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♦ f t a . A. K. SWIFT, Editor. VOL. IV. THREEBANKS CLOSE Memphis Concerns Forced to Suspend Business. LARGE CAPITAL INVOLVED Heavy Loans and Stringency Imme diate Cause of Collapse—Depositors May Get Every Cent of the Money That is Due Them. Anticipation of a heavy run on the Merchants’ Trust company at Mem phis, Tenn., preliminary intimation of which was given by the withdrawal of many deposits Tuesday afternoon, was the immediate cause of the sua pension of that zank and the appoint ment of a receiver Wednesday. The American Savings Bank and Trust company, 176 South Main street, which is dominated by the directorate oi the Merchants’ Trust company, fear ing that the failure of the other in stitution would cause a run on its own deposits, also suspended payment until the affairs of the Merchants' Trust company shall have been ad justed. Savings Bank Absorbed. The American Savings Bank and 'Trust company, it develops, recently absorbed the Mechanics’ Savings bank at Main and Calhoun streets, and took charge of the latter company’s busi ness. It is stated by the officials of both institutions that the depositors will be fully protected and paid dollar for dollar. The stockholders of the Merchants' Trust company, it is said, will suffer to the extent of 20 per cent on the capital invested, as the liquidation of tlieT'bdlk’s finances is expected to A^htail a Jishtjr^ . , __ f + The assets of the Merchants’ Tr . st company greatly exceed the liabilities. The American Savings Bank and Trust company, according to its latest state ment, is in excellent condition, and is carrying more ready cash than is usual for an institution of its size. The Merchants’ Trust company has on hand only $30,000, the remainder of its capitalization being loaned. The fact that the bank had overloaned and the stringency of the New York mon ey market are given as the direct causes of the suspension. John P. Edmondson, a prominent at torney of Memphis and one. of the directors, has been appointed receiver for the Merchants’ Trust company. A. Y. Allen, cashier of the American Sav ings Bank and Trust company, has been appointed receiver of that insti tution. The decision not to open the doors of the Merchants’ Trust company on Wednesday morning was reported aft er an all night conference of the board of directors. Felix T. Pope, president of the Mer chants' Trust company, gave out the following statement: “The bank is amply solvent and every depositor will be puid in full. The stockholders will realize a large percentage of tlieir investments. The Merchants’ Trust company had loaned too much money and was unable to realize on its loans fast enough to meet the demands, “i am not in a position to make a state ment now as to reorganization or fu ture plans.” W. A. Percy, attorney for the Mer chants’ Trust company, and the direc tors of that institution make the state ment that all depositors, both of the Merchants’ Trust company and the American Savings and Trust compa ny, will be paid in full. Statements of the financial status of the closed banks at the close of business, December 26: Merchants’ Trust company — Assets, $3,665,0t>5 ; liabilities, $2,132,319. American Sav ings Bank—Assets, $758,703; liabili ties, $758,703. The deposits in both Institutions exceed $ 2 , 000 , 000 . TWELVE THOUSAND CASUALTIES Is Report Sent to a Lonpon New«pa„ per from City of Moscow. The St. Petersburg correspondent of the London Times, in a dispatch dated December 26, says: “Governor General Doubassoff, tel egraphing yesterday (Dec. 25) report ed that 12,000 persons had been killed er wounded at Moscow. “I am informed from a good source that 2,000 persons were killed and 10,00U wounded. The revolutionaries ore making no headway, hut they show no signs of exhaustion.” BRAVE ACT REWARDED, President Remembers North Carolin ian Who Defended Postoffloe Against Burglars. As a reward for defending the post office at Emma, N. C., four years ago, against four burglars, President Roosevelt has waived the civil service regulations on the recommendation of Postmaster General -Cortelyou, 3. H. Alexander’s Christmas gift was a promotion from a laborer to a clerk ship in the department. Not only has the brave North Caro linian been promoted, hut to accen tuate the honor an official statement was issued Tuesday, which gives a full account of the deed. The attempted robbery took place on the night of February 6 , 1901, and the official ac count says: “After the store in which the post office at Emma is located closed for the night, Mr. Alexander, who had been sleeping in the room adjoining, heard a knock on the door and in quired what was wanted, He was told that some one living near wanted bis mail, and he unbarred the door. “Two masked men entered, covered him with revolvers and commanded him to give up his own revolver and epen the fireproof safe. While one of the burglars, Frank Johnson, who had laid his revolver on the desk near the safe, was stooping In the act of looting the safe, and during a moment when the other burglar, Ben Foster, had his head turned, Alexander seized the idle revolver and shot the latter near the heart, He attempted to shoot Johnston also, but failed to do so, as the revolver snapped. “A desperate struggle followed. Fos ter, although seriously wounded, pur sued Alexander and shot him in the abdomen, the bullet coming out at the back. Alexander, .