fear the soundness of the securities a collapse of credit was due.
The rapid development of trust companies had its effect. The cash
reserves held by these companies were small; their investments were not
always conservative and the depositors were often suspicious. This free
expansion of business with little or no reference to cash reserve or
capital gave rise to another cause for the panic, which was not a matter
of money. It was a matter of what was in men's minds. There was a period
of "muckraking" in which leaders financial and political were severely
critcised. Whether or not this criticism was justified by the exposition
of the frauds of the insurance companies and the questionable dealings