to the depositors over and above the $100,000 which Heinze paid to the comptroller of the currency after that official took charge of the affairs of the bank severals years ago. It is alleged that the bank commenced business. on a note for $97,250, given by A. B. Clements, a partner " of Heinze, and $2,500 in cash, and that the latter later was withdrawn and substituted for a note for a similar amount. The complaint sets forth a number of peculiar transactions in the banking line, The papers were served on Mr. Heinze, shortly after his arrival from the east.
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HEINZE SUED FOR $250,000 AT BUTTE PARTICIPATION IN A CRIMINAL CONSPIRACY CHARGED AGAINST HIM BUTTE, Mont., Aug. 17-F. Augustus Heinze, former copper king, arin Butte yesterday afternoon his first visit to this city in about a year, and papers were filed in the district court in a sensational suit against him, in which allegations of fraud are made in connection with the conduct of the affairs of- the defunct Aetna bank. The plaintiff in the suit against Heinze, is Robert Lyons as receiver of the Aetna Banking and Trust Co. In the suit it is sought to recover about $250,000 alleged to have been secured through a criminal conspiracy to the loss of the depositors of the defunct banking institution. It is alleged that about that amount was lost to the depositors over and above $100,000 that Heinze paid over to the comptroller of currency of the United States after that official took charge of the affairs of the Aetna bank, and put it in charge of a receiver. The amount thus secured, is alleged to have paid only one-fourth of tne obligations of the bank to the depositors. It is stated in the complaint, in which it is asked that Heinze be imprisoned, that in 1901 Heinze and A. B. Clements organized the bank under the laws of West Virginia and the institution began to transact business after the filing of a certificate to the effect that the capital of the bank to the amount of $200,000 had been put up in cash. It is now charged that the capital consisted of a note for $97,250, given by A. B. Clements which was deposited as cash and $2,500 in actual cash. in a few days, or as soon as sufficient deposits were secured, it is alleged the $2.500 was withdrawn and A. B. Clements gave the bank a note for the amount so that the total paid up capital consisted of the two notes aggregating $1,00,000. About a year later, it is alleged, some of the shares of stock in the bank were put in the name of Julia H. Clements, wife of A. B. Clements, and some in the name of F. Augustus Heinze. For the stock, it is alleged, a note was secured from Mrs. Clemfor $7,800 and three notes from Heinze ents aggregating $46_000. secured control Then Heinze, it is stated, of a local building and loan association known as the Aetna Savings and Trust Company and with stock of that concern to the amount of 402 shares and the three notes above re ferred to secured a controlling interest in the stock of the AetnaBank & Trust Company. By this means it is alleged that within eighteen months $200,000 of the assets of the bank were secured $100,000 being in cash belonging to to noon Heinze the depositors. had dodged Up the process today serv. ens who had been scouring the city for him.
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A pistol fight to the death occurred near Goat Rock, Ga. The combatants were Sam Gordon, a white man, and George Caldwell, a negro. The two bodies were found near each other about dusk. Edward Cannessa, a well-to-do Italian, is dead at his Brooklyn home as a result of his efforts to act as peacemaker between two of his friends who fired revolvers on each other in a quarrel over the hand of his daughter. Lewis W. Hoyell, manager of the Toledo Metal Wheel company of Toledo, O., arrived in New York to attend a convention. He had scarcely set foot on the soil of the metropolis when he was robbed of his pocketbok. A solitaire diamond ring, valued at $300 was taken from him a few minutes later. Daughters of the American Revolution gave a reception and dinner on the steamship George Washington in New York in honor of Congressman Richard Bartholdt of Missouri, who sailed in charge of a statue of Baron Von Steuben, which congress will present to the German government. After three years' exile among strangers in Caracas, Venezuela, two Syrian children, Susan and Lucien Lulu, are detained at Ellis Island, New York, prevented by the immigration officials from carrying out their plan to join their parents at Smithton, Pa. Their eyes show symptoms of trachoma. New York state and the middle west have a bumper apple crop this year for export shipments, according to the bulletin of the Boston chamber of commerce. The far west, Virginia and New England have fallen off somewhat, but New York and the middle west bring this year's average up to half as large again as last year. Seven thousand people, representing 44 states, have registered for free homesteads in the Berthold Indian reservation in North Dakota. Of this number 4,412 registered at Minot, the government headquarters. Papers were filed in the district court at Butte in a sensational suit against F. Augustus Heinze, in which Robert Lyons, as receiver of the Aetna Banking and Trust company, seeks to recover $250,000 alleged to have been obtained illegally by Heinze. Andrew O'Hearn and Frank Ellis of Chicago, employed at the Rochelle tanning factory, went to sleep on the Chicago & Northwestern railroad tracks at Rochelle, Ill., and were killed by a fast train.
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Receiver Hit F. Aug. Heinze (By United Press Leased Wire.) BUTTE, Mont., Dec. 29.Charges that F. Augustus Heinze, of the defunct Aetna Banking & Trust Co., secured possesion of the bulk of the assets through fraudulent practices, were filed yesterday by Robert Lyons, receiver.