^eing Foster about to shoot at him again, swung Johnson around so that the bullet struek Johnson’s left shoulder from the rear, passed through his neck and lodged in f.s right jaw, from which It ext. ..4ed. * hands vers badly cut and bruit ’•«» fore he overpowered the. burglars. “Alexander managed, however, to put them both out of the buildjng, to call out a signal of distress and the fainted. The postmaster, hearing tl e signal, came to Alexander’s relief and found him lying weak and faint a pool of blood, “His bravery is the more aocen tuated when it is known that Mr. Alex ander is a man of small stature, prob ably not more than 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighs less than 125 pounds. It would seem that he must have been possessed of almost superhuman strength to oust the two despera does from the postoffice. Two accom plices who were waiting on the out side carried away the wounded bur glars to a house, in which they were arrested the same night. “The two burglars above mentioned, with two accomplices, after trial were given the extreme penalty of the law, which for the offense committed in the state of North Carolina is death. Afterwards the sentence was com muted in the case of two of the bur glars to life imprisonment. The other two were hanged on February 26, 1902.” NATIONAL WEDDING PRESENT -- Proposed to Be Raised for Miss Alice Roosevelt—Ten Cents Limit. An effort to create by popular sub scription a wedding present for Miss Alice Roosevelt, who is to be married to Congressman Nicholas Longworth in February, has been started by cit izens of the eastern part of Oregon. It is the plan to have the subscribers live in every state in the union, the amount being remitted to various state treasurers, who will in turn for ward it to the secretary of the treas ury at Washington. The subscription will close on February 8 to enable , the present, which is to be about $800,000, to be turned over to Miss Roosevelt on the day of the wedding? Individual subscriptions will be limit ed to 10 cents. GAMBLING JOINTS WIDE OPEN. District Attorney Jerome Biffs Politi cal Leaders in New York. That gambling houses and poo! rooms in New York are as wide open as ever and that many of the em ployes in these places are given po sitions by political leaders as a part °* the patronage of their district was charged by District Attorney Jerome in the court of general sessions Fri day. There were a large number of l )00 ' room and gambling house case-. on the calendar and Mr. Jerome ap peared in person as the prosecutor. “GO FORWARD,” WOODBIN– GA,, FRIDAY. JANUARY 6, 1906 . CAPITAL FOR SOUTH Moneyed Men Hurrv to Inyest Coin in Dixie. AGENTS ARE KEPT BUSY General Prosperity, Cotton Prices and Wide-Spread Advertising Prove to Be Drawing Factors as Never Before. With the wonderful increase in the business of both freight and passen ger departments of southern railways, industrial agents are responsible for The statement that never was there such a time as the present, so far as investors and homeseekers in the south are concerned. These officials say that the advertising which the south enjoyed the past year in news papers all over the country on ac count of the high prices paid for cot ton has been attracting the attention of capitalists and investors as never before. Never in history have the agents received so many queries as to con ditions and favorable opportunities, etc. And the number of persons who are coining south at this time for the purpose of looking over the ground personally is quite in keeping with the heavy volume of correspondence. Winter is always the time when the land and industrial agents are busiest, for it is at this season that men of the north, east and west come down to Dixie both for the purpose of get ting away from the hitter cold and at the same time to get in touch with chances for investing their money to the best advantage. For the last few years this num ber has been growing very rapidly because of the wonderful resources of the south and the marvelous de velopment tirade possible by the grow ing prosperity of the farmers, plan ters and people generally of, this sec ' --vj?V ■?: : • | made morn in so , but they have gone tc their old homes . and told, their friends and neighbors