The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-05-31
MONEY TRUST
PICTURE is LIKE
20 YEARS AGO
First J. P. Morgan Probe
Failed to Bring Change
in Banking System.
Continued From Page One

Continued From Page One
Lindbergh. Later they began offer
ing substitute resolutions of investi-
cation TO forestall his.
In February, 1912, a resolution by
Arsene Pujo was adopted. and as
an earnest Of good faith the house
banking committee employed Sam
uel Untermeyer. whose speech us
there a money trust?" had attracted
general attention. The committee
hired Untermeyer, and then let him
alone. He summoned the witnesses
and conducted their examination
uninterrupted.
Elder Morgan Is Witness
Robert l.. Doughton, now chair
man OF the house ways and means
committee, is a veteran Of that in
vestigation, and so are Senators
Hubert D. Stephens and James F.
Byrnes, then members of the house
At last j. Pierpont Morgan was
summoned to testify. It was a great
sensation, the climax of the in
quiry Hundreds of people jammed
the capitol to hear the money king.
Il do not see how you can get
on without short selling" Morgan
said. ITS a principle Of life,
guess"
Il thought it was desirable
thing for the situation" he said
when asked why he had insisted on
purchasing control of the Equitable
Life Assurance Society when its
owners, Ryan and Hartman, had
been unwilling to sell.
Yes" he said when Untermeyer
asked you would let speculation
run riot?"
Controlled Many Corporations
The inquiry disclosed that the
House of Morgan was fiscal agent
for many railroads and other corp
orations, which meant that these
groups could sell their securities
only through Morgan.
That Morgan controlled many
corporations through voting trusts;
the Morgan firm named three
trustees and the trustees named the
directors of the corporations.
That the United States Steel
Corporation and many other pow
erful corporations were required
through Morgan dominance, to de
post all their funds with J. P
Morgan 81 Co.
That j. P. Morgan e. Co. exerted
wide influence over banks by re-
depositing these funds with favored
ones.
That the House of Morgan con-
Stantly was organizing buying and
selling syndicates, and kept a list
OF persons to whom stocks were
offered.
That partners of the House oil
Morgan were made directors of firms
whose stocks were UNDERWATER, ano
that they served on large number
of boards.
Report on Money Trust
That the Morgan company fire.
quently bought up new concerns to
Stifle competition threatening some
of their companies.
The house committee reported:
If, therefore, by a money trust
is meant
An established and we'll defined
identity and community of interest
between a few leaders of finance
which has been created and is held
together through stock holdings, in
terlocking directorateS, and other
forms of domination over banks
trust companies, railroads, public
service and industrial corporations
and which has resulted in a vast and
growing concentration of control of
money and credit in the hands of a
comparatively few men your
committee, as before stated, has no
hesitation in asserting as the result
of its investigation up to this time
that the condition thus described
exists in this country today
1T is fair deduction from the
testimony that the most active
agents in forwarding and bringing
about the concentration of control
of money through one or another OF
the processes above described have
been and are: j. P. Morgan g. Co.;
First National Bank of New York;
National City Bank of New York
Lee HigginSon a. Co, of Boston
and New York: Kidder, Peabody &
Co, of Boston and New York; Kuhn
Loeb a. CO.
Forget Recommendations
A commentator who watched the
investigation throughout, Dora B
HaineS. wrote of its results:
The invisible government and
the seat of its power, which before
this country had been talked about
suddenly and in concrete form
were brought to light.
Along with this disclosure came
the realization that not only the eco
nomic welfare of all classes of peo-
pie was dependent upon the attitude
and activities OF these kings OF
money and lords of finance, but thai
Death Comes