Modern High Standards
of Living Are to Blame
for Bank Defalcations
SAYS MR. MOXEY:
J "When you can go Into a restaurant at two o'clock In the morning and
behold $60,000 worth of women's gownc at the tables and $3,000 worth of
food In process of consumption, something Is wrong." o
2 "It is not only this sort of life In New York, but, In a more sinister
way, the sight and example of It which Is bringing about a degradation
or tne sense or common nonesiy.
o
"The laxity with which the criminal laws of our land are enforced by r
e many of the Judges of our courts has much to do with encouraging bank o
? officers to misuse the funds In their keeping." o
"Now York 1b to blamo for It."
Grny-whiskcred, gray-hnlrcd, gray
eyed, gray-clad, a slender gentleman
of astonishing neatness and n certain
amlablo precision of speech loaned
back in his ofllco chair with his hands
behind his head ami smiled alertly,
writes Frank C. Drnko, In tho Now
York World. Such Is n first Impres
sion of Edward P. Moxey, whoso offi
cial tltlo Is "Export Dank Examiner
for tho Uplted States Department of
Justlco," and such woro his words In
speaking of tho epidemic of hank de
falcations which has been sweeping
over tho country.
Whereas Mr. Moxoy's business Is to
flit about tho country and peer unex
pectedly over tho shoulders of tho
cashiers of national banks hero and
there In order to find out If tholr caBh
balances are all right; and whereas
Mr. Moxoy had found somo 30 of theso
gcntlomon with their cash balanco3 nil
wrong nnd, to their great grlof and
amazoniont, has put thorn In tho ponl
tontlary; and whereas Mr. Moxey,
fresh from sending John II. Walsh of
Chicago to join tho others, has como
to Now York to look Into tho book
kcoplng of Charles W. Morso and Al
fred II. Curtis, on trial for trying, It
Is alleged, to buy a national bank
with Its own money; thercforo docs
tho said Edward P. Moxoy Bpeak ylth
somo uuthorlty of hank defalcations
and their causes.
"You mean tho 'Broadway' Now
York?" I askod.
"Broadway" Blamed.
"I mean tho 'Broadway' Now York,"
ho answered qulotly. "I moan tho
gorgeous hotels and restaurants, tho
liars, tho gambling houses, tho myriad
theaters, and palatial apartmont
houses, tho turning of night Into tiny.
I moan tho Hood of monoy In Now
York upon which this life la borno
along, tho craving for vnst Incomes
by which alono such a life can bo
ltyed.
"To say that oven n bare majority
of tho tons of thousands of nion' who
nlshtly swell tho crowd of amuso-mont-crnzed
sponderB, who llvo In
$5,000 apartnionts, and whoso touring
cars congest tho atroets, aro doing
this with money which Is honestly
tholrs Is absurd. Thoy aro not earn
ing this money; thoy aro olther Jug
gling other pcoplo's cash or thoy aro
gambling with their own. When you
can go Into a restaurant at two o'clock
in tho morning and behold J 00,000
worth of women's gowns nt tho tables
and 13,000 worth of food In process
of consumption, something Is wrong.
And whon you pbsorvo half a million
dollars' worth of automobiles waiting
to tako this ono suppor crowd to their
homes or olscwhoro you may bo
suro that thoro la queer bookkeeping
somowhero.
All Copy New Yjrk.
"It la not only this sort of llfo In
Now York, but lu a moro sinister way,
o
icooaoioMMooeot o
tho sight and oxnmplo of It; which Is
bringing about a degradation of tho
sense of common honesty throughout
tho country. That flno American as
set, tho 'Now England conscience,' hns
becomo an object of Jest. And, ns I
said, Now York Is to blame. As In
all other matters, theatrical, literary
and artistic, tho other cities and towns
take their cue from Now York. As
Now York Hvo3 so thoy all wish to
live. To-day in towns as small as
25,000 population thero aro springing
up all-night grill room's with Hun
garian orchestras, wherein tho young
business mon or theso communities
must foregather It they aro to bo In
tho social Bwlm with their locnl smart
set.
