Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1935-09-06
MORGAN RECORDS
IN j. S. CUSTODY.
TruckIoad of Documents
Show Deals Studied by
Arms ProberS.

BY the Associated Press.
The State Department. acting as
mediator between the Senate NUM-
tiens Committee and the British and
French governments, has taken Gus
tody of a truck load Of ]. p. Morgan
g. Co records.
Financial transactions of the New
York banking house as fiscal agent
for the two governments between 1914
and 1917. when the United States was
a neutral, are covered in the ledgers.
accounts, letters and papers.
The records were brought from New
York to the State Department August
10 in a guarded, heavily LOADED truck.
They now are locked In a thick-walled
room.
Committee investigators have access
to the documents. They receive the
key from a State Department official
and turn 1t over to him when they
leave. Records are not taken from
the room.
Committee Review Opposed
The plan was worked out after the
two governments objected to having
the records turned over to the Senate
committee. They presented to the
State Department the view that the
records of transactions carried on for
them by their fiscal agent were their
property. AS such. their representa-
tives commended, the files should be
immune to seizure by Senate COM
mittee.
After discussions with committee
officials, Morgan Co. officers and repre-
sentatives of the governments, State
Department officials arrived at the
arrangement under which the depart
ment would take custody of all papers
and books relating to two Morgan Co.
accounts.
These we're "the British government.
treasury account" and "Compte de
L'Agence Commercial du Convene
ment Francois" They covered bust
ness carried on for the two govern
ments between the outbreak of the
World War and the time this Nation
entered 1t.
Nye Issues Statement.
A statement from Senator Nye, Re-
publican, of North Dakota, chairman
of the Munitions Committee, by tele-
phone from Chicago yesterday, said:
The arrangement, whereby the
Secretary of State received into his
custody documents from the files of
j. P Morgan g. Co. relating to the
commercial accounts of the British
and French governments during the
years 1914 to 1917, was made after
consultation with the special COM
mittee of the Senate investigating the
munitions industry, and with the en-
tire approval of the committee
Mr.. Hull has made these documents
available to the investigators of the
committee on the same generous terms
on which he has made available to
them documents from the files of the
Department of State.
Quotes Letter to Hull.
81 recently wrote Mr. Hull letter
In which I said:
May I state, for the committee.
Mr.. Secretary, not only the fact that
this arrangement meets with the en-
tire approval of the special commit
tee, but also that through this ar
rangement the Department of State
has facilitated the obtaining by the
committee of the information on the
financing of munitions sales which
the committee was instructed by the
Senate to secure.
The departments efforts and
courtesy in this and other matters
throughout are thoroughly appreci-
ated by all the members of the COM
mittee.'"
Nye said several days ago that the
Information gained by his investiga-
tors in their study of the Morgan
records would be used when the COM
mitteer resumes its hearings in jan
uary.
Persons familiar with diplomatic
procedure said there was nothing I'M
usual in the British and French pro-
test.
It was said to be in conformity
with ordinary diplomatic customs,
under which any government would
insist upon the immunity of its Of
ficials or property from seizure.