The Washington herald., 1915-04-14

side wins out in the first phases Of thii
legal battle, the case will be fought
through to the court Of last resort IN IN
effort on the part Of officers Of the Riggs
National Bank to determine. a. theii
counsel put it yesterday, the extent OF
the powers of the Comptroller OF the
Currency and his limitations in admins
tering them.
Charge Williams with Falsehood.
Another gun was fred last night in the
fight when officers Of the bank made
public statement answering the charges
of Comptroller Williams that they had
used the bank as a stock brokerage Of
flee: that they had loaned more than
81 10000 to women on highly speculative
securities: that the officers themselves
had borrowed money on wildcat securi-
ties. and that dummy loans had been
made.
The reply of the Riggs Bank is fully
as severe upon the Comptroller of the
Currency as the remarkable complaint
which it filed In the District Supreme
Court yesterday asking the court to pro-
tect the bank against the alleged malice
of Mr.. Williams and Mr.. McAdoo.
The banks officers in their state
ment charge Comptroller Williams
with having included in his statement
q falsehOOd for the purpose of Great
Ing the Impression that the Depart
ment of Justice regarded his charges
rs warranting legal action against the
officers. The bank officers emphati-
cally deny the Comptroller's state
ments in regard to the making of
loans on highly speculative securities
without proper collateral. They accuse
Mr.. Williams of malicious misrepre-
sentation. especially in his efforts to
create the impression that officers of
the bank have been borrowing money
from IL on wildcat stocks" They
point out that Comptroller Williams in
citing the collateral on these loans
mentioned only a small part of the Sc
curities. emitting entirely stocks of a
standard character.
Bitterness from Fight.
In this connection the officers of the
bank make the following interesting
comment: IF the Comptroller had
been pursuing his Investigations into
the character of collateral along other
lines than those to which loans by
officers were secured. he might have
discovered in the collateral to a par
ticular loan. otherwise we'll and ade-
quately secured. $1,000 Georgia and
Florida Railroad Company bonds of
little or no market value, of which
road he was formerly the president.
and which bonds he was instrumental
in marketing"
Washington is bound to breed intense
bitterness and to spread out rapidly be-
yond the mere relations of the Treasury
with the Riggs bank
The beginning of the fight at this time
IS particularly depressing to the Presi-
dents friends who have been supporting
him in his desire for a rest from agita-
ton against the banking and business
interests of the country.
Most of the transactions which Comp
troller Williams criticizes occurred be-
fore he entered office and many Of them
were passed on by bank examiners un-
der previous administrations The
Comptroller, however. has insisted on
laying bare and digging into the record
of the bank for the last eighteen years,
or ever since its organization.
The present disposition in Washington
is to regard the present fight as none of
the Presidents making. AS a matter Of
fact, it is likely to result in embarrass-
ments for him.
The statement given out last night by
the Riggs National Bank follows:
The Comptroller's remarkable state
ment. handed TO the press last night.
begins with a falsehod according to the
assertion made by the Attorney General
today, and reported in the afternoon pa
pers. With'a view to creating the i'm
preston that the methods of the Riggs
Natioanl Bank were regarded as worthy
OF legal action not alone by himself but
by the Department of Justice as we'll.
Mr.. Williams said in his statement:
The recent investiga tions of the Riggs
National Bank disclosed irregularities
and unlawful practices on the part of
certain officers of sufficient Importance
to merit their reference to the Depart
ment of Justice and that department en-
gagged the services of Louis D. Brandeis,
Of Boston. some weeks ago as special
in the CASE
Attorney General Gregory stated at
noon today that Mr. Brandeis had not
been engaged by the Department of
Justice. He said he had no objection to
retaining Mr.. Brandeis II II was desired
by the Treasury officials. but that the
statement that he had been engaged by
the department was incorrect. Mr..
Gregory added that he had understood
that the Treasury officials had been con-
sulting Mr.. Brandeis. but that his depart
ment had had nothing to do with that.
In the Comptroller next paragraph
he Characterizes as "temerity" the
course of the bank in appealing to a
court Of justice for protection against
this unlawful exercise of his authority.
which is typical of the entire personal
and official attitude OF Mr. Williams.
solvent Despite Comptroller.
The Comptroller declares that the
bank is solvent, but no one can read
the balance of his statement without
knowing that he would never have
made that admission except for the
fart that the bank is so absolutely
solvent that the ingenuity of malice
could not suggest otherwise. But he
attempts to take credit for this salts
factory condition of the bank. and for
the safeguarding of its depositors by
saying that if the methods and prac-
tees complained Of had been permit
Ted to continue, the results would have
been serious. All this he says in face
Of the withdrawal of hundreds of
thousands of dollars of public and