The Washington times., 1913-06-20
FINANCE BARONS
AGAIN ATTACKED
Congressman Neeley Demands
Reopening of Pujo Inquiry
in Speech in House.
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was Just one of the reasons showing the
need of a renewed probe. and the
value of the Investigations made to
date. ----.#.s. .-.s
Speaking of the Pujo committee, Mr..
Mercy sad II was confronted at the
outset with a woeful lack of power"
because it could not compel the produc-
ton of papers from national banks,
over which only the Comptroller of the
Currency had jurisdiction.
Attitude of Senate.
The House passed bill for the relief
of the Pujo committee. but it was held
up in the Senate. Mr. Neeley thus char
acterizes the Senate,s attitude:
,sThe bill then went to the Senate,
where ii was referred to athe Finance
Committee, whose chairman, Boise Pen
rose, of Pennsylvania, was away cam
paigning in behalf Of President Taft;
With the smell Of Standard Oil from
his head to his heels. was the rank
ing Democratic member. Bailey was
opposed to the bill. and did everything
In his power to defeat it. with the re-
csult we were unable to get Il .favorably
reported by the committee Although an
adverse report was finally made which
gave Senator Hoke Smith an oppor-
Iun1ty 10 HE q minority IepOTts lilus sct-
ting the bill on the Senate calendar"
During the life of the session, MI.
Neeley says, 1t was impossible to get
the bill before the Senate, and he chides
the two Senators from Kansas who
''sat silent in their seats, neither raised
their hands nor lifted their voices in
behalf of this bill designed to authorize
the exposure of the stock 1obb1ng
crockedness of Wall Street ON the rack.
Congressman .Neeley reviewed the
findings of the Pujo committee on the
New York stock exchange and the New
York clearing house, scoring their meth
-ods. The clearing house, he indignantly
Declared. had through ITS arbitrary
methods wrecked the Oriental Bank fbe-
cause it cleared for nonmembers), bank
-rupted the president of the Oriental, and
also wrecked the Brooklyn and Borough
banks
= 'At the time the Oriental was forced
out of business by the gang of Shy
locks who wrecked it" said Mr.. Nee
ley, st had untouched assets Of sl.5oo,0Oo
that have since sold for more than go
per cent at forced sale"
This is but one of the instances
which could be given. Mr. Speaker,
said Mr.. Neeley. .One hundred and ten
banks and trust companies have been
bought out, consolidated, or forced to
the wall in New York city In the last
len years by this gang of financial
pirates have sought the complete domi-
nation of the commercial interests of
this country for their own aggrandize-
ment"
Interlocking Directorates.
Referring to the interlocking direc-
storate system denounced by the Pujo
Committee, Mr.. NeeleY said that 1s0
men held 746 directorates in lS4 corpora
.tions having total resources Of more
than s95 OO0 900 600
= AT the top of this financial heap,
he added, were three supreme, over
shadowing. and directing forces in con-
troll of the financial policy of the United
-States-J. P. Morgan. George +. Baker.
and James Stillman-having under their
Immediate and actual control more than
nine times all the wealth located within
the boundaries OF my State of Kansas.
and constituting one-flfth of the total
wealth in the Federal Union.
Since the filing of our report Mr..
Morgan has died. but under the system
he so wisely built and developed his
successor has long since been named
and the work of accumulation and con-
-centration goes merrily on"
= The work of the Pujo committee in
exposing the "Coffe trust" Mr.. Neeley
contended, more than justified the cost
of the entire investigation. which has
been criticised by those opposed to
further probe.
Reviewing the details Of the Brazilian