The Washington times., 1915-05-15
RIGGS BANK MAKES
REPLY TO CHARGES
Statement Issued Shortly After
Filing Of Treasury Officials
Answer in Court.
Continued from First Pase.)


said reports were not filed within the
time prescribed by law, and I hereby
waive the right to assess any penalty
on such calls other than said penalty
of 5000
That Williams thus backs down and
retracts his warning OF March 81 10
solely because II IL a fact that he had
become 'obsesscd by his purpose to
wreck and ruin the plaintiff bank, II
hatred Of it's H" offcers'' @ as charged I i"i in
the banks bill Of complaint must be
apparent to everyone who observes the
vindictive character Of williams cor
rsspondenSs re- s%ur zee and and reply; TO every
equally apparent that had Williams
been within the law. and not. as
charged In the banks bill. 'recklessly
impatient Of all legal restraints in at
would now be wholly without disere-
tion or legal right to waive the penal
ties SO imposed.
v,,s nChsrtersd as nationel ~ aka bank in 1893
tionsi Bank has Increased it, capt. capital to
10000 accumulated a surplus Of
2,oo3. 900 now has more than $4,000 un-
divided profits, has averaged more than
on les. than $4,000 Of bad loans in the
pracucally nineteen years OF it's ex-
istence.
Banks Loss Small.
"A bank that had not been wisely and
honestly managed could not have earned
such dividends, accumulated such a sur
plus and suffered such a small percent
age OF loss. Moreover. this bank has
never discounted a bill receivable. nor
borrowed a dollar. nor called the loan
Of regular customer In time of panic
or stress, nor been compelled to issue
emergency Currency.
1.-THE defendanfa' at that 'Tbia
department has no purpose to be ex-
| acting or tyrannical may be dismissed
with the statement that they took from
'he Riggs National Bank public and
5000. most of II when the stock ex-
change was closed and there was a ser
ious financial crisis.
I'm the light of the rank discrimi-
nation In Comptroller williams treat
ment Of the Riggs National Bank and
Of the Commercial National Bank. Of
which Tucker h. Sands, formerly
cashier OF williams own bank. is now
| formitv and general desire to reform
the banking business are grotesque. and
| in the light OF the Commercial Banks
record since he became Comptroller. his
reference to deficient reserves Is an
| Impeachment Of his sincerity.
Statement Denied.
so far as the interview in Secretary
McAdoos office Is concerned, the SEQ
reary and the Comptroller. supported
by the latter's appointee. Milton. G.
Elliot. deny under oath the facts as-
serted under oath by Messrs Glover.
Flather and Allies, and further sup,
ported by documentary evidence. as Will
| be developed In court.
| Secretary McAdoo strives to give this
case a political aspect by making the
wholly irrelevant insinuation that the
| Rigss National Bank Is a mere branch
Of the National City Bank Of New York
| The Secretary knows that the National
| City Bank does not and could not under
the law own a share Of stock IN the
Riggs National Bank. He knows thai
! practically all Of the stock OF the Riggs
National Bank Is owned by people who
| have long been residents Of Washing
| ton, and that less than 10 per cent Of It
Is owned by men who are stockholders
in the National City Bank or connected
with it In any way. Mr.. McAdoo's plain
purpose Is to link the National City
Bank with the Rigs National Bank in
| the hope Of creating a political preju-
dice. which will in some measure le-
lieve himself. in advance. from the
odium which the judicial condemnation
of his Conduct will involve. To sensi
BILE men, however, the Secretary agra
Yates his misconduct by thus attempting
! TO drag into this case between him and
the R!ggs National Bank another ma
tional bank which has no connection
| with the case.
Refers To Loans.
The Comptroller would create the i'm
preston that the Riggs Bank sought to
establish some improper influence at the
Treasury Department by making loans
to Treasury officials. II the Comptroller
had wished to be just he would nave
stated that the Riggs National Bank
had made loans to officials In all the
other departments and had made loans
TO many Representatives and Senators
| The RiRgs Bank has never felt that ar
nfnce- holder whose character was such
as to entitle him to credit. or whose
collateral was sufficient to secure s
| loan-even II such office-holder was q
| woman-ought to be denied accommoda
ton at a bank simply because he or she
was in the public service. Furthermore
this bank has for many years accommo.
dated Senators and Representatives anC
officials In all the executive departments
| without inQuiriRg the section from
which they came or the party to which
| they belonged.
Secretary McAdoo claims credit fol-
the requirement that national banks pay
he fails to state that no Secretary OF
the Treasury could exact any interes
until Congress under a former admin
istraton. had enacted the Law author
lLnS the secretary so 10 DO.
New Charge Made.
| While protesting that he has beer
actuated by the highest ideals in hi,
disciplinary course toward the banks
and likening himself to physician
seeking to eradicate disease. Comptrollel
Williams has been prostitutng his high
office and eXerting his poWer-not hii
legal authorltyto send a bank examiner
into a national bank in New York city
and to cause the examiner to seize nifty
Ave letters and kilograms relating, no
to any official matter. but to one o
Williams private business deals II
which he wanted to obtain revenge oi
his former business associates for fan
cied wrongs.
! Secretary McAdoo's statement re
garding the deposit Of s2.S0o,mo OF Gov
ernment funds in the Riggs Nationa
Bank Is adroitly calculated to mislead
lie fails to explain that at that TIM
the Treasury was embarrassed by tn
great balance which had accumulated
in it-not by a steadily increasing
deficit as has been the case under Sec
Ietary McAdoo's admintstration-tha
that business was menaced by the rapi'
accumulation Of funds IN the Ireasur!
which constantly threatened none,
strngency; and that the S2,%O,OOO de
, posted in the Riggs Rank was no
taken out OF the Treasury, but wa
J., transferred from the National Clt'
Rapk IA, attraction of the Secretary o