Evening star., 1933-04-09
BILL
GETS CLOSE STUDY
Roosevelt Wants U. S. -Agen-
cy Empowered to Revoke
Registrations.
By the Associated Press.

6y the Associated treSS.
The Senate Banking Committee yes
terday concluded its long hearings on
the administration securities regula-
tion bill after the full weight Of Presi-
dent Roosevelt's influence had been
thrown behind the principle Of its rev.
ocation provisions.
The legislation, already revised In
many particulars, will now undergo fur
ther scrutiny in private before it Is re-
ported to the Senate, while q House in
terstate commerce subcommittee is re-
drafting similar measure at the other
end Of the Capitol.
Ollie NJ Butler, Commerce Depart
ment securities expert, told the Bank
ing Committee yesterday he had been
authorized to say that President Roose-
veit favored the Idea of revocation"
in the bill, but not necessarily the de-
tailed clauses. Reading from a small
slip of paper, Butler said:
IT am authorized to say that the
President is in favor of the idea of
revocation as expressed Gin the bilD
and he did not attempt to or intend
his message to Congress to cover any
more than the general statement re-
garding the bill"
Section Target Of Critics.
Much criticism has been leveled at
this section which authorizes the Trade
Commission to revoke registrations Of
security issues for various reasons, in
cluding Misrepresentation and fraud.
Opponents have claimed it would ham,
per the selling Of honest issues because
buyers would balk, feeling there was
a constant threat of revocation.
1t was such attacks as these, Butler
said that led Huston Thompson, former
Trade Commission chairman and one
of the trainers of the bill, to obtain
the statement from President Roosevelt
read to the committee yesterday: .
However, revised draft Of, the bill
made public strikes out some of the
broad and indefinite grounds fo- revo-
cation, and retains those where the is
suer "has been or Is about to engage in
fraudulent transactions" and where
fraudulent Misrepresentation is con-
tanned in statements to the commission.
Other changes in the new draft pro-
vide for application Of the proposed law
only to new securities and exemption
of outstanding issues of bona f1de cor
porations that have been operating a
year or more.
Penn Harvey Last Witness.
Instead of making all directors OF
issuing corporations sign statements
filed with the commission, the revised
bill would authorize any director to be
excused from signing "for good cause
shown" but in all cases at least three
fourths of the directors would have to
sign.
The last witness before the COM
mittee was Penn Harvey, vice president
of the Chase-Harris- Forbes Corpora
ton of New York, the security affiliate
of the Chase National Bank which now
is In the course of liquidation
Appearing at the request Of Chair
man Fletcher and in a personal Ca
pacity.' Harvey said the entire banking
profession could not be indicted" be-
cause of mistakes here and there and
that greater confidence in the banks In
general was needed before the business
could be resumed on a normal and
profitable basis.
He said If security affiliates were to
be separated from parent banks, now
was the time to do it, as the market
was low and the banks could make the
change with a minimum Of difficulty.