Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1912-05-17
Money Trust Investigation Re-
veals Startling Story of How
Price Was Raised Through
Loan to Brazil.
FORMERLY SEVEN
CENTS A POUND
Importer Now Shown to Pay
About Double Cost Before
American FinanCiers Took
Hand in Game,
rpv Morning Journal Special Leased wire.I

TBy Morning Journal Special Leased Wire
Washington, May 16.-The first IL
| lustration of the activities of the So
called money trust. given to the mouse
investigating committee today was
testimony that three New York bank
! ing inst,tutions--the National City
bank, j. Pierpont Morgan & Co., and
the First National bank. lent financial
assistance to Brazil to limit the out
| put of coffee and maintain prices at
profitable figure for the benefit OF
Brazilian planters and American ana
European coffee dealers.
| This testimony came from Herman
Sielcken, of the New York firm or
Grossman g. Sielcken, large dealers In
green coffee. His testimony was the
| first oral information given to the
committees.
| Mr.. Sielcken attributed 10 the Ma
! tional City bank a patriotic motive TOT
its investment. He regarded the loan
| by the bank as of great benefit to the
| United States and said the bank made
the loan reluctantly to exploit Ameri-
can trade with South America.
| Mr.. Sielcken was excited at times
during his testimony. He questioned
the propriety of the committee going
| into Brazils affairs and as for his
own participation, challenged the at
torney general of the United States
and all the attorneys of the country to
discover any illegality in any or his
actions.
| He said that unless something had
been done 70 help the planters OF
Brazil there might have been revo-
luton He said the loan helped the
| In am u
the planters to diversity their crops.
(Which would have been the worst,
revolution in San Paulo or for the
consumers of this country to pay more
for their coffee?" asked Samuel Un-
termeyer, counsel for the committee.
You would have had to pay that
anyway" said the witness
| He charged that coffee would be
| still higher If the valorization scheme
had not been put into operation.
| Mr.. Untermeyer read from tables 10
show that the production of coffee for
| several years amounted to but 6,0OO,-
900 bags and that it sold at from VI
to 7 cents "a pound. Now the produce
ton was 100000 bags and the price
was between 13 and IA cents pound.
This was accomplished by with
holding from the market the surplus
supply of coffee. he said.
Mr.. Sielcken testified that there
were 100000 bags of coffee now be-
ing held out of the market by the val
orization committee of seven, or
which he is member.
OF that amount 100000 bags were In
warehouses OF the New York Dock
Co., he said.
would not the price of coffee go
down il this were put on the market y
asked Representative Byrnes.
mo. 1t would have no effect on the
market" said the witness.
The big loan by which the valorlza-
ton scheme was floated was 10000
900 pounds sterling. English, German,
French and Belgian bankers took
$4,000, 900 of IL through j. ii. Schroed-
er, of London, who sold to the Nation
al City bank 100000 pounds ster-
ling This amount was pro-rated be-
tween the Morgan bank. the National
CITY and the First National.
Mr.. Sielcken's testimony was heard
at this time out of tho order original
Iy planned by Edwin III. Farrar and
Mr.. Untermeyer, counsel for the COM
mittee in order to permit Mr.. Sielcken
to go TO Europe. Chairman Pujo an
nounced that no other witnesses were
TO be called Immediately.