Evening star., 1932-05-12
|BLA|NE OPPOSES
BRANCH BANKING
Objects to Provision of Glass
Bill Which Would Cut
Community Taxes.
BY the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Opening the fourth day Of debate on
the Glass bank reform bill, Senator
Blaine, Republican, of Wisconsin, to-
day opposed its provision for state
wide branch banking.
He said 1t would involve a tax loss
to small local communities ranging
from 5000 to $4,000 a year.
Wherever branches of national banks
are established in the place of State
banks, he said, the bill would deprive
the local communities of the revenue
that now comes from bank taxation.
Citing the laws of his State, he said
only the tangible property of the branch
bank could be taxed.
Holds System "Cruel."
Blaine contended that branch bank
ing is cruel, heartless, Indifferent"
system, and that if the Canadian sys-
tenn was successful because of having no
failures it also had extended practically
no credit.
Senator Glass denied, without spe-
cifically mentioning them, the charges
yesterday by Senator Kean, Republican,
Of New Jersey, that Fl. Parker Willis,
economist for the Glass subcommittee,
had sent abroad confidential informa-
ton he had obtained from the office OF
the controller of the currency.
Glass said his committee had re-
ceived no information from the con-
troller's Office outside of that given in
public hearings.
Senator Kean maintained that Willis
had cabled articles to French news
papers containing confidential informa-
ton available only from the office of
the controller of the currency This
was available to no other Senators ex-
cept Glass.
The effect of the dispatches. Kean
said, was withdrawal Of more than
| $3.50, 900, 600 in gold between December
and April, involving a shrinkage Of 10
times that much in open market credit.
To link this charge to the bill under
consideration, which he opposes, Kean
said he believed Willis influenced the
writing of the Glass measure.
willis Denies Charge.
Willis, in New York, said there was
no word Of truth in Kean's charge
Besides this side issue, Glass had
brought down about himself q whole
storm of statements, denials, charges
of lying, through earlier references to
the suppression" of vital opinion
holding bank affiliates illegal and by
the statement that member of Con-
gress once was bought" to oppose a
bank regulatory bill.
The Department Of Justice issued a
statement saying there was nothing In
its files ITO warrant or support" Glass
charge that an opinion prepared by
Frederick w. Lehman, solicitor general
under President Taft, had been sup
pressed. It said the document, strong
ly questioning the legality of banking
affiliates, was an nterdepartmental
communication, never intended for
publication Glass later insisted the
opinion had been suppressed"
Palmer Denies differences.
A. Mitchell Palmer. Attorney General
under President Wilson, issued state
ment denying inferences that he had
suppressed the opinion. He said 1t had
apparently been taken out of the de-
partment files before he took Office and
that all he ever saw of it was a photo
graphic copy, unsigned. .
Glass charge OF banking interests
buying Congressmen was seized upon
by Representative Britten with the as
Sertion yesterday that it was a "daS-
tardly lie" He added:
This impugns the honesty and pur-
pose of every member of this House"
He said he didn't believe Glass had
lied" deliberately and noted that Glass
limited the accusation to one House
member