9831. Osseo State Bank (Osseo, MN)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Closure
Bank Type
state
Start Date
July 12, 1915
Location
Osseo, Minnesota (45.119, -93.402)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
ed583397

Response Measures

None

Description

The Osseo State Bank was suspended by the state superintendent of banks in mid-July 1915 after its cashier confessed to speculative losses/looting. No contemporaneous run is reported in the articles. Deposit resolution and asset sale/new charter indicate the suspension led to permanent closure/liquidation (receivership/asset purchaser and new bank charter). Dates taken from articles (suspension around July 12-13, 1915).

Events (3)
1. July 12, 1915 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
State superintendent discovered a $52,000 shortage after cashier J. B. Thompson confessed to speculative investments and dissipation of assets (embezzlement/poor investments).
Newspaper Excerpt
the operations of the Osseo State bank were suspended by A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks
Source
newspapers
2. September 28, 1915 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Depositors in the Osseo State bank will be paid 100 per cent on their deposits by January 1, A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, said today. ... S. J. Mealey of Minneapolis, who bought $43,000 of the bank's assets, will be granted a charter for a new bank in Osseo.
Source
newspapers
3. October 20, 1915 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Thompson ... has been in the county jail in Minneapolis since July 12, when the operations of the Osseo State bank were suspended by A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (8)
1. July 16, 1915 The Ely Miner Ely, MN
Article from The Ely Miner, July 16, 1915

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Article Text

OSSEO BANK SHORT $52,000 Officials Say Money Disappeared in Poor Investments-Cashier Assumes Responsibility. BANK MAY NOT RE-OPEN. Osseo, Minn.-J. B. Thompson, deposed cashier of the Osseo State bank, Osseo, Minn., spent the night in the Hennepin County jail, marked "held." Following the suspension of the bank by A. H. Turritin, state superintendent of banks, who said a shortage of about $50,000 had been discovered by his examiners and admitted by Thompson, Eden Schmidt, president of the institution, said that he doubted whether it would renew operation. He said depositors unquestionably would not lose. To Make Money Good. Osseo, Minn., July 13.-Following a complete investigation of the accounts of the Osseo State bank, Osseo, Minn., and a full statement of the bank's and his affairs by J. B. Thompson, cashier of the bank, A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, announced that the bank was short $52,000, $10,000 of which was a debt to Minneapolis banks that honored paper from the Osseo bank. Mr. Turrittin also said that Thompson had told him the money had disappeared in poor investments, $20,000 of the total having been invested in options on lands for a proposed motor speedway at Osseo. In the face of a banking loss that would seem s'upendous to a town of 450 persons, the directors declared that the money would all be made good and the people of Osseo and the farmers who had placed their money there declared that they had full faith in the directors to make good. "I do not believe the bank will be closed," was the last announcement of Mr. Turrittin.

2. July 21, 1915 New Ulm Review New Ulm, MN
Article from New Ulm Review, July 21, 1915

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Article Text

CASHIER IS UNDER ARREST Others May Be Involved in Looting of Osseo Bank. A. Ы. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, in whose hands the affairs of the Osseo State bank have been since the cashier, J. B. Thompson, confessed to speculations which have wrecked the institution, declares that he and his assistants have uncovered enough evidence to warrant the arrest of two and probably three more men in connection with the dissipation of the bank's assets. Thompson, Mr. Turrittin said, fell an easy victim to the pictures of great wealth skillfully drawn by those who are believed to have sought to loot the bank. "There are a number of promoters working in Minnesota," said Mr. Turrittin, "who, if it is in my power, will be run out of business. "I mean those who organize banks simply to obtain a small commission for organizing and then run bad per per through them. I refer to a coterie of men who are nothing more than promoters."

3. July 23, 1915 The Ely Miner Ely, MN
Article from The Ely Miner, July 23, 1915

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Article Text

CASHIER IS UNDER ARREST Others May Be Involved in Looting of Osseo Bank. A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, in whose hands the affairs of the Osseo State bank have been since the cashier, J. B. Thompson, confessed to speculations which have wrecked the institution, declares that he and his assistants have uncovered enough evidence to warrant the arrest of two and probably three more men in connection with the dissipation of the bank's assets. Thompson, Mr. Turrittin said, fell an easy victim to the pictures of great wealth skillfully drawn by those who are believed to have sought to loot the bank. "There are a number of promoters working in Minnesota," said Mr. Turrittin, "who, if it is in my power, will be run out of business. "I mean those who organize banks simply to obtain a small commission for organizing and then run bad paper through them. I refer to a coterie of men who are nothing more than promoters."

