Thomas Cruse Savings Bank (Helena, MT)

Episode Information

Episode UID
93002771224
Episode Type
Run Only
Bank Type
savings
Bank ID
9300277 routing
Routing Number
93-0027
Start Date
December 8, 1901
Location
Helena, Montana (46.593, -112.036)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini (chosen from majority vote of a three-model LLM ensemble)
Short Digest
1c273674c1a37db6

Response Measures

None

Events (1)

1. December 8, 1901 Run
Cause
Rumor Or Misinformation
Cause Details
A practical joker told a friend in the county treasurer's office the bank was embarrassed; the remark was overheard and spread, prompting withdrawals.
Random Run
Yes
Random Run Snippet
Practical joker's remark that bank was embarrassed; rumor later shown false
Measures
Bank declined to receive redeposited funds when depositors tried to return money.
Newspaper Excerpt
An innocently intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings Bank in this city last week, which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (2)

Article from The San Francisco Call, December 9, 1901

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Article Text

PRACTICAL JOKER'S REMARK STARTS RUN ON A HELENA BANK Depositors Withdraw More Than Two Hundred Thousand Dollars From the Concern. Special Dispatch to The Call. HELENA, Mont., Dec. 8.-An innocently intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings Bank in this city last week, which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution. When the true status of affairs became known many endeavored to redeposit their money, but this the bank declined to receive. Thomas Cruz, with the exception of United States Senator Clark, is probably the wealthiest man in Montana. It appears that a practical joker told a friend in the County Treasurer's office that the Cruz bank was in an embarrassed condition, the remark being overheard by a woman who was standing near by. Taking it for granted that such was the case she hurried into a downtown store and telephoned to her husband, who is employed at the Northern Pacific depot. Before starting for the bank the husband in turn telephoned to a friend in the Sheriff's office, who, imparting the knowledge


Article from The Coalville Times, December 13, 1901

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Article Text

RUN ON HELENA BANK. Remark of Practical Joker Frightens Depositors. An innocently-intended joke caused quite a run on the Thomas Cruz Savings bank in Helena, Mont., last week. which, before it ended, caused nervous depositors to withdraw more than $200,000 from that institution. When the true status of affairs became known many endeavored to redeposit their money, but this the bank declined to receive. Thomas Cruz, with the exception of United States Senator Clark, is probably the wealthiest man in Montana He recently sold one mine to the Rothschilds for $1,000,000, after having extracted a similar sum in gold therefrom. It appears that a practical joker told a friend in the county treasurer's office that the Cruz bank was in an embarrassed condition. the remark being overheard by a woman who was standing nearby. who thought she was getting an "inside tip," and who straightway telephoned her husband to withdraw his money. The husband did so and spread the news among a few intimate friends, with the result that nervous depositors withdrew their funds in a lively manner. The run was kept up for a week before the depositors realized their error.