MISMANAGEMENT AND OTHER TROUBLES 63 
with problems all its own. From the beginning, 
when Saxton’s military bank was absorbed into 
the Freedmen’s Bank, the cashier, Scovel, had 
endeavored to run things to suit himself. By re- 
peated dispensations from headquarters he be- 
came almost independent of the central admin- 
istration, and proceeded to do a regular banking 
business. He wanted to transform his branch 
into .a national bank, and the trustees at Wash- 
ington decided to allow him to do so, since there 
was no other bank in the town and the white 
merchants were anxious to secure banking facili- 
ties. But the inspectors soon found that there 
had been an embezzlement at Beaufort of at 
least $10,000, and that bad investments had 
caused a loss of many thousands more. At one 
time it was supposed that the loss would reach 
$100,000. 
The officials of the Washington branch bank 
were frequently under fire of the press. “Daddy” 
Wilson, a Negro, was cashier, and Boston, his 
son-in-law, was assistant cashier. Both lived in 
style beyond their means, and repeatedly it was 
charged that they were using the funds of the 
depositors. But with one exception there were 
no instances of embezzlement proved against 
them. Most of the attacks on their management 
simply assumed that Wilson and Boston were 
the dupes of more cunning thieves. The follow- 
ing is an example of the publicity they secured: 
“Old Daddy Wilson stands about 5 feet 10 
inches in his boots, is square built, solemn, the 
color of polished coal tar, and sports gold spec- 
12 Bruce Report, pp. 247, 248.