Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1933-10-26
MONEY INTERESTS
BRING ON UNREST

The ASkov American for sew
eral years has presented its own
view point and that of some of
our outstanding progress sive
minded men in regard to the eco
nomic plight among the farmers,
workers and small business in
terests of the country.
The dissatisfaction existing is
not the product of few extreme
radicals but the result of an I'M
just exploitation by the special
privilege interests of this coun-
try. An excellent editorial en-
titled, No Wonder People See
Red" appeared in a recent issue
of the Capitol Times of Madison,
Wis, and follows:
Ferdinand PecOra, counsel for the
senate committee investigating the
nations bankers and big financiers.
is bringing out some interesting
things about Albert H. Wiggin, for
mer president of the nations largest
financial institution, the Chase Ma
tional bank of New York. In the
success literature of only few years
ago, Wiggin was a commanding figure.
As head of the largest American
bank, he was regarded as a colossus
with a Midas like touch, a second
Morgan or Rockefeller of the finan-
cial world.
The facts that Mr.. Pecora has been
revealing, however, don't show the
great Mr.. Wiggin in so favorable a
light. They show that under his re-
gime the bank lost hundreds of mil
lions, and all the while Mr.. Wiggin
and his associates were drawing
fabulous salaries and huge bonuses
from the institution. At the later
part of 1880, after the depression had
run it's ruinous course for year,
Mr.. Wiggin was receiving S21S,0OO
annual salary plus bonuses. Early
in the next year, 1881, Mr.. Wiggin had
his own salary raised to S250,00O
yearly.
Almost coincident with this huge
raise to an already fabulous salary
was Mr.. Virgins widely broadcast
recommendation for drastic pay
slashes for factory and other indus
trial workers. After exposing the
swollen salary paid Mr.. Wiggin on
his own motion, Mr.. Pecora read from
a statement by Mr.. Wiggin to the eff
feet that High wages do not make
prosperity but prosperity makes high
wages" and that capital was justified
in cutting wages.
This same Mr.. Wiggin was associ-
ated with the crowd of Wall st. bank
ers who since the depression have
held the financial affairs of the gov
eminent in New York in the hollow
of their hand Broke New York had
to go to the bankers to obtain enough
money to maintain essential NUM-
cipal services. The bankers flatly re-
fused to lend unless their demands
were complied with. They demanded
that municipal wages be reduced to
new low levels and took most of the
cuts out on the rank and file workers.
They pressed the general wage cut
ting drive that accented the severity
OF the depression and precipitated
one of the worst depression problems
which the present administration has
to contend with,-the destruction of
purchasing power. Mr.. Wiggin was
perhaps the first to start this cam
paign, and the other financial giants
of Wall st. lost no time in joining
in his cry. And now, incidentally,
Mr.. Wiggin has been retired with
salary of 100000 a year for life.
No wonder Americans with a sense
Of justice see red at exposures such
as have been made by Mr.. Pecora and
the senate committee. Mr.. Morgan,
the nations greatest and most power
full financial figure, paying no income
taxes for two years, though at the
same time buying a $3,500,000 yacht
and maintaining lavish scale of liv-
ing. Favored lists to insiders who
bought stock at a fraction of the
market value and unloaoded 1t on
the poor suckers who are called the
investing public. Albert H. Wiggin,
president of the nations largest bank.
boosting his own salary to quarter
Of a million dollars year and at
the same time forcing down the sal
aries OF the poor factory hand.
II you want to see the real fomen-
tiers Of radicalism and bolshevism in