The Panic on Spring Street
When malicious rumors hit a Seattle bank, depositors rushed the doors, forcing the bank president to defend his institution's solvency.
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.
There is a run today on the Spring Street Bank, at Twelfth and Spring streets, a state concern. The bank has not been closed, and all demands are being met. President Frank W. Kennedy declares that the run is due to malicious rumors, and that the institution is entirely solvent. He says the surplus is about $9,000, capital stock $270,000 and deposits $1,651,000.
“President Frank W. Kennedy declares that the run is due to malicious rumors, and that the institution is entirely solvent.”
A bank run based on 'malicious rumors' sounds archaic, but the psychological fragility of our modern financial systems and the speed of digital misinformation mean that runs can still occur in hours, rather than days. This 1885 account captures the perennial vulnerability of institutions that rely on the public’s fragile trust.
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