of the exceptional opportunities offered to small or large capital in Dixie, To a man railroad officials are agreed that tile wholesale advertising resulting from the great profits de rived from cotton this year is re sponsible and also the fact that the many banks which are springing up in the south in agricultural districts everywhere are responsible for this influx of millionaire immigrants and others who have plenty of money for Investment, even if they have not reached the seven figures stage ot wealth. The stories of southern banks having been forced to send their money east and west to secure inter est on loans because ol’ the citizens of the south having ready money of their own and more on deposit with no occasion for borrowing; have crept into the newspapers of the entire country, and spread abroad the con ditions existing below the Potomac and Ohio rivers. Industrial agents of southern rail ways say that it is not so long ago that they had the hardest kind of a time getting anything of the true sto ries of' southern conditions in the northern newspapers, because of the prejudice. This prejudice was not be cause of the civil war, but of the reputation which the south and south erners had had this long time, be cause of the debts and the hard timea which had existed for years. DRY DOCK BEGINS JOURNEY. The Dewey Started for Philippines at Rate of Two Miles an Hour. The floating dry dock Dewey start ed from Solomon’s Island Friday on her long voyage to the Philippine Islands. The Dewey only travels some 25 miles in eleven hours. She has over 14,000 miles to travel, and at the rate of two miles an hour, it will take her upward of nine months to make the voyage, with smooth weather. PRESIDENT DISAPPROVES IDEA. Does Not Wish National Wedding Present Given Miss Alice. The press dispatch from Baker City, Ore., announcing that a ten cent subscription was to be started in Oregon and extend over the for the purpose of raising a sum to be presented to Miss Aiice Roosevelt on the occasion of her marriage to Representative Nicholas Loligworth has called forth the disaproval of the president to the proposition. Me states that while he appreciates tilts evidence of good will, he hopes noth ing of the kind will be undertaken. HE KEPT NO ACCOUNTING. Attorney “Andy’’ Hamilton Wont Tell What He Did With Money of New York Life Company. Andrew Hamilton, the legislative agent for the New York Life Insur ance company, who, according to testi mony, has been entrusted with hun dreds of thousands of dollars by the company, and has not accounted for $235,000, has been heard from by the legislative insurance investigating.-. committee, but has declined to make an accounting. A statement by Mr. Hamilton was read before the committee Wednes day. It was presented by Secretary John C. McCall of the New York Lite, who went to Paris to secure an ac counting from Hamilton. In his state ment Mr. Hamilton says that he is unable to produce any books or ac counts because he undertook the legis lative matters for the life insurance companies with the express under standing that he was to make no ac counting. Absolute secrecy was nec essary in retaining assistants, there fore no checks were used in making payments. Mr. Hamilton went into an exhaust ive explantion of the reason for or ganizing this confidential service, as he characterized it, covering his meth ods or Work, and citing a number of legislative bills in which he had been interested. A list of expenses from 1899 to 1904 was appended to the statement. The sum of $236,000 un accounted for, he says, would be greatly reduced by the running ac count still unsettled and open and as a matter of good faith pending a settlement, he offers to deposit $ 100 ,- 600 with the company. Secretary MteCall was questioned by Attorney Hughes as to what further light he could throw on the statement of Mr. Hamilton, but he said.,* could give no information. He hau asked Mr. Hamilton for a full statement and relied on his honesty to explain every thing MTe did jnsist that Mr. Hamil luce ^ \ ’but ton i r Jlllaimftcn had or. none. dhfla^faao ks V Wh lr. McCall was excused, Hen ry D. 