4. July 29, 1915 The Sauk Centre Herald Sauk Centre, MN
Article from The Sauk Centre Herald, July 29, 1915

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Article Text

order to make a good showing or win must do a middle-of-the-road act. This is the day of the minority as far as party goes and your outspoken candidate simply digs his own grave. *** Next October the storage warehouse control law passed by the last legislature for the benefit of the cities of the first class will go into effect and there is a possibility that its constitutionality will be attacked in the courts. This law places all storage warehouses, with the exception of buildings devoted to grain and cold storage under the railroad and warehouse commission. A $5,000 bond and a $100 license fee is exacted and the hint is that the law is for the benefit of the big fellows. The little ones are simply put out of business. *** In a few weeks the state game and fish commission will go out of business in accordance with a law passed by the last legislature and Carlos Avery, the present executive agent, will take full control. The next step will probably be its absorption by the forestry department. Such is now proposed by members of the new efficiency and economy commission. *** Some peculiar things have figured in the county option contests to date. But Owatonna in Steele county, wins the big prize when it comes to the extraordinary. A year ago Owatonna wiped out the saloons in its midst by a vote that was considered decisive. Last week at the regular county option election it reversed itself and by its vote made the county so wet that there is not even a chance to question the result. It was the biggest victory the "wets" have had since the county option crusade began. However, while voting wet, Owatonna will continue to be without saloons, as its dry vote of a year ago was under local option law and will continue so for the next two years. Hennepin county drys are still seeking signers for the necessary petition and have about secured the needed number. Ramsey county, its next door neighbor, however, will not join. Efforts to interest the voters there so far have been unsuccessful. *** If somebody will induce Governor Hammond to draw his salary members of his official family will consider it a decided favor. Piled up in the vaults of State Treasurer Smith are 3,500 round silver dollars which have been accumulating since Governor Hammond took office, and continued mention of the fact by the newspapers is embarrassing. It looks as if his excellency did not need the money, something that cannot be said of a lot of fellows gubernatorially inclined. If the governor is of a frugal mind concerning the drawing and spending of his official salary he is just as careful of the contingent fund which the legislature annually provides for his comfort and that of the department. He has drawn very sparingly of his fund since taking office. *** The failure of the Osseo State Bank alleged to have been wrecked by its cashier, is daily bringing to light the methods of a lot of bank promotors operating in the state and the chances are excellent for some corrective legislation by the next legislature. As A. H. Turritin, state superintendent of banks, points out, a shoestring is all that is necessary to open a state bank in Minnesota. The last legislature considered a bill making the organization of state banks more stringent than it now is, but the measure failed. The bill proposed a bank commission, which many feared would not work out as claimed. *** C. M. Andrist, private secretary to Governor Hammond, wants it known that if his chief has any poltical ambitions he does not make his private secretary his confident. He insists that his excellency keeps all such to himself. Secretary Andrist's position was explained by him the other day when Governor Hammond was suggested as a running mate for President Wilson next year. "If the governor is willing," said Mr. Andrist, "he has not informed me. He never does." # INSURANCE COMMISSIONER WORKS AS the Democratic gubernatorial standard bearer in the event that Governor Hammond goes after the senatorship is being suggested. Could do worse. -The County Chairman.

