The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1912-12-19
Tells Pujo Money lnvestiga-
tion Committee that Stock
holders Neglect 10 Do
Their Duty.
SAYS HE IS NOT
FINANCIAL BOSS
Agrees to Furnish the House
Committee with Lists of
Deposits in Interstate
Banks.
National News Association


WASHINGTON. Dec 1s.-That
there can be no such thing as a mon
ey trust committee was emphati-
cally told To the Pujo money trust
committee of the house today hy
J. p. Morgan. financier. banker and
follower OF Wall street. whom tho
committee had summoned to give his
story of the inside operation of Amer
ica's financial center.
IF you concentrate all the money in
Christendom." the financier told Coun-
sci Untermeyer, emphasizing his
words with quick nervous movements
of his hands. you would not have con-
troll No one man can control all the
money. all the banks. or all the cred
its. Money is the one thing in which
you cannot have a trust"
Morgan said that the profts OF his
frm amounted to about 100 million
dollars. These figures are only about
twenty million dollars in excess of the
amount which interstate corporations
have on deposit there. The witness
saw nothing improper in creating vot-
ing trusteeships TO control boards OF
directors. He insisted that even un-
der such conditions the directors MAIN
tain their independence.
Defends System.
The financier explained to the COM
mittee that the present spirit of fnan-
cial fraternalism exists. because stock
holders neglect to do their duty. He
said there was no harm in having the
De s.ll
same, because the directors did not
know the actual business of the
banks.
They are mere hgureheads," declar-
ed Untermeyer.
The banker modestly denied that
! he was the boss of ]. p. Morgan and
Company. The firm he said did lots of
things without waiting for his appro-
val. but did not admit that he was
fgurehead. In speaking of his holdings
in the First National bank and the Ma
| tional Bank of Commerce. Mr.. Nor
gan indicated that he did not think
one million or even five million dollars
very big block of stock He said he
quite "disregarded it."
Untermeyer ouizxes Him.
When Mr.. Morgan took the stand be-
fore the committee this forenoon,
Samuel Untermeyer began to question
him about the total deposits of the
firm of J. p. Morgan and Company.
Untermeyer had already developed
that interstate corporations carried de-
posits in Morgan's banks totalling al
most 100 million dollars. The purpose
- -. III l..
ton has great sums on deposit that
were entirely outside the scope of ma
tional supervision and largely beyond
the power of legislation by the New
York authorities.
Q. Can you give the committee Of
the total deposits in your hands on
Nov /?
A. Il haven't them here"
Q. You told us OF eighty millions
of interstate deposits. How much is
there"
A. "Oh. about twenty million dol
lars: about 100 million in all"
Morgan said that members of his
firm were directors in some of the
interstate corporations that had such
deposits, and he thought that he had
furnished a list OF the names. Un-
termeyer said he had not received
this list and the Wall street magnate
agreed TO furnish il. Morgan also
agreed to present the figures OF the
MorganDrexel concern of Philadel-
phia. He added that this class of de-
posits in the London and Paris branch
es were Insignificant.
NJ. Y. c. Ry. Securities.
Untermeyer then read into the re-
cords a resolution of the New York