"Tho young banker or business mnn
In the smaller community comes to
Now York. Ho Is taken In hand by
IiIb business acquaintances horo nnd
Bhown nbout tho town. His hosts
spend monoy on a scalo which dazzles
him. Thoy tnko him to luxurious
hotels and cafos whero thoy nnd tho
ncad waltors know each other hv
nnmo and whero ho Is Introduced to a
scale of living fit only for mon of
millions. Ho wonders how his frlonds
mnnago to slmro In this nrodicalltv
and bit by bit ho finds out. Thov toll
him funny stories of transactions
which, reduced to a proper ilnanclnl
analysis, aro defalcations puro and
simple or, nt best, plain gambling.
'Everybody (I003 It,' thoy say; 'It's
part of tho gamo.' And hack to his
homo town goes tho vountr bnnkor.
filled with dreams of sudden wealth
and all the gay llfo that goos with It.
First Step to Ruin.
"Too often this person starts to lead
tho gay llfo boforo ho has got tho
sudden wealth. Ho sees tho rich cus
tomer of his bank rolling up to tho
door with a big doposlt or to get a
letter of credit for a trip abroad. Ho
suspects perhaps rightly that tholr
monoy enmo by somo financial logcr-
domain ns his Now York frlonds liavo
described with so much relish. Per
Imps, ho tells himself, It Isn't tholr
money nt nil. Why, then, shouldn't
ho manlpulato It for his own gain;
why Isn't It anybody's' to play with
who can got his hands on It? Tho
llfo ho ha3 Boen, tho methods ho hns
learned nro dostroylng his Bonso of
property. IIo Is somohow getting It
Into hla head that this monoy placed
in his kooplng Ih u sort of common
property and that, so long as ho can
keop his books looking technically
right, ho may Juggle with It for tho
bRiioflt of his own personal pockot.
IIo really comes to bollovo, sorjously,
that this Is so.
"Indeed," said Mr. Moxoy with a
certain atom tlnglo In his volco, "tho
nttltudo of trusteoahlp hns nufforod n
shocking chnngo lu recent years. I
say In rocent jenra, not becauso I am
ono of thoso pessimistic old fogies
who think that people gunerally woro
moro honost In othor days, which thoy
wcro not, but becnuso It has been my
cxporlenco of many yonrs that thoso
periods of defalcation como In cycles.
Whatever tho cause, thoro nro cycles
of honesty and cycles of dlshonosty;
and tho present Is n cycle of dishon
esty with Its causo In modern stand
ards of onjoyablo living.
Laws Not Enforced.
And let mo mako my opinion em
phatic that tho laxity with which the
criminal laws of our land nro enforced
by many of tho Judges of our courts
has much (o do with encouraging bank
officers to mtsuso tho funds in their
keeping. Thoso officers soo too mnny
ensos of tho difficulty In convicting n
dishonest bank official when defended
by a shrewd criminal lawyer, and thoy
nro theroforo willing to tako tho
chances of detection, nnd ovon tho
results of n trial, before tho too fro
quent Judge whoso Interpretation of
tho law, admitting -of ovldonco nnd
charge to tho Jury, nro nil In favor of
tho accused.
"Thoro nro mnny direct causes for
bank defalcations, but tho primal
causo Is tho desiro for luxury fostered
In tho grcnt cities. Of Into ycara tho
chief lmmodlnto causo is tho using of
tho hank's funds to promoto enter-.
prises In which tho hank's officers
havo Interested themselves. In many
cases tho bank officer la mado an
officer of tho outsldo corporation,
which fact Is hernldod to tho world
with nil tho advertising skill of tho
promoter, and upon tho reputntlon of
his nnmo many aro Induced to buy
stock. Now, ono of tho main ronsonB
which animated tho promoter In llnnn-
dally Interesting tho banker was that
If at any tlmo tho concern required
llnnnclnl asslBtnnce wilch Is Invari
ably tho case It could readily bo
obtained through htm from tho bank
of which ho was an honored and
trusted officer. Exporlenco shows
Hint what was at flrst n smnll loan
soon lucroaBcs in amount until ii
point Is reached which means disas
ter to all parties Interested If addi
tional nld Is not given. Then It Is
that tho demand for monoy must bo
mot to provent tho bankruptcy of tho
new corporation and tho consequent
loss not only of tho monoy Invested
by tho banker und his mnny friends,
but nlso tho loss of his own reputa
tion as a financier and a man of In
tegrity. Glitter of Speculation.
