The Washington times., 1933-05-31
PEGORA SHOWS
.. VAST POWER
Of GOLD
(continued from Page y

peak of these loans, Morgan was
loaning up to "a per cent Of the
net worth of his bank, thereby,
according to Pecora, bringing
about a dangerous, or at least
unwise, dissemination of the
funds of concerns placed on de-
post with ]. P. Morgan and Co.
by large business concerns.
Listens With Calm
Dangerous power, power against
the public interest-waS the main
theme of today's hearing.
: To all this j. P. Morgan him
self listened with unruffled mein,
surrounded as usual by his part
nerS and counsel.
Hammering away at the pene-
fration and potential influence
j. P. Morgan & Co. obtained
through system of interlocking
directorships, over the great
power and light companies of the
East, Pecora brought out that
United Corporation directors were
major officers or directors Cor
both of the United Gas Improve
ment Company of Philadelphia,
the Commonwealth and Southern
Corporation, the Columbia Gas
and Electric Company, the Con-
solidated Gas Company, the Con-
Solidated Gas Company of New
York, the Niagara and Hudson
Power Corporation, the Mohawk
and Hudson Power Corporation,
the Allied Power and Light Cor
poration, the New York Light
and Power Corporation and the
Public Service Corporation OF
New Jersey.
Covered an Empire
In other words, the influence,
power or domination of the
House of Morgan was spread over
the principal power and light
concerns which served New
England, New York, New Jersey,
Pennsylvania and part of the
Southeast rich empire of the
power and light industry.
: In still palmer terms, divorced
from confusing technicalitieS and
statistics, Pecora brought out
that private bank, j. P. Morgan
& Co., was in a position to DOM
mate the greatest public service
concerns of the East-concernS
serving at least 3O,000,000 people
with electric power and light.
His purpose was to show-to put
IN the record-that this tremen-
dous influence and power was OBJ
tanned and exercised by the pri-
vate bank of j. P. Morgan & Co.,
without the limitations or control
that the law applies to commercial
banks.
Again in the Saddle
Boiling it down still more,
Pecora drove ahead to show that
one great private bank was exert
ing an imperial control of an in
dispensable industry hr ou g h
loans, through stock control and
through interlocking director
ships. It was apparent that
Pecora is again in the saddle,
that the inquiry is going ahead
and with the backing Of the
President.
And brother Pecora is a rough
worker once his Sicilian blood
begins to boil, as the courtly and
capable George Whitney can
testify with upraised right hand.
Some of the gentlemen who are
to be hailed before the Senate
Committee on Currency and
Banking to explain why their in
come tax returns were always in
the red while they were travelling
about the land in private cars,
or engaging de luxe suites on
European liners, or shooting
grouse on Scottish moors, or run
ming racing stables, stand, or
stood, for all that was noble and
Sacrosanct in the pantheism of
American politics and industry.
Some of them are the very
sacred COWS and holy bulls Of the
American capitalistic system.
Made Ready for Slaughter
But Mr.. Pecora, as he calmly
inserts rings in their noses and
gets ready to lead them to the
Shambles, asks himself why they
were so stingy with Uncle Sam
and so liberal with their own
private pleasures, and why so
many of them burned incense in
the temple of Morgan and in
other places where the god of
gold was worshipped on trouser
knees that came from the very
best tailors.
Probably few if any of them
will trade their ornate names for
such arithmetical combinations as
Uncle Sam puts on the drill
uniforms of his boarders in
Atlanta-although one or two
may at that, if Pecora's evidence
stands up, but the revelations are
just about going to bust the
present income tax system wide
open.
If the information which this
reporter obtains from a source
closer to Mr.. Pecora than his
right eyebrow is at all correct,
and there isn't the slightest
reason to doubt it, there will be
some red hot and ringing revela-
tons of fancy shenanniging when
the roll is called over in the
Senate Office Building.
Battle to Precede Blast
Diverting and arresting was j.
p. Morgan's secret list of "cloSe
friends" that long, long roster
Of potential reciprocators, that