Article Text
STUART FISHER BANK RECEIVER Move Toward Reopening Decker Institution. Stuart Fisher, president of the Peoples National bank at Princeton, was appointed temporary receiver for the Farmers and Merchants bank of Decker at a hearing held before Judge W. S. Hoover in Circuit court Tuesday. Fisher was the choice of the directors of the Decker bank because of his familiarity with the Decker situation and because he is chairman of the federal agricultural relief committee, appointed by Secretary of Agriculture Hyde. Fisher has secured a commitment from the government whereby if $10,000 in cash is raised, the government will advance $15,000 for a total capital stock of $25,000. Thus the Decker bank can be reorganized. Under the federal law, farmers' paper can be discounted for eight times the capital stock, or $200,000 more than enough to take up the slow assets of the bank. Testimony at the hearing was given to the effect that heavy withdrawals caused the directors to voluntarily close the bank. All the money left in the bank belongs to the directors, it was said. Tom Barr, banking commissioner, who testified at the hearing declared there were assets sufficient to pay the depositors in full. All of the directors attended the hearing and recommended Fisher as the receiver, including, Frank Plass, president; D. H. Lane, vice president, Jacob N. Sibel, N. S. Wallen, Fred Pruesner, Dr. E. F. Small and Louis Schultz. The directors signed the $25,000 bond for Fisher. Fisher is chairman of the relief Dance Wednesday committee for 42 counties south of Indianapolis. Organization of inHARMONY HALL termediate credit banks is authorized under the terms of the bill Colored Orchestra recently passed by congress, appropriating $20,000,000 for drought relief. Six banks are already being organized, Fisher said. John T. Ballard, Princeton lawyer, appeared as counsel for the Decker bank.
