 Morgan and his associates examined the books of the Knickerbocker Trust , and decided it was insolvent so did not intervene to stop the run . Its failure , however , triggered runs on even healthy trusts , prompting Morgan to take charge of the rescue operation . On the afternoon of Tuesday , October 22 , the president of the Trust Company of America asked Morgan for assistance . That evening Morgan conferred with George F. Baker , the president of First National Bank , James Stillman of the National City Bank of New York ( the ancestor of Citibank ) , and the United States Secretary of the Treasury , George B. Cortelyou . Cortelyou said that he was ready to deposit government money in the banks to help shore up their deposits . After an overnight audit of the Trust Company of America showed the institution to be sound , on Wednesday afternoon Morgan declared , " This is the place to stop the trouble , then . " 