5. August 19, 1915 The Sauk Centre Herald Sauk Centre, MN
Article from The Sauk Centre Herald, August 19, 1915

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NEW LEADERS HAVE DISPLACED THE OLD STATE HISTORY MAKERS OF FEW YEARS AGO ARE NOW IN FORGOTTEN LIST. SELDOM VISIT OLD HAUNTS DAYS WHEN JACOBSON, DUNN, AND OTHERS HAD INFLUENCE RECALLED St. Paul, Aug. 17.-Five years is not a long period as time is reckoned these days, still it seems like an age when one harkens back to the days of such history makers as J. F. Jacobson, R. C. Dunn, E. E. Smith, Frank Day, Joe Cotton of Duluth, E. B. Hawkins and a score of others. Though all are in the land of the living only occasional mention is made of them now. "Where are all the boys? asked an old timer who was a recent visitor at the state capitol, and honestly I was unable to furnish the desired information. Other residents of the big marble pile on Capitol Hill were equally ignorant. Time was when no campaign or gossip was complete without some of them, and what they advocated or backed counted. Their advice was always sought and no one was ashamed to follow their standards. The other day J. F. Jacobson of Lac qui Parle county, as rough and flawless a diamond as was ever mined, dropped into the Cities. He was not even noticed. Bob Dunn, the hero of a score of rough and tumble fights, who gave to Minnesota the best of its timber and mineral protective acts, hardly lets a week go by without visiting St. Paul or Minneapolis, still he might be a complete stranger for all his presence attracts. And so it is with Joe Cotton, once the political king of the Iron Range; E. B. Hawkins, who always had a goodly bunch of live ones at his back, and a dozen others whose beck and call brought scores of hustlers to their aid. E. E. Smith, who piloted former Governor Eberhart through three hard fought campaigns and who was always a dominant figure in state politics, continues to hold out in Minneapolis, but if he is still in the game any activities on his part fail to show it. The lobby of the Merchants hotel, still the ghostly haunt of a few of them, is silent and SO are the other places once given over to their activities. The wiping out of the convention was their undoing, and as time passes only their names will be a memory. New kings have taken their places, but unlike the old days they do not answer to the title. Cards were on the table then. A fifth ace is necessary now, and publicity is not to the liking of the dealer. Not a little criticism is being directed at the state banking department and its head, A. H. Turritin, because of the recent failure of the Osseo State Bank. A dishonest cashier was responsible. Some of this criticism, especially that concerning the lack of strong regulative banking laws, is in order, but that directed at the head of the department comes with poor grace when it is known that the bank will reopen, that depositors will receive 100 cents on the dollar, and that even the stockholders will be partially reimbursed. All this is due to the activities of Mr. Turritin, who has left no stone unturned in his efforts to force back every dollar dishonestly taken. Even a corwd of Chicago promotors who had milked the institution for over $12,000 were compelled to disgorge, and they did not do it reluctantly either. They made good in a hurry when shown by Mr. Turritin. Lax as some of Minnesota's banking laws may be and weak to the extent that there is little control as far as the itinerant bank promotor is concerned, yet it is a compliment to those in charge of the department of Minnesota's 1,000 state banks are considered the strongest of any state in the Union and that the Osseo failure is the first in three years. In this neck of the woods one is simply unable to get away from the senatorial boom for Governor Ham-

6. August 20, 1915 The Mankato Free Press Mankato, MN
Article from The Mankato Free Press, August 20, 1915

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From Friday's Daily. Former Mankato Lawyer Will Aid the State of Minnesota in Osseo Bank Affair. Harrison Schmitt, formerly of Mankato, now of Minneapolis yesterday was appointed a special attorney to assist A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, in straightening the affairs of the suspended Osseo State bank. The appointment was made by Attorney General Smith after conference with Mr. Turrittin.

7. September 28, 1915 The Bemidji Daily Pioneer Bemidji, MN
Article from The Bemidji Daily Pioneer, September 28, 1915

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DEPOSITORS OF CLOSED BANK To BE PAID Osseo, Minn., Sept. 28.-Depositors in the Osseo State bank will be paid 100 per cent on their deposits by January 1, A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks, said today. There is 166,000 due the depositors. Mr. Turrittin is considering the appointment of a special receiver to take charge of the institution and liquidate its affairs. S. J. Mealey of Minneapolis, who bought $43,000 of the bank's assets, will be granted a charter for a new bank in Osseo.

8. October 20, 1915 New Ulm Review New Ulm, MN
Article from New Ulm Review, October 20, 1915

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Article Text

CASHIER TO PLEAD GUILTY Willing to Admit Forgery and Grand Larceny. Joseph B. Thompson, deposed cashier of the, Osseo State bank, has expressed a desire to be allowed to plead guilty to two indictments, one for grand larceny and one for forgery, the two carrying a maximum sentence of twenty years in the state penitentiary. Thompson has been in the county jail in Minneapolis since July 12, when the operations of the Osseo State bank were suspended by A. H. Turrittin, state superintendent of banks. "I am anxious to begin serving sentence," Thompson said.