The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-25
HOUSE COMMITTEE
CLOSES FOR A TIME
FINANCIAL PROBE
Z Continued from Page one.)


c'ai agencies. Mr.. Untermyer said tonight
fhe investigation as originally planned
lad gone as far as it could under the
present laws but that an effort will be
made later to continue it.
Chairman Pujo and Mr.. Untermyer will
make arrangements for the examina-
tion of William Rockefeller. Mr. Inter
n.yer will open negotiations in New York
tomorrow with John p. Carver, counsel
for Mr. Rockefeller, with view to hav-
ing private examination conducted next
week.
The statement presented by Mr.. Davi-
son says in part:
Control Does Not Exist
NO such control exists and no such
deduction can be properly made from the
attached tables. Those who have made
such deductions have fallen into several
obvious errors. They failed to observe:
First, that of the total number of direc-
torates in these particular corporations
this group represents only a quarter.
Second, That upon this assumption,
these men in order to exercise control,
must act and vote in every instance
as unit, although they come from diff
ferent parts of the country, and repre-
sent divers and frequently conflicting
interests.
Third, That upon this assumption the
directors outside Of this Group must be
mere dummies with no voice or opinion
of their own, who, in almost every in
stance are overrued by a minority Final
1y that this sum of $4,000, 100000 is not
sctual cash, or liquid assets, susceptible
OF manipulation or misuse by the direc-
tors. the fact of course being that the
great bulk of this enormous sum is, and
for many years has been. tied up III the
form of rights of way; steel rails wood
ties. equipment, factories. shops plants.
tools, manufactured goods and other
forms of corporate property necessary
for carrying on railroad and industrial
business in the country.
at Is not regretable and harmful that
either Congress or the country at large
should gain the wholly erroneous i'm
preston that these great resources are
at the disposition of a small group OF
men or that the corporations themselves
are controlled by a minority of their
various boards.
Due to Economic Conditions
''The great accumulation of money and
credits In New York is due in part to
purely economic conditions. and in part
to the laws of our banking system. IL
this country possessed a proper and scien-
tfic banking system, such as is pos
sessed by almost every other civilized
nation, interior banks would no longer
be obliged TO concentrate their reserves
In New York
Before resunfing his inquistion of Mr.
Dawson. Mr. Untermyer put into the rec
ord letter from Jacob Schiff to amplify
his recent testimony before the, commit
tee in New York
: The letter reads
.If | had had the opportunity to make
proper answers 10 your questions
should not have hesitated to. say that the
MULTIPLICATION of banks and trust com
Janies has heretofore led to an over-exten-
sion of credit to overtrading and to illegi-
innate conditions in general and that the
final panic of 1901 and other financial
6epressions that have preceded IT, have
be en- largely brought on by the too great
multiplication of trust companies and
banks.
James J. HILL. the railroad magnatc,
vas on hand when the committee con-
yened accompanied by his son, Louis w.
Hill and his counsel, former Senator
John c. Spooner.
I+ntermeyer took up Devisoa's state
uent of yesterday that the banking re-
sources of New York was insufficient 20
care for the business of the country TT
its present rapid rate of development.
''There is less consolda ton in New
York city banking today than some years
ago." witness said, "the resources of the
banks being only a small per cent Of the
resources of the entire country. We are
dealing today In lerge units industrially.
commercially s.nd every other way. In
many instances a corporation may want
to borrow up 70 100000. and lit is hard
10 make the loan from a single bank.
They must go Ground shopping In this
way they secure S500.0 900 here and there
Don't you think It would be an advan-
tape to have number OF independent
banks in New York SO we could have some
place to go shopping" Untermyer aske's.
Il think the basks Of New Fork are In