'Appleton of the state insurance department, was called. He complet ed his testimony begun last week and during the examination was told that Mr. Morgan, former president of the Bankers’ Life Insurance company, had testified that Mr. Appleton had said it would cost the Bankers’ Life $50,000 to reincorporate. Mr. Appleton some what heatedly said: “If Mr. Morgan said that he is a liar.” He was called to order by Chairman Armstrong. NOTED GEORGIAN PASSES AWAY. Walter B. Hill, Chancellor of State University, Victim of Pneumonia. Hon. falter B. Hill, chancellor of the Georgia State University, died at his home in Athens at 3:10 o’clock Thursday morning from an acute at tack of pneumonia. Walter Barnard Hill, educator and lawyer, was born in Talbotton, Ga., September 9, 1851. He was a son of Judge Barnard and Mary Clay Birch Hill. He graduated from the Univer sity of Georgia in 1870 and from the university law school in 1871 with the degree of A. M. Emory honored him with the degree of LL. D. in 1899, as did the Southwestern Presbyterian University in the same year, He practiced law in Macon from 1871 to 1899, when he became chancellor of the University of Georgia, which po sition he held at the time of his death. Among Chancellor Hill’s literary productions are the Code of Georgia from 1873 to 1882, Memoirs of the General Conference of the M. E. church, South, 1886-94. Memoirs of the Western and Atlantic railroad. He was a trustee of Vanderbilt University and a mem b er 0 f the Georgia Bar Association. He was president of the Georgia Bar Association in 1888. He W as also a mem ber of the American Bar Association and was at one time c h a } rma n of the committee of judicial administration of the latter associa tion He has wr itten several promi ueat works on literary, legal and ethl cal subjects. PRICE OF LUMBER ADVANCED. Committee on Values Raise Figures on Certain Grades. Advices sent out to members of the southern Lumber Association are to the effect that the committee on val ue s, which has been in session in St. Louis, has made a big advance In prices of certain grades of lumber, the increase per 1,009 feet over pre vailing prices being: Flooring $2, all grades; ceiling $ 1 . 50 , all grades; siding, $ 2 , all grades; inch hoards, $1.30, all grades; fencing $t.50, all grades; dimensions $ 1 . 59 , all grades. Terms: $1.00 Per Annum in Advance.. GASH WAS SCARCE Call Money Reached High Rate in New York, UNCLE RUSS TO RESCUE Veteran Wall Street Financier, Sage, Made Ten Strike by Loaning Six Million Dollars at the Rate of One Hundred Per Cent. After having reached 110 per cent on the New York stock exchange and 12’5 per cent on privately arranged loans, the rate for call money late Thursday afternoon fell to 6 per cent. Just before the close it advanced again and closed 15 bid, offered at 20 . As the money rate fell, the stock market advanced, approximately the highest prices of the day were reach ed at the close. The stock market, except for an early decline in indus trials, was fairly steady throughout the money tension. The advance in the interest rate was sensationally rapid, From 60 there was a quick advance to 75, 90 and then 100 per cent. When 100 per cent, was touched all records since De eember, 1899, were broken. In that year 186 per cent was paid for call loans. After lending at 100 Thurs day, there were loans at 90 per cent The 90 per cent quotation did not last long, and at 11 o’clock 110 per cent was paid for funds, and shortly after wards a loan of $400,000 at 125 per cent was reported. Russell Sage, through his represen tative, was reported to have loaned $6,000,000 at 90 to 100 per cent. More than the usual discrimination was shown by the banks in the collateral accepted by them for loans. 1 he i ate for 60 and 90-duv loans 1 hurs day was 6 per cent “commis sion/’ wcartif m«kir^%uch lo£ ' a rfc ‘“ h ' ~ ! 0 demand; for mdney teemed to have een largely supplied and money was lent at 60 per cent, falling later to 20 per cent. From 20 per cent there was a further drop to 6 per cent and at 2:45 o’clock the quoted rate was 6 to 10 per cent. President Hepburn of the Chase National hank said, in an interview: “The enormous volume of business which obtains throughout the country is making a strong demand upon the banking power and naturally has ma terially advanced the rates of interest. “The foreign exchange credit which the country would normally have is much curtailed by the shortage of cars, which prevents the rapid mar keting abroad of cotton and grain, and also by the concerted withhold ing of cotton for higher prices. “Normally, we would anticipate such exchange by our credit abroad, but Europe has troubles of its own. Hence, we are called upon to finance our great volume of business practically with our own resources. It is unfor tunate that at such a time and under such circumstances that prices cf list ed securities should be persistently advanced day by day. It has add ed to the money strain and is pri manly responsible for the high rates of interest. “Stocks (if worthy) would have found a higher level in a normal man ner without creating an unusual strain and without causing conditions fraught with possible danger.” COYOTES ON THE RAMPAGE. Children and Domestic Animals Be ing Destroyed by Them in Mexico. A San Antonio, Texas, dispatch says: Great loss of domestic animals is being sustained in northern Mexico from coyotes and wolves with rabies. Cattlemen from the Rio Grande coun try say practically all the coyotes be yond the river are mad, and the cat tlemen are scouring the country and exterminating them. Several Mexican children in Coahui la have been bitten and died, The spread of rabies to Texas is feared. NEARLY SIX HUNDRED MILLION® Is Value of Property of All Kinds in the State of Georgia. According to the returns made to tax receivers all over the state of Georgia by individual property owners and those made to Comptroller Gen eral Wright by corporations, the value of all the property in the state for 1965 is $577,967,938, or $47,073,183 more than in 1904. The total returns as shown on all the county digests were compiled some time ago, hut the compilation of the corporation returns made to the comp troller general, has Just been com pleted.