A Bank President’s Arrest Leads to a Habeas Corpus Fight
Dr. W. P. Book, former president of the failed Aberdeen bank, is arrested in Seattle and released on $2,000 bond while his lawyers challenge the case.
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.
Dr. W. P. Book, who was placed under arrest at the home of his brother-in-law, Frank I. Blodgett, night before last, yesterday swore out a writ of habeas corpus, returnable at 12 o'clock in Judge Hanford's court. The hearing was continued until tomorrow, and Dr. Book placed under bonds of $2,000 with Major Hayden and Mr. Blodgett as sureties. As has been already related, the trouble has arisen out of Dr. Book's connection with the defunct Aberdeen bank, of which he was president.
“The trouble has arisen out of Dr. Book's connection with the defunct Aberdeen bank, of which he was president.”
Bank failures have always produced scapegoats and legal scrambles. Dr. Book’s arrest in Seattle over the collapse of the Aberdeen bank shows how quickly a financial panic could become a criminal matter, with habeas corpus used to test the limits of the charge.
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