The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-02-28
National City Bank
Exposed in Loot

in Loot
CONTINUED FROM PAGE ONE
from their salaries. Mr.. Rentchler
insisted that the employees are per-
fectly satisfied with this, even though
employees still owe more on the
stock than it is worth on the market
and can be relieved of the obligation
only by resigning their positions
This is known as industrial DEM
ocracy,' a form of class collaboration
and reminds one of the similar
schemes which took place on a similar
scale in the Railroad Brotherhoods
under the labor banker Warren Stone
Matthew Vol, now president of
The A. F. of L., is another admirer
OF this class collaboration idea, and
the National City Bank affair is an
example Of how well it works out for
the employer of labor, whether he
employ white collar labor OF manual
labor. We also see here just how
the employee or worker fares in this
scheme and how he is inundated
and enslaved by the boss.
E. M. Barrett, Vice-president Of
the bank, borrowed total Of $685.,
600 IN three instalments and repaid
$1,000. The remaining $285 1000 &C
carding to Rentchler was transferred
to the assets Of the National City
Co., subsidiary of the bank and writ
ten down to $65, 900. The obligation
is still standing though no action to
enforce collection has ever been made.
Lee Orwell, another vice president
borrowed $345, 272 from the bank and
has not made any repayments. He
is no longer with the bank and no
effort has been made to collect on
his obligation. Perhaps a suit against
dwell, who knows the inside work
ings of the company would bring
about an even greater exposure.
Rentchler, to whom the fund was
also available, and who received a sal
airy of $4,000 year also shared in
the management fund to the extent
of $279,0OO during 1927 and 1928.
Manipulate Loans
It was brought out that the bank
and National City Company entered
into joint transactions together. In
this way the bank transferred sugar
loan which was made to Cuban in
terestS and which was not at the
time liquid" to the company. This
loan was for $3O,OOO,O0O. This was
done because the bank examiners told
the bank that they did not consider
it a safe loan for a bank to make.
In order to raise the money the
bank boosted its stock in the open
market and then issued rights which
entitled the owners of the bank stock
to subscribe for new stock at a price
considerably below the market. In
this way the bank raised the money
to bail" itself out, to use the terms
of Peccora, attorney for the Senate
committee, in describing the opera
ton.
It is quite customary for any bank
to sell poor and bad loans with which
it is tied up to the petty bourgeoisie
in the form Of convertible notes, or
participating bonds. or preferred
stock. In this case the National City
Bank did not, and being unable to
get out of its loan this way lodged
the banking law by finally placing
these loans in the company's &C
count.
AS Peccora brought out, it is we'll
known that the Cuban sugar indus
try is in state of collapse. For this
reason the bank had to get out of its
loan and in this case both the stock
holders and the employees Of the bank
were made the suckers.
Pools Unload On Public
Peccora then took up the Anaconda
Copper deal. Many widows and or
phans will not forget it. The sales
men of the National City Company,
those bright young men," as Mr.
Mitchell would call them, strongly
recommended this stock as a safe in
vestment when it was selling well over
$500 a share. Today it is selling be-
low $40.
In one transaction the National
City Co. and the late John D. Ryan,
chairman Of the Anaconda Copper
Co. and philanthropist,' went into
deal to unload ISL ,045 shares on the
petty bourgeoisie. The transaction
was financed by the company which
made as its share $335,042,
Another transaction in Anaconda
Copper stock was arranged among
Mitchell, Ryan and Daniel and Harry
Guggenheim, the latter two gentle
men being heads of the American
Smelling Co. philanthropists, and
particular friends Of Charles Lindberg,
the good will" aviator. On this OPP
Grafton the National City Co. Melted
100000.
The above brief record Of the tes-
timony shows some of the inner
workings of finance capital and shows
once more the truth regarding the
role that these capitalists play as
brought out in Lenin's book on I'M
perialism.
1t should be remembered also that
the National City Bank has been and
is today one of the strongholds of
American imperialism. 1t has always
represented the best In the bour-
geoisie and stood supposedly for
straight dealing in the eyes of many
misguided but honest people This
exposure should show both the work
ers and the petty boWgeoisie that any