The Washington times., 1920-10-23
BANKATTACK
ELABORATED
Williams Gives Details OF Work.
ings of Alleged N. 7.
"PiraticaI Band"
BY w. II. ATKINS,
IateraatiSnai News Service.

IateraatisaaI News Service
John Shelton Williams aimed
another blow at his critics today.
Sharp warning was given by the
Comptroller that anonymous denials
will not swerve him from his war
fare on money pirates" in New
York and elsewhere, and the open
threat was made that complete ex-
posure will be meted out in his drive
TO stamp out bank profiteering."
DISCOUNTS sExCITED RHETORIC"
Comptroller williams today said the
"eXcited rhetoric of his bank critics
would not weight against the banks
own sworn statements. admitting
gross banking abuses. such as The
charging OF unprecedented interest
rates. The Comptroller pointed to
statements made under oath by New
York bankers. showing this group
made a profit OF 100000. 900 out OF in
terest and discount collected alone In
New York in the first six months this
year by exacting profiteerinE rates.
No official cognizance was taken by
Mr. williams today Of the censure
hurled at him by the American Bank
ers Association. after a bitter tight
waged against him by Francis II. Sis
son and other New York bankers. ex-
cept casual reference to the Incl
dent as not constituting a contradic-
ton of his charges OF unethical bank
ing practice. He does not consider
the associations attack as true re-
Election of the thought OF the bankers
of the country as a whole. but merely
as the outcropping of hostility from
the group who have been subjected to
searching inquiry.
READY FOR COUNTER-ATrACk.
The Compt rollers office files today
were most complete and were made
ready for a possible counter-attack
II that step Is deemed wise to correct
and eliminate the abuses which the
Comptroller holds to be threatening
or impeding the business of the en-
tire country"
Bankers having impugned the
Comptroller's motives and denounced
him severely, 1t was expected that
the next stop might be an expose,
making clear to the public the chief
offenders in the so-called "piratical
practices" with the names OF banks
and bankers implicated.
ut Is my duty to discover and OPP
pose what / believe to be evils and
dangers threatening the business Of
the country" said Williams. "There
has been no attack on individuals or
individual interests. The criticism
from this office has been against a
system and method. Tho first step
toward correction of any wrong must
be discovery and exposure.
CLAIMS ABSOLUTE PROOF.
williams said "sneering denials" or
general denunciation" made publicly
by the accused bankers or their SYM
pathizezrs would not be permitted to
offset the absolute proof he has OBJ
tanned
Indefinite denials are not con-
tradictions," said Mr.. Williams.
Statements Of facts and figures,
sworn to by the banks themselves,
cannot be met by unsustained accusa-
ton Of improper motive. The as
sertion by anonymous critics that ex-
orbitant interest rates were rare and
applied to insignificant sums will not
weigh against official reports made
to this office under oath"
Comptroller Williams added to his
previous charges against the New
York bankers by asserting that while
they were lending enormous sums at
from to 80 per cent interest, the
same banks were getting loans from
Federal Reserve Banks and paying
only from Az to per cent. He d.
rectly charge these banks, therefore,
with having charged borrowers from
20 to 20 per cent more interest than
the rates they paid to tho reserve
banks.
SAYS LOAN RATES FLUCTUATE.
Nearly every national bank in New
York city. according to the official
returns to the Comptroller. admitted
its rates on so-called street" or
brokers" loans are marked UP or
down automatically from day to day,
according to the fluctuations of the
call money rate. Reports from some
OF the banks show marked dis
elimination. and that they exact on
some Of the well-secured loans rates
considerably in excess of the So