The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1912-06-07
COUNTRY BANKS
OPPOSING PROBE
object 10 Having Their Deposits
In New York Institutions
Made Known.

NEW YORK. May lo.--New York
bankers are still disagreed as to the
propriety Of some of the questions ask
ed by Chairman Puio of the Money
Trust Investigating Committee. and it
is not likely that they will act in com
mon when the time comes for submit.
ting the information. Some of the larg
est banks are proceeding on the theory
that they cannot be compelled to sup
ply the detailed information called for,
while others are preparing to send the
blanks to Mr.. Pujo as soon as he
voluminous data is collected.
If the bankers could be assured that
the digest of their books which they
are asked to make would not become
more or less public property through
the work of the committee, most of the
Opposition would at once disappear. A
great deal of the information desired
by Mr.. Pujo's committee could be as
sembled by any one with patience
enough to search through reports and
directories, and this the banks are
willing to supply. Other matters,
such as the details of their customers
balances, loans made on bank stocks,
participation in syndicate operations,
&C., are commonly regarded as private,
and there is strong objection in some
quarters to making public what the
banks customers expect to be kept
confidential.
Some of the New York institutions
which carry balances for out-of-town
banks heard yesterday from their cor
respondents who are objecting to hav
ing the amount of their deposits made
known. This information is accessible
to the Controller at all times, and the
banks think that no public good would
be served by spreading the figures on
public records.
The Banking Committee s proposal
to get legislation through Congress
amending the clause of the Banking
act which specifies that the banks shall
not be subject to any inquistorial pow
ers other than those laid upon the exa.
miners or by the courts, was thought to
indicate that Mr.. Pujo himself enter
| tains serious doubts as to the COM
mittee's right to demand information
| from the banks. 1t was said yesterday
| by an officer of one of the largest in
situations in the United States that he
regarded it as very unlikely that Con-
gress would go to the extent of reopen
| ing the National Bank act, which
would make possible the enactment of
| any number of harmful amendments.
This man said that his present inten-
ton was to ignore the committees re-
quest for any data which the bank
thought might embarrass its customers
or correspondents.
On the other hand, one of the most
influential men in the Clearing House
said that his study of the Pujo ques-
lions had not convinced him that the
committee was asking the banks to
divulge anything which might prove
| damaging to the banks interests, be-
yond the names of borrowers and the
nature of their collateral. This, he
held, was matter between the Gus.
toner, the bank and the Controller.
| 1.-THE relations of the principal finan.
cial institutions to one another is well
known, and a little research would
show the committee to what extent the
interlocking of directorates has been
carried,'' he said. eff the other in,
formation asked for will help to lay
this Money Trust ghost, shall be only
too glad to send it to Washington. II
the committee is working for the manu-
facture of campaign material, I regret
having to aid it.''
| A less serious aspect of the bank in
quiry is causing more disturbance fol
the men in the cages. 1t is said that
some of the details asked for by the
committee, covering transactions for Q
period of five years, mean many hours
of night work for the accountants il
the blanks are to be sent to Washing
ton by the 18th of this month.