"Then, too, It often happens that
Instead of becoming financially Inter
ested In now projects or outsldo busi
ness enterprises tho bank offlcor suc
cumbs to tho Bcductlvo influences of
speculation. IIo tries his hnnd In tho
Btock, grain or cotton market with tho
bollcf that in this way ho can amass
a fortuno In n short tlmo nnd without
effort.
"IIo pursues tho snmo mothod that
is followed by thoso who buy or soli
stocks, grain or cotton on a margin.
Ills wholo Idea is to 'get rich quick,'
und in order to nccompllsh this ho
either buys or Bolls tho largest
amount posslblo with tho smallest
amount that his brokor will accept as
margin. A slight udvorso chnngo In
tho market prlco of tho commodity
or security In which ho Is speculating
wipes out his margin, and n call from
his broker for additional margin to
carry tho transaction must bo mot.
Having exhausted his own monoy,
and bolng convinced that his Ideas
as to tho futuro courso of tho markot
aro correct, ho makes tho falso stop
of 'borrowing' monoy from tho bank
nnd using it as margin with his
broker.
"It is only a question of tlmo, vary-
"The Nov England Conscience la Now a Jest. Tho Present la a Cycle of Dis
honesty Due to Moderi Standards of Luxury."
Ing according to tho slzo of his opern-'
Hons and tho fluctuations of tho mar-1
kot, boforo ho Is hopolossly lnvolvod
and fluunclnlly uunblo to roturn tho
monoy of tho bank which ho has used.
Ho now Bpoculatos moro wildly than
before und upon a much lnrgor scale,
with tho hope that ono fortunato turn ,
of tho markot will onnblo him to mako '
enough monoy to square hlmsolf with
tho bank. In his cnuo history only .
ropoate Itijclf. Ho wont Into tho mar-j
ket ns n lamb, nnd In conscquenco Is
thoroughly fleeced
Instances Innumerable.
"Hut thero nro mnny, many causos,"
continued Mr. Moxoy with n brisk lit
tle sigh. "A largo bank lu ono of our
custom cities wna wrecked through
tho speculations of lta president In
Btocks; nnothor ono through specu
lations of Its cashier In the
Bntno markot. 8omo yonrs ago n
largo bank In tho middle west wnR
wrecked by lta vlco-prosldont In tin nt
tempt to corner tho whont markot;
whllo n bnnk In n southern city wns
wiped out of oxlstonco by Us presi
dent's and cashier's ((peculations In
tho cotton market. Tho number of
cases that could bo cltod aro In
numerable, nnd there la not n section
of tho country that hns escaped. Tho
number of bank wrocks piled upon
tho financial beach Is a silent monu
ment to this truth.
"But no president, vlco-prcsldont,
cashier or assistant cashier of n bank
can uro Its funds for hla own profit
without tho fact bolng known to nt
least a portion of tho clerks, and It is
through their Bllonco or stupidity re
gardlng what la bolng dono In tholr
presonco that bank officers nro on
nbled and, In many cases, encour
aged to tnko tho hank's monoy. If
bnnk clerks would do their full duty
thero would bo fowor cases of dofnlcii
tlon by tho olllcoro than In thoso
sorry times.
Bank Clerko Tempted,
"And In this connection let mo re
mark that whllo tho bank officer la
surrounded on nil sides by temptation,
and somo criminally uso tho bank's
funds, ono must not for n moment
think that thoy aro tho only ones
connected with tho Institution who
nro subject to tomptntlon nnd who,
fnr too often, llston to tho volco ol
tho tempter nnd becomo dofuultors.
