PENNSYLVANIA. 



621 



ing, if erected under any of the plans, would exceed 

 the limit of the appropriation and would require 

 modification to come within the $550,000. There 

 was no evidence that the architects, or the experts 

 passing upon the plans, had made any inquiry into 

 cost of material or price of labor in Harnsburg or 

 its vicinity. 



" The four commissioners caused new plans and 

 specifications to be made by an architect of their 

 selection, and on Jan. 20, 1898, advertised for sealed 

 proposals for the erection of a building according 

 ;o his plans and specifications. An examination of 

 these disclosed the fact that the commissioners pro- 

 aosed to let a contract for the erection, not of one 

 Duilding as required by the act of Assemby, but of 

 in incomplete part of a larger structure intended 

 iltimately for the accommodation of all the depart- 

 aents of the State government. The specifications 



tiled for ' temporary ' work, particularly in the in- 

 jrior, and provided for the erection of a building 

 i no sense fireproof, notwithstanding the act re- 

 }uired the building should be as nearly fireproof 

 is possible. Further requirements of the act were 

 that it ' should be complete ' and ' ready for occu- 

 aancy and furnishing not later than Nov. 15, 1898.' 



"Believing the proposed action of the commis- 

 sioners to be in violation of the law, and that if per- 

 mitted would commit the Commonwealth to the 

 expenditure of large sums of money, not contem- 

 plated in the act, the Attorney-General on Feb. 4, 

 1898, filed a bill in equity to restrain them." 



The court decided for the commissioners, upon 



their statement that the building would be complete 



in the time specified and fitted for occupancy within 



the amount of the appropriation. The Governor 



ays further : 



" I now aver that the four members of the com- 

 mission have utterly failed to carry out their sworn 

 promise to the court, and that they have acted in 

 fragrant disregard of the act of Assembly. The 

 structure in which you are assembling to-day is un- 

 worthy of your honorable bodies and is a disgrace 

 to the Commonwealth. In its present condition it is 

 hardly fit for human habitation, much less the offi- 

 cial abode of the representatives of the great Com- 

 monwealth. Although the act of Assembly requires 

 that the building shall be ' made as nearly fireproof 

 as possible,' the roof and most of the interior fit- 

 tings are as combustible as possible." 



Peace Jubilee. Oct. 25-28 a peace jubilee was 

 held in Philadelphia, including a naval review, a 

 procession of vessels around the anchored ships of 

 war, the "Columbia," the " Texas," the "Glouces- 

 ter." and the " Winslow," an army review and a 

 civic parade in which 25,000 men marched, a dinner 

 and a reception. The President and many of the 

 Cabinet officers and army officers were present. 

 On Oct. 28 the old Independence Hall was re- 

 dedicated. 



Bank Failures. Several disastrous bank fail- 

 ures took place during the year. The People's Bank 

 of Philadelphia closed its doors March 25. The 

 Guarantors' Finance Company made an assignment 

 about the same time, and the cashier of the People's 

 Bank, John S. Hopkins, committed suicide March 

 24. The connection of the three events was shown 

 phen an examination revealed the fact that the 

 cashier had loaned to the manager of the Finance 

 Company sums still unpaid, aggregating, it was 

 ;aid, $600,000, without the knowledge of the other 

 afficers and the directors of the bank, and that the 

 ecurities for the loan were practically worthless. 



Richard F. Loper, vice-president and general 

 lanager of the Guarantors' Finance Company, was 

 placed under arrest March 28, charged with con- 

 spiracy to cheat and defraud the People's Bank. 



The People's Bank was a depositary for State and 



city funds, and at the time of its failure had more 

 than $500,000 belonging to the State and more 

 than $50,000 of city funds. The liabilities of the 

 bank were placed at $1,559.843, and the assets 

 $529,803. The president, Mr. McManes, promised 

 to make good the losses. In connection with the 

 failure, United States Senator Matthew S. Quay, 

 his son, Richard R. Quay, and Benjamin J. llay- 

 wood, ex-State Treasurer, were indicted, charged 

 with conspiracy with John S. Hopkins to use un- 

 lawfully the money of the State on deposit in the 

 People's Bank. 



The Supreme Court near the close of the year 

 granted a stay of proceedings, which had been de- 

 nied in a lower court by Judge Finletter, who over- 

 ruled the demurrers to the indictments. The Chief 

 Justice refused a petition to have the trial removed 

 from the Philadelphia courts. 



The German National Bank of Pittsburg went 

 into voluntary liquidation Oct. 19. k held a large 

 amount of stock of the Pittsburg Pure Beer Brew- 

 ing Company, as it seems, which received a charter 

 Aug. 31, 1897, with a capital stock of $1,000; but 

 the next day the stockholders increased the capital 

 stock to $1,000,000. It was alleged that this stock 

 was loaned illegally, before the State department 

 was notified and the papers approved by the Secre- 

 tary or his deputy. 



Gideon W. Marsh, president of the Keystone 

 National Bank, which failed in March, 1891, re- 

 turned to the city Nov. 3, after being a fugitive 

 seven years, and gave himself up. William H.Wana- 

 maker, who had given bonds for $20,000 for Marsh's 

 appearance in court, was obliged to forfeit the bail. 

 He pleaded guilty to the indictments against him. 

 He informed the court that his predecessor had 

 left a deficiency of more than $1,000,000 ; that he 

 had erred in covering this, but that he never had 

 profited one dollar through the bank's losses. He 

 was sentenced to imprisonment twelve years and 

 three months and to pay a fine of $500. 



William Steele, formerly cashier of the Chestnut 

 Street National Bank, which failed in 1897 (see 

 " Annual Cyclopa?dia " for 1897, page 661), was con- 

 victed in December on a charge of making false 

 reports of the condition of the bank and aiding 

 its president in misapplying its funds with in- 

 tent to injure and defraud. The president, William 

 M. Singerly, died suddenly Feb. 27, 1898, not long 

 after the failure. The evidence in the trial of this 

 case showed that Mr. Singerly, as president of the 

 bank, without the knowledge of the directors, ap- 

 plied $800.000 of the bank's money to his own use 

 $300,000 more than the entire capital and that 

 he was enabled to do so by the assistance of the 

 cashier, who issued false reports to cover the trans- 

 actions. 



State Laws in Court. The law taxing alien 

 labor, passed in 1897, providing that employers shall 

 pay three cents a day to the State from the wages 

 of aliens, was declared unconstitutional by the Su- 

 preme Court, because opposed to the provision of 

 the national Constitution declaring that no State 

 shall deny the equal protection of the laws to all 

 within its jurisdiction. 



The law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of 

 oleomargarine and other imitations of dairy prod- 

 ucts was declared void by the United States Su- 

 preme Court, in so far as it interferes with the sale 

 of original packages, which comes under the inter- 

 state commerce law. The Pure-Food Department 

 has gone on with prosecutions in cases not coming 

 under the Federal law. 



In a case in Philadelphia in which the ground 

 was taken that the liquor license law was unconsti- 

 tutional, the Superior Court affirmed the validity 

 of the law. 



