190 Hadden—Early Banking in Wisconsin. 
The Banking Law was also amended at this same session, the 
principal amendments being as follows : 
Chapter 242, laws of 1861. 44 Section V reads: Provided 
further that from December 1, 1861, the Bank Comptroller shall 
not receive as security for circulating bank notes any other 
public stocks than those issued by the state of Wisconsin and 
the United States. 
Section XIII. No bank shall receive upon deposit of bonds, 
circulating notes exceeding three times its bona fide cash capi¬ 
tal actually paid in. 
Section XIV. Every bank must have a bona fide cash capital 
paid in of $15,000. The Bank Comptroller is to satisfy himself 
as to the amount of the capital. 
Section XV. No bill or note of foreign or other state banks 
shall be circulated, unless it has been for six months redeemable 
in New York City at a rate of discount not exceeding three- 
fourths of one per cent. The decision of the Bank Comptroller 
is conclusive. 
Section IV. Every bank outside of Madison and Milwaukee 
shall appoint an agent, who shall keep an office in either of 
those cities to redeem any notes of its issue presented. 
Suspension of specie payments was therefore legally author¬ 
ized from April l'7th to December 1, 1861. 
On April 12th, when the Confederate batteries opened fire on 
Fort Sumter, there were 110 banks of undoubted credit in the 
state; on the 25th of the same month, twenty-two had been dis¬ 
credited and a general feeling of uncertainty overshadowed the 
rest. 
Banks were winding up. The securities of the Bank of Eau 
Claire were sold on February 25, 1861, and they only paid 84 
cents on the dollar to the bill holders. 
The Koshkonong bank failed and on May 10th, its securities 
being sold, they only netted 54f cents on the dollar. 
On June 3d, a final call of eight per cent, was made, but it 
was useless. Fifty-eight banks failed to respond and forty did 
not even acknowledge the receipt of the notice of the call. 
44 Revised Statutes, 1878, p. 596, et seq . 