Every clork In tho bnnk, whether ho
handles n dollar of tho bank's monoy
or. not, la subject to mnny, if not nil,
of tho temptations that besot his su
perior officor. Tho defalcations by
tho clerical forco of hankB can ho
traced to nenrly all tho cnusos enum
erated as being tho cnuso of defalca
tions by offienrs.
"But nt bottom tho fnult la with
tho offlcors. Mnny n bnnk clork who
has been unfnlthful to his trust nnd
hns used tho funds of tho Institution
with which ho wnB connected for
Bpeculntlon, In tho Btock, grain or cot
ton mnrket, or for games of chanco at
tho gambling house, or for betting at
tho raco track, or for oxtravagant liv
ing, otc, has been encouraged to tako
hla first falso stop by tho loose mnn
nor In which tho nffnlra of tho bnnk
woro conducted and Its accounts kept.
IIo saw tho slip-shod way In which
things wcro dono, by ovory ono con
noctod with tho bank, that clerical
errors In tho books wero not loented
und corrected, nnd that general mis
management provalled. Is It any won
der that ho used tho funds of tho
bank and took tho chancos of dotec
tlon with such n condition of affairs
surrounding him? Tho marvel Is that,
under such conditions, moro do not
succumb to tomptntlon.
"Tho dofnulior who Is moroly n
clerk In tho bank nnd whoso misdeeds
nro usually traceablo to n lack of prop
er Buporvlslon of his work by his
superiors 1b generally brought to book
for his dishonesty. Ho Is usually con
victed, poor follow. IIo has no infill
ontlnl associates to uso tholr power to
Bhlold him. IIo hns no monoy or
wenlthy relatives or frlondB to employ
nblo criminal lawyers to dofoat the
ends of Justice. Tho bnnk officor, on
tho othor hand, having what hla clork
wordy JnckB, too often escapes tho
Just punishment which his crlmlnn)
nets demand,"
To Help Cause In Pacific State.
Dr. Marthn Hughes Cannon, former
ly n Ktato senator of Utah, has gone
to llvo In California with tho Intontlon
of helping tho women of thut stnto to
gor. equal Burrrago. IIo Is described as
powerful nnd witty speaker.
JOHN
BY GEO. V. HOBART,
Dear lluuclr. I'm bonded for homo,
but tho hui dies nro holding mo back.
I mot n wholo ilock of "tho boys" In
Rochester yesterday morning, nnd
slnco most, of 'em woro making n
flying leap for Now York, you can bo
llovo mo It was a swift squad of sports
that climbed Into ono of Mr. Pullman's
sloop-wagons nnd permitted them
solvcs to bo yanked ovor tho mils.
A bunch of brisk ones bollovo mo!
Thoro was Chnrllo Hammond, lead
ing man with tho "Kitty, tho Knali
Girl" Company; David Torronco, first
lienvy with tho molodramn entitled
"Tho Hnuntod Automobllo; or, Who
Stolo tho Miifficr?" Frank Wostorton.
first low sad with tho "Crnzy-Qullt
Burlosquora!" Enimott Corrlgan, who
Is locturtng through tho provinces on
"How to Play Urldgo Without Impair
ing tho Tonsils;" Mnlcolm William,
tho handsomest leading man In tho
show-buslnoBS when complotoly
shaved; William Uurross, tho Bath
Hobo King; Chnrllo AbbotL who sella
that flno Montlcollo honoy-dow, anil
Arthur Shaw.
Shnw travels for a clothing Iioiipo
lu Cincinnati, nnd thoy cull him Slim
They Call Him 811m.
because ho'a getting so fnt that ovory
tlmo ho turns around ho meets hlm
solf coming back.
Ho'a all to tho good that boy Is I
And such a cut-up!
Slim knows moro "look-out!
thcro'B-n-lady-ovor-thero!" Btorloa thnn
any other drummer lu tho buslnoss.
Thon thoro was Nick Dalrymplo nnd
Tod Gilpin two llvo ones with n full
sot of sparks flying.
Nick goea nftor tho ordors for n
hnrdwaro houso In Columbus, nnd ho
knows ovorybody lu tho world bar
ono fnmlly living In Yonkors.
