The Bank President's Narrow Escape
A bank depositor in Walla Walla opens fire on a financier in the streets after the collapse of their local savings bank.
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.
Much excitement was caused this morning by an attempt to shoot J. K. Edmiston, president of the defunct Walla Walla Savings Bank, by H. G. Tobin. Saturday evening, Edmiston was released from the county jail on $1,500 bond to appear in superior court next month to answer charges of receiving money for deposit while knowing the bank was insolvent. This morning, while Edmiston was standing on the street talking with John Thoney, a depositor of the bank, Tobin approached, drew a revolver, and fired at Edmiston, but missed. Edmiston turned and ran down the street, followed by Tobin, who fired four more shots without effect. Several citizens caught Tobin and took the pistol from him, and Edmiston ran into a residence to hide. Tobin was arrested and pleaded guilty to a charge of assault, being fined $50 and costs. The shooting is a result of the bank's failure. Tobin was a depositor in the sum of $2,000 and claims he demanded his money days before the bank suspended, but Edmiston put him off. Public sentiment against Edmiston has run high since he was acquitted of embezzlement charges in Pomeroy.
“The shooting is a result of the failure of the bank. Tobin was a depositor in the sum of $2,000 and claims that a few days before the bank suspended he demanded his money, but Edmiston put him off.”
This violent confrontation reflects the raw, personal desperation of the 1890s banking panics, where local financiers were often physically hunted by the people whose life savings they had liquidated. It serves as a stark reminder of the era's lack of a federal safety net, forcing individuals into vigilante justice when the courts failed to make them whole.
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