Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1916-02-19
SENATE IS DEF|ED
YCH|CAGO BANK
Declines to Produce Harvester
Company Account at Sisal
Investigation.
DENIES THERE is TRUTH
IN "DISCIPLINING" STORY
Committee Told Banks Were Threat
ened to Prevent Financing
of Growers.

The Senate agricultural committee
today decided to call upon the CONT
mental and Commercial National Bank
of Chicago to submit statement show
ing the deposits of the International
Harvester Company for the last three
years. in order to determine the truth
of charges that the Harvester com
pany had disciplined the Chicago bank
for extending financial aid to the sisal
growers of Yucatan.
A dispatch from Chicago says that
the vice president of the bank declares
the request will be refused.
Probing Monopoly Charge.
The committee is investigating
charges that the Harvester Company
and the Plymouth Cordage Company
combined to monopolize the sisal out
put and prevent independent Irvine
dealers from obtaining raw material,
and countercharges that the pan-Ameri-
can commission corporation. of which
Sol Wexler, a New York banker. was
the head, financed a sisal monopoly
with the idea of putting up the price
to American merchants.
The committee has been told that the
n-American Corporation was not
formed until the planters had been un-
able to make loans from Independent
bankers who refused because OF al
legged threats from the harvester and
Plymouth companies.
A telegram was read into the record
from the Continental and Commercial
Bank denying that the Harvester COM
pany had withdrawn it's account. Levy
Mayer of Chicago. counsel for the Pan
American Corporation. who made the
original charges that the Harvester
company had attempted to influence
the banks, read the message. and sim
liar denials were made in message
from the Harvester company read by
its counsel. Walter L. Fisher.
Wexler Charges Intimidation.
Mr.. Wexler charged today that the
Harvester company had sought by in
timidation to prevent the National City
Bank of New York. as well as the Con-
tinental, from loaning money to aid
sisal growers.
Mr.. Wexler explained the organiza-
ton of the Pan-American Commission
Corporation, of which he is president,
which guaranteed to loan the Yucatan
planters $10.000.000 a year.
the country to assure myself that l
could get this money from them when
needed, all but two agreed that if other
conditions justified the loans l could
Continental and Commercial National
Bank Of Chicago and the National City
Bank of New York.
The president and vice president of
the International Harvester Company
had gone to them and tried to intimi-
date them, with threats of withdrawing
their deposits and Withdrawing their
representative from the board of di-
rectors.
Blamed for Propaganda.
And further. this entire propaganda
growers conducted through the trade
journals and by mouth has been started
by the Harvester company in its I'M
derhanded. gumshoe way"
Senator Gronna of North Dakota de-
clared that he had received many let
tiers from farmers in his state urging
him to advocate laws forbidding inter
state commerce to binder Irvine manu-
featured in the various state peniten-
tiaries.
Mr.. Wexler testified that the prison
Irvine factories were the chief independ-
ent buyers of sisal.
Denial From Chicago Bank.
CHICAGO. February 1s-Arthur
Reynolds. vice president of the Con-
tinental and Commercial National
Bank. when Informed of the decision
of the Senate committee to ask for a
statement from the bank showing the
international Harvester Company's
deposits, said that the request would
be refused.
I'VE question the authority and iu-
risdiction of the Senate committee and
we will refuse to open our books to
the committee until SO directed by a
competent court" said Mr.. Reynolds.
For a long period" continued Mr..
Reynolds, the International Harvester
Company has carried a considerable
balance with US and there has been
no marked decrease in the amount of
the deposit. l do not consider that
the bank has been 'disciplined' in any