Nick hns only ono troublo, lio will
pnddlo nftor tho ponies.
Whenovor ho mnkos n town whoro
thoro's n poolroom his expense-account
gets fat and beefy, und Nick beglna to
worry for foar ho may win something
IIo won $12 In Clovolnnd onco, nnd
ho spent $218 nt u hoozcologlst's that
night gottlng statistics on how It hap
poncd.
Tod Gilpin cuts ico for a mntch-fnc
tory in Nownrk, and he's tho llfo of u
Bmnll party.
Tod's main hold Is to creep into tho
"rondlng-rooin" of n Hubo hotol nftor
tho chores nro dono of nn overling und
throw salvo at tho como-ous.
Tod tqlls them that tholr town Is
tho brightest spot on tho map, and
thoy warm up to him nnd wnut to buy
him Bursapurillu and root boor.
Thon when ho gets them stuck on
themselves ho bcIIs them mntchos.
"PIpo tho gang to quarters and nil
rubbor!" snld Slim, nbout halt an hour
nftor tho train pulled out.
In tho seat ahead of iu u BOinowhat
domurc-looklng Proposition In rain
bow raga had boon sampling tho scen
ery over iilnco wo started.
Wo had ull given hoi- tho glad
glanco, but Hho was vnry much Cold
Storage, bo wo passoil It up.
As Slim spoke, tlio Proposition wnu
Joined by a young clinp with a looao
fnco, who had boon out In tho smoking-room
working faithfully on one of
thoso pujnma panutclln cigars that
blto you on tho flngor If you show tho
least sign of fear.
Just then tho train stopped for u
fow minutes, and wo woro put wlso
to tho fact that It was nn incurable
enso of hrldo and groom.
"Oh! Boozoy Is back to hla Blrdlo!"
aald tho brand-now wife. "Did Boozoy
llko hla smoky woky?"
Boozoy opened n bunch of grins und
sat down, whllo wlfoy putted his
check and coned:
"Is urns glad to got bnck to tuns
Ittlo wlfey-plfoy?"
Davo Torronco and Charllo Ham
mond begun to screnm Inwardly, with
Slim chuckling llko n pot porpoise,
"Swectlo mustn't bo angry with
Pctlo, but Swcotlo la sitting on FotloV.
'Ittlo hand!" snld tho brldo, whoro
upon Malcolm Williams exploded, and
Slim began to grab for his broath.
A Dutch hrowor and his wlfo Bat
right ahoud of Boozoy and Blrdlu, und
ovory onco In awhilo tho old hop
puncher would turn around nnd beam
honlgnly ovor tho gold rlniB nt tho
bride.
"Boozoy must snuggy-wuggy up closor
to hla Coozlo and skeczo her 'lity arm
no, no, not her waist! you naughty!
naughty!"
Tho hrowor wns back at tho brldo
with another gold-rlmmcd goo-goo,
whon his wlfo got norvous nad cut In:
"Ib Id you turn your fnco to coo
Bomedlng yes?" sho snnppod, nnd tho
foam-builder ducked to tho window
and began to eat sconcry.
HENRY
ON THE
DRUMMERS
HE NET
("HUGH M'HUGH.")
Wostorton wns almost out; Burrcsa
wna under tho scat sparring for wind;
Slim was giving nn Imitation of a coal-
bargo In a lionvy sen, nnd tho rest of
tho pnsaongera woro in various staged
from hiccoughs to convulsions.
"Is Boozoy comfy wlf hla 'ltty weony
teeny Blrdlo?" chlrpod tho brldo.
"Boozoy Is bo happy wlf Ills lzzy
wlzzyl" gurgled tho husband; "how's
my 'ittlo plrlcy wlrly?"
"Oh! aho's such n hnppy-wnppy 'Ittlo
ling!" giggled tho dotty domo, plnoh
Ing hor plgglo'a oar, whoreupon tho
hrowor tried to hand tho brldo nnothor
gnsolino gazo, but tho old lady caught
him with tho goods.
