192 Hadden—Early Banking in Wisconsin. 
finally, piling up all the broken furniture in the several offices, ap¬ 
plied the torch. At this juncture, however, the city fire bri¬ 
gade arrived; put out the fire and then assisted the Milwaukee 
Zouaves in dispersing the mob. The damage was not great* 
amounting to about $5,000, but the laborers’ notes on the ten 
rejected banks were, during the next week, redeemed in gold 
and silver, much to their satisfaction. Threatened riots kept 
the city in alarm for some days after; state troops were called 
to Milwaukee, and the disturbance conclusively showed that the 
issues of all banks that could not be put in shape to meet 
specie payments in December must be retired from circulation. 
The bankers met again in convention and with the aid of the 
Merchants’ Association of Milwaukee arranged to raise $1,000,- 
000 to assist the crippled banks. 
Meanwhile Wisconsin had issued $800,000 of war bonds: these 
however could not be sold in New York for over sixty cents on 
the dollar. So it was agreed among the bankers that their de¬ 
preciated Southern State bonds on deposit as security, should 
be sold in New York for what they would bring in coin; and 
that Wisconsin war bonds should be substituted, the latter to 
be purchased at nominal par value; i. e., 70 percent, in cash, 30 
per cent, to be paid in semi-annual installments, under individ¬ 
ual bank obligations, 60 per cent, of the 70 per cent, cash to be 
paid in com. 
By this means the weak banks were enabled to make good 
their securities. By the 19th of July, six of the ten rejected 
banks were restored. The other four were wound up. 
Of the total number of banks which failed to respond to the 
call of June 3d, twenty-two exchanged their southern securities 
for Wisconsin war bonds. It appears by the semi-annual state¬ 
ment of the condition of the banks of Wisconsin for July 1, 1861, 
that at that time thirty banks failed to send in the report of their 
actual condition. As every one of these banks had allowed its cir¬ 
culation to become discredited and depreciated, had disregarded 
the call of the bank competroller, and as most of them had 
hopelessly failed, it was under these extraordinary circum¬ 
stances deemed most prudent by the bank department not to 
commence any suits for payment of fines under the statute, it 
