Betrayal in the Coal Fields
Widows and orphans lose their savings as a local bank collapses under the weight of alleged fraud.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
When the Snipes banks failed, the Roslyn branch was carrying about $60,000 in deposits, a leading feature of which was the widows' and orphans' fund, collected at the time of the great slope explosion here. More than a few are absolute subjects of charity, with from $300 to $600 tied up in Snipes' bank. When the bank vaults were examined after the failure, not a dollar was to be found, although a large amount was carried out of here on the morning of the failure.
“Of the above mentioned fund, over $10,000 was secured through the agency of the Post-Intelligencer. When the bank vaults were examined after the failure, not a dollar was to be found.”
This story highlights the recurring fragility of the working class in Washington’s boom-and-bust economy, particularly in the coal-mining towns. It echoes contemporary concerns about financial accountability and the vulnerability of communal funds during periods of economic instability.
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