The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1916-1920, 1919-05-15
CARRANZA PUSHES
HUGE GRAFT HERE
Mexican First Chief Seeks to
Gather Last Half Million
of Looted Bank.
$20,000,00O Is TAKEN
Manager Of Great British Con.
Germ Must Fight for Small
Change in Courts.
S2O,OOO,OOO Is TAKEN

out grief TO dispense with the portrait
Of Venustiano Carranza as a decoration
OF his household His name Is William
B. Mitchell. formerly General Manager
OF the Banco de Londres Mexico,
which had assets OF $4,000. 900 and a
gold and silver reserve or s2o,o0o,ooo
until Senor Carransa turned his atten-
tion to II. Now It has no coin at all
except about half a million deposited
in banks in this country which Car
rama Is trying to seize with the help
of the courts of this country.
Mr. Mitchelrs causes OF complaint
| against President Carransa and Car
raEza's exceedingly convenient Comis-
| sion Monetaria, all stated In an injunc-
| ton suit filed yesterday In the Supreme
Court OF New York in an EFFORT to pre-
vent the last half million Joining the
late twenty million, come to this: that
Carranza, by means OF throwing him
into Jail and letting him out again. and
| throwing him in and letting him out
again, looted the vaults Of the once rich
bank and is now with sublimest effront-
| cry endeavoring to use the Justice OF
| American courts to complete the rob-
berry.
The present suit instituted by Mr.
Mitchell, through his counsel. Rogers 4
Rogers OF. GO Broadway, 10 for the pur-
pose Of enioining Alfredo Caturegli.
| Carranza's financial representative In
| this country with Offices at 40 Broad
way. from withdrawing from the Bank
of Montreal In this city $4,000 In
cash which belongs to the wrecked
| Banco de Londres Mexico. of enjoin-
| ing the Bank OF Montreal itself from,
paying the money to Senior Caturegla.
and Of having a receiver named to safe
guard these funds
! The motion to enjoin is returnable
| May 81, at 10 ;15 A. NJ, In Special Term.
Part I. Of the Supreme Court. The out
come Is of wide Importance, for upon
the decision may depend whether Car
rama, with the aid OF American courts.
will be able to get his hands on mil
lions in cash which banks in similar
case with the Banco de Londres Mex
leo have on deposit In many cities OF the
United states.
| Carrausa Gets Iato Action.
when Carranza arrived at real power
in 1915 the Bank OF London and Mex
leo. in Mexico city. was a tremendously
prosperous institution. British al
| through except for a STAFF Of Mexican
| clerks Mr.. Mitchell had been the
manager since 1908, and like all such
: bank chiefs enjoyed complete authority
That was the reason why he came &c
know the inside OF Mexican jails st
| thoroughly and to be 30 familiar with
the rifles Of firing squads. he tells hii
lawyers. that he could tell at a glance
the precise elevation Of the from
sights Carransa needed hard cash
Mitchell had It. The complaint filet
| yesterday on the basis of AIR. Mitchell's
, affidavit tells the story OF an alleged
colossal robbery, disdainful of lsga
forms.
The first stroke came like a thunder
bolt to the British bank manager. wh'
had hoped that a period of peace anC
honesty had come to the country. Or
September 16. 1915, President Carr anz;
issued a decree suspending all banking
opera and ordering all banks with
in sixty days to level their metallic de
posits with their issued bills and obi
cations, although they had had III,
right to issue on a basis OF two to one
The first portion Of the decree mad
| observance of the second impossible
When Mitchell protested he was ''prac
tically imprisoned" in the rooms OF tn
hank until he signed minute agreeing
to the appointment Of a board OF seques
tration to take charge of the Banco d.
Government. But when they let hin
out he recanted the agreement becaus
1t had been obtained under duress, s.
they threw him into Jail.
Then CarranEa demanded that he turf
J over to the board OF sequestration all o
the assets Of the bank. and when he re
fused a file of soldiers was sent to tn,
institution and took forcible possession
OF the keys and the property. The,
couldn't open the vaults, however Tha
would have taken dynamite, and enouR,
of the stun to have blown up not onl!
the bank building itself but the resi-
dences, probably, OF a number OF Car
ranzas anxious supporters. Foreigl
banks build their vaults of Besseme
: steel in Mexico. knowing what they ar
likely to be up against
LootinE de Luxe Practiced.
While General Manager Mitchell
looked through the bars of the Jail an,
Carranza soldiers losfed in his ONCE tn
Government demanded all of the silve
bars and gold bars that lay In the vault
promising that the minted coin from
these bars would be returned intact. TIL
Government also dema nded the eombi
nation of the vault and Mitchell refuse,
to surrender II. After he had heel
threatened by a firing squad. as he tell
his lawyers. he promised to open, tn
vaults to lot the Government make al
inventory. The Government continue,
to demand the combination, but Nj
Mitchell pointed out that II wouldn't d,
to let the soldiers have access to tn
vaults, and the Government saw III
point.
, After compromise, which consiste,
In Mitchell opening the vaults privately