The Waterbury Democrat., 1934-10-24

wanted to buy stocks. Ana tne bears were taking advantage or this to clean up by means of short selling. Of course, they certainty weren't doing the market any good. Early in 1892 reports reached the ears of Herbert Hoover that among the bear raiders were cer- tain prominent democrats--among them Bernard Baruch and John J.
 Raskob, then chairman of the democratic committee. There was, of course, no truth whatever in the
 rumors connecting Baruch ana
 Raskob with the raids. But 1t IS easy 10 see what a capital stroke it would have been to have pill loried these gentlemen.
 Through March a series Of shocks shook the market. Rumors of pools, bears, conspiracies, filled the air. In the early days of April therefore, the President, through Senator Walcott of Connecticut, who had once been a stock broker, introduced a resolution to invest- gate the practices of buying ana selling and borrowing and lending of listed securities and the effect unon the business and banking Of the country. The plan was to holo few hurried meetings, bring a few of the big traders including Baruch and Raskob to washing ton. put them on the grill, expose them to the execration of the null titudes and then adjourn.
 Rut fate decreed otherwise. The plan was well timed during the ab-
 sence of Senator Peter Norbeck, |insurgent republican and chairman
 of the banking committee. Norbeck read of the resolution, rushed back
 to Washington and thrust Walcott
 ont of control of the hearings. Nor heck announced that he would 1n- yestigate the bears, but that this was going to be an investigation Of Wall Street from stem to stern. And that announcement sent tremor of terror through every stock exchange and every shaky bank in the United States. From April to June, 1892, and then from January, 1883, right up to the in- auguration of President Roosevelt the committee hammered away
 There had been a succession o1 | counsel. But finally Senator Nor beck. republican chairman of the committee, engaged Ferdinand Pe- cora. a New York lawyer to con. duct the investigation. This was a stroke of good fortune for the na-- ton and from the moment of Pecora's assumption of control things began to happen. .. By the time President Roosevelt tA1 had ll-
 ready amazed the country with the
 exposure of Charles Mitchell, presi- dent of the National City Bank Tn
 New York, one of the great banks
 of world. He drove Mitchell from
 the headship of the bank. lHe
 shook the conscience of the people
 with the astounding story of the
 manner in which a few big hnan-
 ciers and promoters had used the resources of great bank to feath-
 CT their own nests. When the New
 Deal was launched Mitchells heao
 was already in MT Pecora's basket
 and Pecora's investigators were
 swarming into Wall Street.
 That spring the news went
 around that accountants were Tn
 the offices of J. P. Morgan & Com
 pany. This was almost unbellev-
 able. Up to now the House of Nor
 gan was a kin dof sanctuary In
 Wall Street. It had been too power-
 full for either governors. bankers
 or even presidents to menace. The
 presence of investigators on the
 books of J. P. Morgan & Go. gave
 Wall Street a sinking feeling. In
 the midst of this the fateful day of
 the inauguration arrived and with
 it, as the closing chapter to Herbert
 Hover's unfortunate regime, every bank in America had to be closed.