THE WORK OF COMMISSIONERS 105 
said, “equal rights.” Leipold then suggested that 
“equal rights and equal duties” go together. 
Creswell persuaded Purvis to take down his 
sign.” 
There were other causes of the lack of harmony 
among these officials. As Leipold was regarded 
by the Treasury Department as the most com- 
petent and responsible commissioner, he received 
advice from the Secretary of the Treasury in 
regard to the business. Both Secretary Sherman 
and his successor, Secretary Boutwell, disliked 
Creswell and held Purvis in slight regard. Purvis 
and Creswell resented this attitude of the Treas- 
ury officials and vented their outraged feelings 
upon Leipold. When law work was needed Pur- 
vis wanted to employ Negro lawyers, but Leipold 
would have none of them. Leipold suspected 
crookedness among the former trustees and col- 
lected information upon which to base prosecu- 
tions against some of them, among them Purvis’ 
son who had been interested in loans made by 
the bank. Creswell advised against prosecutions, 
and Purvis, a warm partisan of the trustees, 
stoutly defended all their activities. He accused 
Leipold of “ingratitude” because he wanted to 
prosecute those who had nominated him as com- 
missioner. Leipold met such strong opposition 
from his colleagues that he found it impossible 
to prosecute any of the trustees even for such 
doings as the Seneca Sandstone deal. 
THE INFLUENCE OF THE TRUSTEES 
The trustees of the defunct bank continued to 
? Bruce Report, pp. 62, 74. 
8 Bruce Report, pp. 91-95.