"In Id to my faco you go behind my
back to niuko googloy-googloy oyoa
ml sotnovun yes?" Bho growled, and
In n minute tho browor's brow was
busy with tho window pane.
"Swootlo looks nt Potle and Swcotlo
boob that Potlo'n p'ctty faco Is gottlng
sunburned, bo it is!" cuckooed Mrs.
Daffy; "and Swootlo has n dood mind
to lias hint, too!"
Thoy opened n nowapapor, crawled
under covor, nnd began to blto each
other on tho chin.
"Go ns far as you llko!" Bald Slim,
then ho wont down nnd out.
Tho mnn who helped to mnko Woo
hawkon fnmoim Und hla hend out tho
window wntchlng for an Ico-wagon,
and Mrs. Brow was industriously
muttering "Du blat oln Nnrr! Du hint
oln Nnrr!"
Just then tho train pulled out and
saved our lives.
Davo, Frank, BUI, Slim, Charllo,
Malcolm, and I rushed feverishly up
to tho othor ond of tho enr to cool off,
and thoro wo landed on tho outskirts
of n hunch of drummors, who woro
fanning each othor with fnlry-tnloa
nbout tho goods thoy sold.
"I'll back thrco of tho lads In that
collodion to dream longor than any
other drummor8 on tho track.
It's a plpo that thoy can noli bllln
to ench other nil day and novor wnko
up.
A guy named Mutt Dawson wna
holding forth.
IIo'h a most recklosa spendthrift
with hla words, nnd tho meanest tnnu
to tho English lnnguago I ovor
listened to.
Mutt wna tolling thorn nbout hypno
tizing n John Wnnnmukor merchant
prlnco In Plkesvlllo, Intl., to tho ox
tent of $200 for open-work socks, farm
er's slzo, and then n chap named Jack
Dean sent his balloon up by tolling ua
how ho sold tho Stogol-CooporB, of
BugBport, In., $300 worth of Panama
huts for horBOB.
Tho Hot Air association was In full
session when Buck .Tonus caromod
"How's My 'Ittlo Glrly Wlrly?"
over from tho othor end of tho car
und wolghcd-ln with ua,
Buck la n BWcllcr.
Ho thinks ho otrlkoa 12 on ull occa
sions, hut hla clock la nil to tho paznz.
Buck Isn't a drununor nayl nnyl
tako back' your gold!
Ho'll look you straight In tho oyd
nnd toll you Iio'h n traveling Biilosmarr
nix on tho drummor!
,1 think Buck soils ennnod uhlrt
wnlstB for tho Shlno Brothors.
And now, Bunch, horo la whoro I
affix ono of Undo Snm'H promlsea-to-carry
to this document and drop it In'
tho llttln grcou box.
Tho Sumo Evor,
J. H.
(CopyrlKht, 100S,' by a. W, Dillingham Co,
Hair and Heredity.
Gortrudo nnd Ghnrles Davonport,
connoctud with llio Carnegie Instltu
lion's stntlou nt Cold Spring Harbor,
N. Y., writing In tho American Nat
uralist or tho results of tholr observa
tions on tho "Hcrodlty of Hair Form
lu Mnn," Hay It la now possible to pro
diet from tho hnlr of parents tho form
of tholr children's hnlr, whothor
xtralght, wavy, curly or frizzy. Thoy
And that tho following rulos uro al
most lnvnrlnblo; "Two bluo-oyod,
atinlBlit-lifilrod'paioiilH will havo only
bluo-oyod, Htrnlght-halrod children.
Two wavy-halrod parents may havo.
straight, wuvy or curly-halrod chil
dren, but tho chancPH of curly hair uro
slight. Two curly-halrod parontB, may
huvo chlldron with either Btrnlght,
wavy or curly hair, and tho propor
tion of curly-halrod offspring will prob
ably bo largo,"
Will Require Much Wheat.
It has boon figured that by 1950, 43
harvests honco, tho United States will
havo n population which, ut tho aver
age rate of GVi bushels of wheat a
person, will roqulio n full billion ot
bugholn of wheat for bread and scod.
Wall Streot Journal.1
0mk