- NO.'8 COAST LINE PROGRESSIVE? Great Rillroad System Maturing Plane for through Route to Sea Via Georgia Capital. In Saturday morning’s Issue the Atlanta Constitution published the fol lowing: By securing a connection in Atlanta with the Louisville and Nash ville, which it owns, the Atlantic Coast Line railroad proposes to establish a through route from the west to the Atlantic seaboard, according to the latest gossip current in railroad cir cles. The Coast Line is now the owner ol everything necessary to create this through trunk line from the west with, the exception of the short connecting link of 88 miles between Atlanta and Macon, and this, so far as the report goes, ft has taken determined steps? to secure. In other word’s, the Atlantic Coast Line is said to have submitted a deUf nite statement to the Southern rail way and the Central of Georgia that it must have a traffic arrangement with one or the other of them foi its through business between Atlanta and Macon, and in the event of a re fusal of both of these systems to enter into such an agreement, the Coast Line will, it is stated, build an Atlanta-Macon line of its own. It wou i d ap p ear that the Atlantic Coast Line has had this plan In view f or SO me time past. The Coast Line appeared upon the scene as the pur c haser of the Macon, Dublin and Sa vannah railroad about the time the L, ou i sv lll 0 and Nashville began active work upon its plans for getting intd Atlanta. a question was raised in the United states courts which for a time looked Uke , a ser ioua one, as to the Coast line's right to buy the Macon, Dub and Savannah. Thin question was recently decided in the United States CO urt of appeals at New Or,t t kr . coast Line’s favor, and th Tj ne ncrw becomes the owner MfeSSS.- npfcjhv fy * . The Macon, Dublin and S i vannah runs in practically a straight litae from Ma»con to Vida, la, in Montgomery county, a point on the Seaboard Air Line. By building from Vldalia to a point on the main line of the Atlantic Coast Line between Jesup and Savannah, a distance of about 60 miles, the Coast Line will secure a through line from; Macon to Savannah, shorter than that of the Central of Georgia—in fact, practically an air line. The Atlantic Coast Line is the ad mitted owner of the Louisville and Nashville, and within the next three months will be running its own trains into Atlanta from Cincinnati and other western points. This will come with the completion of the Cartersville cut off and the work being done on the Western and Atlantic in order to pre pare that portion of the latter road between Atlanta and Cartersvile for handling the increased business. Thus it will be seen that all the At lantic Coast Line needs for the pur pose of establishing its through west era trunk line is, as stated, the short connecting link between Atlanta and Macon. It is understood the Coast Line de sires this traffic arrangement solely for the purpose of handling Its through business from the west to the Atlantic seaboard, and would not, of course, interfere with any local traffic. If, however, the Southern and Cen tral both decline to enter into any such arrangement, the indications are that the Coast Line is ready to build an Atlanta-Macon branch of its own, FAKE HOLD-UP A TRAGEDY. Joke Played by College Students Causes Death of One of Them. Louis Roquela of Colombia, a stu dent at Notre Dame Seminary at Notre Dame, Ind., Friday night, shot and almost instantly killed Claude Bagby of Durango, Cal., when Bagbv and several other students as a prac tical joke held up Roquela, mistaking him for another student. “LID LIFTERS” IN TROUBLE. Would-Be Reformers in St. Louis Are Subjected to Heavy Fines. Officials of several of the organiza tions popularly termed as “lid lifting clubs,” which were raided recently un der instructions of Governor Folk, were arraigned In police court at St. Louis, Wednesday, on charges of vio lation of the liquor law. Fines were imposed in sums ranging from $50 to $ 100 . Judge Tracey denounced the organization, declaring that in nearly every instance they are merely sub terfuges for the evasion of the Sun day closing law.