Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1914-07-01
PROBE TOWNSEND
CHARGES OF LOOT
Jerseynen indignant at Ruin of
bash-Pittsburgh Ter
nninal Company.
Irrom a slaff oorresponaenl. ]

WASHINGTON, July Represent
alive Edward w Townsend has start
Ell in as a deliver into the wicked
ways of high finance. He did it by
the introduction of a resolution in the
House last evening calling for inves-
tigation into the Wabash Pittsburgh
Terminal Company. He followed up
his resolution by the delivery of a
lengthy speech in which he sought to
show that the company in question
when II came to an exhibition of high
finance had the New Haven railroad
and others placed in the piker class.
The representative from the Tenth
New Jersey district declared in the
course of his speech that, mo other
story of high finance, as the facts are
presented to me, sets forth such
tangled tale of triekery, shifty dealing.
Reputation, denunciation of contracts
and spoliation as this. My plSpose in
bringing this matter before Congress,
in the hope that thereby may result
ar official investigation is, first, that
such investigation may lead to resti-
tuition, in part at least, to defrauded
investors. to the punishment of the
looters, to the re-establishment of
this corporation on a sound and
healthy and honest basis, and to rid
Wall Street of one of the scandals
which has brought hundreds of repu-
table financiers into undeseryed dis
repute."
In Behalf of Constituents.
4 have many acquaintance who
are so-called Wall Street men, They
are residents of my district: they
have talked with me about these
matters, and | know that no class Of
men in the country are more eager
to have the causes of this wreck in
vestigated than are they. They have
no part in such proceedings, and they
detest the men who do carry on such
proceedings as thoroughly as do any
other honest men
"One citizen of my district. who
for many years has had an office in
Wall street, wrote me recently this
significant comment:
In a nutshell, the characteristic
difference between the Pitts
burgh footing and the New Haven
looting may be one of intent. 1t
seems probable that the latter was
accomplished as an incident in the
pursuit of power, without intent, or
even expectation, of wrecking the
property. On the other hand, there is
Hull CNllCiltC ~
create the suspicion that the wreck
of the Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal
was the goal aimed at almost from
the beginning and that the plan from
an early stage was to take property
by plain robbery under legal forms.
Representative Townsend then went
on to say that the looting brought the
price of more than $50, 900, 900 worth of
bonds from almost par TO the nominal
price of seven and one-half cents on
the dollar.
The Wabash Pittsburgh Organization.
The Wabash Pittsburgh Terminal
Company was organized by the Pitts
burgh-Toledo syndicate. its managers
being George Gould, Joseph Ramsey,
jr., Louis Fitzgerald, James Hazen'
Hyde and Myron t. Herrick.
Ramsey was then president of the
Wabash and of the Wheeling and
Lake Erie Railroad. The first mort
gage bonds were sold mainly through
New York brokers, the heaviest pur-
chasers being the Equitable Life In
surance Company. Metropolitan Life
Insurance Company, Scottish Union
Insurance Company, Aetna Life In
surance Company Baltimore Life In
surance Company, Berkshire Life
Insurance Company, Providence Life
Insurance Company Milwaukee In
surance Company, State Mutual In