The Washington times., 1905-02-25
STANDARD OIL
GETS SETBACK
Rental for New York Gus
tom House Stricken Out.
DEMOCRATS ATTACK STEAL"
Williams and Sulzer Throw Light on
Transaction With City Bank
and Win Fight.

The annual contribution OF S1S0,60o,
which the Government has been making
to the National City Bank of New York,
the financial agent of the Standard OIL
Company and its principal officers, was
stricken out of the sundry civil appro-
priation bill yesterday afternoon,
through the efforts of Representative
John Sharp Williams OF Mississippi and
William Sulzer of New York.
Theft" steal criminal outrage
s.high- handed infamy".-these were some
of the milder terms Mr.. Williams and
Mr.. Suizer applied to the transaction.
The Democrats Won their fight by a
vote of 90 to n. The minority leader
had passed the word to the Democrats
to keep their seats. and they did; the
Republican members meanwhile had
scattered TO committee rooms or even
left the Capitol.
For Custom House Rental
The provision in the bill stricken out
was for the rental of the cid custom
house building in New York, which the
National City Bank is supposed to have
bought.
This is the old, bewhiskered, long
standing steal OF the City Bank" said
Representative Suizer 1.-The Secretary
OF the Treasury, one Lyman J. Gage,
entered into a secret agreement with
the City National Bank to sell the old
custom house in Wall street to that
bank for one-aalf of what the proper
ty was worth.
Tho bank has on deposit upward Of
from 100000 to $4,000. 900 of Gov
ernment money. The bank paid the
Government s50,0oo on account of the
s3,200,o0o, which was the purchase
IL
lars afterward. but the rest of the
money the bank has nevr paid to the
Government, and the deed from the
Government to the bank was never
passed. and has never been recorded.
..The consequence is that for years
the bank has held the Governments
money and paid the Government no ina.
terest on it.
Agreed to Pay Rent.
Then the Secretary agreed that~the
Government should pay the bank
rental Of s130,600 a year, and the Gov
ernment has been paying the bank this
money ever since. In consequence, the
bank is getting back from the Gov
ernment practically every dollar that
II agreed to pay the Government, and
If it keeps on for few years more
the bank will get the valuable proper
ty for absolutely nothing.
1.-THE failure of the Government TO
deed this property to the bank and rec
ord the deed prevents the city of New
York from taxing this property be-
cause it is Government property and the
title still remains in the Government.
This is one Of the greatest scandals
in this country notorious scandal
and why the Government does not COM
pei the bank TO pay the money over
and put il in the Treasury is something
I cannot comprehend. unless it is the
inf heb ia
Bank.
EVERY man in this chamber knows
what that influence is, knows the great
trusts that own the bank, and knows
the influence that bank has had in Gov
ernnent affairs.
..All you have to do is to get Secre-
tary Cages report submitting the let
ters from officers OF the bank as TO what
they wanted the Secretary to do for
that bank on account Of the campaign
contribution the bank made 10 the Re-
publican party in 1896.
Scandal, Steal, Fraud"
ct is an outrage on the people of New
York and the people of this country. 1t
is a scandal, d steal and fraud.
move to strike out the provision.
1.-The Government" said Representa-
tive Williams. entering the discussion,
after having sold the property 10 the
bank. after having neglected 10 collect
make q deed to the bank, is going on
every year renting the property from the
bank and paying it rental sur1cient
10 extinguish the amount of interest due
upon the sum total OF the purchase
money.
that has ever taken place between
government and a corporation, or any
body else, that stood stamped upon its
very face with so much of fraud and dis
honor this.
Il want q plain statement of the facts
10 go upon the record and upon the men
al ina flf arsl3 mem F1r n
/ am not in the habit of lightly charging
political opponents with moral or flnan-
oial wrong But / am going TO try to
prove, by a plain recital OF the facts.
that q thing worse in itself than this
transaction has never occurred
Before / make this statement | want
to say that the gentleman from Indiana
is entirely wrong IN his assumption that
any executive officer can make any con-
tract whereby Congress shall be COM
peited to appropriate money. It has been
held that the treaty-making power even
cannot do that Much less can IL be held
that mere executive officer, or even d
preceding Congress, can commit the ap-
propriat ton making power to a wrong by
wrongful act OF his own.
No Title Passes.
what are the plain facts? The Gov
ernment concludes to build new GUS
tom house in New York II sells to the
City Bank the old site for SO, 200. .000 It
makes no title TO the land. None has
even yet passed.
1T stands on the records Of the city as
Government property. as consequence
the city, State. and county are being de-
fraEded of the taxes due them every
year and il is a fact that the bank does
rot even pay wafer rates.
What becomes of the purchase mon
ey-s3. 200. coo? It is not paid by the bank
into the United States Treasury To
whom Is il paid? II is paid over its
own counters to itself, and it lies there
Rheumatism Cured In "a