Imperial Valley press., 1932-03-15
JOHNSON
ATTACKS
BANKERS
California Senator Makes
Vitriolic Speech Con-
demning Practices.
CHARGES BRIBERY
Attitude OF Government
Also AssaiIed For In
difference.

WASHINGTON, March Is. tU.P)
Senator Hiram w. Johnson (Rep)
California. turned the fire of his
oratory today against the interna-
tional bankers.
He denounced their postwar
loans of hundreds of millions OF
dollars to foreign countries and en-
terprises as Infamous exploiting OF
the American investing public.
johnson arose in the senate to
make his long awaited speech cul-
minating the investigation OF for
eign financing which he led during
the early part of the present ses-
sion of congress.
johnson spoke from the front row
desk in the senate chamber where
he has battled for years with an Or
atorical skill not exceeded by his
colleagues. But at the outset to-
day the fire was dim. For the first
time in the memory of his col
leagues the senator undertook to
read his speech instead of launch
ing into it on the wings of memory.
acteristic shadow boxing movements
of Johnson's hanc.s we're restrained
by the necessity of reading from the
text.
He told the senate that 81 ,600,-
900 worth of European government
bonds floated in the United States
had deprecated by $742, 100000. He
said On the $4,000, 100000 of all Eur
opean bonds outstanding deprecia-
ton aggregated $800,000.000.
But Johnson's bitterest COM
plants, his most emphatic chal-
lenge to the operations of bond
selling bankers was reserved for
dealers in American issues.
He charged bribery, greed and
money madness against the men
who passed on these bonds to Am
erican investors.
The senator cited the record: ST.
600,000000 Of Latin-American bonds
sold here are now worth $422 ,000,-
coo and $815, ,458,3O0 worth of the
bonds are in default.
Mentions Bribery
Johnson said the Peruvian loans
were obtained by the purchase of
the son of the president" Juan
Leguia He said j. F. Lisman and
Co., initiated the negotiations which
were consummated by w. j..
Seligman and Co., which paid Juan
Leguia between 100000 and $780,
600 after the loan was obtained.
1.-THE bribe," johnson said, for
bribe it was, paid for the privilege
of selling unsound Peruvian secur-
tiles, came out of the pockets Of
innocent American investors"
The senator reviewed the history
of the Barco oil concession in Col
ombia, cited it as owned jointly
by the Mellon interests and the
Carib syndicate, which he thought
possibly might be controlled by
j. p Morgan and Co.
johnson left the implication with
out the direct charge that the Ma
tional City Bank had withheld a
portion OF Colombian loan to
compel that country to approve the
concession to the Mellon-owned
Gulf Oil Co. and the syndicate,
while the department of state had
participated in the negotiations to
urge the bank to advance the re-
naming portion of the loan.
Government Flayed
Neither by word or deed" john
son said, "is our government able
to do aught for those who hold the
doubtful securities. OF Colombia,
it can, however, when the occasion,
in its opinion demands it, act for
barco concession owned by the
Mellon or the Morgan interests in
Colombia, and be the go-between
in a short term loan of the Nation
al City Bank to that country
Thus, the Mellon interests re-
ceived their due the Colombian
government got it's money and the
department of state kept its Sec
rets."
Money madness of the American
people themselves was partly to
blame for the disastrous events in
connection, with foreign loans,
johnson said. But he attributed
them first. to the Shameful and
even infamous exploitation of the
American investing public . . the
greed and even worse of the inter
national bankers and thes mug
complacency and supine indiffer-
ence of government"