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COST OF WINDING UP BANKS. In 280 Receiverships Depositors Received 75 Cents on the Dollar. Washington. July 22.-Complaints are made frequently by depositors and stockholders in National banks which have been placed In the hands of receivers that the expense of liquidation is excessive. One comptroller after another has disputed these claims and given figures to show that the cost of winding up the a.f. feirs of an insolvent National bank is relatively low. It isvexplained that in the piccess of liquidation It is difficult to determine the relative cost of the proceedings. as It was often necessary for the receiver to expend considerable sums to pretect the bank's equities in enterprises or securities. The complaints are most frequently dtrected against the expenses of legal proceedings. which sometimes appear too high. Artorne: fees in connection with the liquidation of a National bank are subjected to the scrutiny of the comptroller and are payable only after hissindorsement. An agreement is usually made to a stated fee. or that the attorney will not charge more than a reasonable amount. Legal expenses in this connection are often due to the difficulty experienced in collecting money due a defunct bank. Many persons who, while the bank was in existencé," would never have thought of trying to escape the payment of their obligations, as soon as the bank goes into the hands of a receiver do all in their power to evade payment of the claim against them. Every presible obstacle is thrown in the way of the receiver and cases are taken from one court to another in the hope of wearying the receiver into a compromise. In this way the legal expenses are frequently run up to a disproportionate sum. Ur to October 31, 1900. the comptroller of the currency had liquidated 280 National banks since the adoption of the National banking act and the depositors had received an average of 75.03 cents on the dollar. The average cost of liquidation has been 1:05 8.81 per cent for receivers' salaries, legal and other expenses. The most expensive liquidation in the history of National banks was that of the Marine National bank of New York City, The legal expenses were $111.758 and the receiver's salary and other expenses $183.944. a total of $205,702. This was, however, but about 6.5 per cent of the amount collected and the depositors recelved 83.4 per cent of their claims. The Hquidation required fifteen years. The cheapest receivership of this kind on record is that of the First National bank of Ida Grove. Iowa. The total assets were $0007. with no claims. The receiver's salary and other expenses amounted to $971 and the legal expenses to $210. This was, however. almost 20 per cent of the amount handled. The receivership lasted less than a year. It has been the experience of the con ptroller that the less the amount of money handled the greater the percentage of expense.