Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1935-07-18
HOLDING COMPANIES
Editor AskOv American:

The big boys are jubilant once
more. Through the defeat of the bill
in Congress providing for the death
sentence of unnecessary holding COM
panies. the country is once more made
safe for graft. The MIRA is no more,
the AAA is threatened as well as 9TH
er New Deal legislation, so in other
words. when our shoes wear out we
will be on our feet again.
The defeat of the holding bill death
sentence marks it the major victory
of the old deal reactionaries since the
income of the present administration.
Generally speaking, a holding COM
pany is an auxiliary to it's parent
company. BY organizing holding COM
panies it is easier to manipulate the
earnings and stock of the parent Or
ganization. Salaries as high as $685.
900 are paid to the officials of holding
companies, money is diverted from the
earnings of the parent company until
it is impossible to make heads and
tails out of anything.
Through holding companies and
manipulation it was possible for such
rugged individualists" as insult and
his cohorts to mulch their stockhold
ers out of something like ten billion
dollars. After hiding in Greece until
it had blown over he came back to
the United States and stood trial and
was acquitted. He, his family and
his friends can now safely live in
&c tot
out the middle west are probably on
relief, they will become the unwanted
the unemployable. Even now those
who robbed them begrudge them a
little relief to keep body and soul to-
gether.
Holding companies, the misuse Of
the Federal Reserve system, and other
| financial mismanagement were the
major causes for the depression which
began in 1929. Securities deprecated
over forty million dollars within a
few days. People who had invested
their money in these securities were
wiped out before they even knew what
had happened. The gradual ruination
of the farmers for ten years previous
and the destruction of labOring and
professional classes in a few months
in 1929 and 1880. brought on the de-
preston and nothing else. There was
and is plenty of tangible property, so
that everyone who will or can work
can live in a reasonable degree of
comfort. But with the grand scoop
in 1929 and 1890 we have a situation
where a small two per cent of the
people either own or control practi-
cally the whole country.
According to reports of the congress
sional investigation committee over
three hundred thousand dollars were
spent by the opponents of the death
sentence to the holding bill. This is
of course just part of the money
spent. Every subsidized newspaper,
hired propaganda, and selfish in
terest in the country fought for dear
life. They brought to life and resur-
rected the poor old widow who had
invested her savings in utilities-and
the hardships that would be brought
to bear on her providing the bill was
not defeated. BY the way, of course
this contention is pure humbug and
hypocrisy. The poor widow is prob
ably already on relief, if not her in
vestment has deprecated until it is
only worth few cents on the dollar.
Furthermore the bill gave the parent
company seven years in which to
liquidate.
Some of these poor old widows and
other honest people were even pre-
vailed upon by the opponents of the
bill to wire their congressman and
senators to defeat the bill. To think
that anyone would rather trust a band
of financial bandits, than our great
president who advocated and fought
for the bill, is just little beyond my
conception.
Hardly necessary to say most Re-
publicans voted to defeat the bill.
Even our own representative, Harold
KnutsOn, voted to defeat the bill. The
defeat of the bill of course leaves the
road open to further financing of the
type that made rich insult, Kruger
and other geniuses, such as were re-
Gently tried at MOorhead, but as usu-
ally acquitted on account of there ap-
parently is no law against grating
If this bill had passed there would
at least be an end to some of the
plundering that has been going on
the last half century. The vote on
the death sentence bill was a true test
between the liberals and the reaction
aries in both parties and all parties
The Republicans and conservative
Democrats voted against the death
sentence, liberal Democrats, Farmer.
Laborites for the death sentence.
Another sad effect of the defeat oil
this bill is that it gave the reac.
tionaries courage. they have tasted
blood and are not satisfied yet and
want to destroy other legislation pro-
posed for the benefit of the common
people. They still pirate about the
constitution. liberty" and what not
However. the President took some Oh
the wind out of their sails by advo-
eating Share TIE Wealth plan, By
increasing the taxes on the rich
This does not sit very we'll on Their
stomachs and consequently you don,
hear much more about balancing the