Evening star., 1924-10-26
CHARGES BIG LOSS
I. IN US. BOND DEALS
Brewer Says seo,ooo,o 600
| 0verpaid in Buying Issues.
Denied at Treasury.

Charges that the Government had
lost large sums of money In the
lprocess of redeeming war loan bonds
were made yesterday by Charles b.
Brewer, special investigator OF the
House committee investigating the Bu-
reau of Engraving and Printing, at
hearing Of the committee. Treasury
Representatives attending the hearing
promptly denied the allegations.
Brewer charged the Government
had paid s23, 900 above the everage
market price for bonds purchased by
the War Finance Corporation through
the Federal Reserve Banks for the
sinking fund of the Treasury Depart
ment. He also charged that the War
Finance Corporation sold Liberty
bonds to the Treasury Department at
higher price than it sold them on
the open market
Meyer Defends R0ndx Deals.
Eugene Meyer, jr.. managing di-
rector of the War Finance Corpora
tion, declared that bonds were bought
for the sinking fund both above and
below the market price and that the
average price, interest considered,
was not above par. He denied that
the sale of bonds by the corporation
on the market had tended to keep
down the price of the bonds.
The committee was told by Brewer
and Harold r. Hanes, associate inves-
tigator, that the books of the War
Finance Corporation showed that
Meyer and J. p Morgan and Com
pany had been paid commissions for
the purchase of bonds for the Treas
ury Department. Meyer declared he
had been delegated by Secretary Nc
Adoo to handle the purchase of bonds
and that he not only did not receive
any commission but that he did this
work without compensation and
spent from $4,000 to $4,000 of his
own money in carrying out the work.
The commissions on the books, he de-
clared, were the minimum commits
sions charged by brokers who actu-
ally purchased the bonds on the stock
exchange.
The investigator declared the Gov
eminent had lost Ss0,O00,o 900 by the
purchase of preferential bonds by the
War Finance Corporation by buying
bonds at high price when other
denominations could have been bought
at lower price. Meyer explained
the Treasury was prevented by law
from holding more than 4 certain
percentage of bonds of one denomina
tien.
The list of duplicated bonds fur
nished the committee by the Treas
ury Department, Brewer asserted
was full of inaccuracies and mis-
statements" and that only a partial
list, as he said, large numbers of
duplicated bonds had been destroyed
The session was interrupted fire.
quently by heated passages between
representatives of the Treasury and
members of the committee G. p.
Winston, undersecretary of the Treas
ury, accused the committee of pre-
venting the Treasury from present
ing its side of the case
Treasury Is Criticized.
Representative King, Republican,
Illinois, declared the doors had been
wide open and instead of the Treas
ury officials assisting the committee
they had tried to cover up"
Representative Stevenson, Demo
crat, South Carolina, declared he
wanted the Treasury to explain why
calls were issued and bonds were
bought before the call matured at
above par from Mr.. Morgan and
others"
Representative SteagalI, Democrat,
Alabama, said the Testimony showed
that bonds had been duplicated and
that the Treasury had been and still
is paying bonds for which the Gov
ernment was not responsible"
The hearing adjourned after a five
hour session until Monday.