National Affairs: Wealth on Trial

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Edgar Rickard thought it was "outrageous" to link the names of Hoover and Morgan just because he (Rickard) was on the firm's list. Morgan "friends" were in the Senate (California's McAdoo, New Jersey's Kean), in the Hoover Cabinet (Secretary of the Navy Adams), in the Roosevelt Cabinet (Secretary of the Treasury Woodin), on the Supreme Court (Owen J. Roberts). The Republican party (Treasurer Nutt, New York National Committeeman Hilles) and the Democratic (onetime Chairman Raskob) were both involved. Declared the cautious Kansas City Times: "Those favored by Morgan were placed under obligation to him. Some of them were in positions that made the acceptance of such obligation a matter of loose ethics, to say the least." Without effort the Hearst Press pointed to the Morgan list as proof of the existence of a SECRET SUPER GOVERNMENT. Baltimore Sun's Cartoonist Duffy drew a picture of a small Uncle Sam sitting on a giant Morgan's lap and captioned: "A Midget Gets a Thrill."

*Until that investigation became a front-page sensation it was conducted in a smaller committee room. *Private banking is but one field of the Senators' investigation, now more than a year old. The full purpose of the inquiry is to get at the roots of the 1929 crash and devise legislation to prevent its recurrence. Under scrutiny are the many fields of commercial and investment banking, stock exchange operations, security salesmanship. Slated next for examination by Lawyer Pecora and the Senators are Kuhn, Loeb; Dillon, Read. Most prominent victim to date is Charles Edwin Mitchell, now on trial for trying to escape income taxes as a result of testimony he gave the Senate last winter. Under President Hoover the Senate's inquiry was given a twist against Wall Street "bears" whom he imagined were thwarting his recovery program, beating the market down to discredit him. Under President Roosevelt the Committee is out to hunt bad bankers. Ironic was the implication of big Demo-crats along with big Republicans.

†The Senate allowed Mr. Morgan and other witnesses $3 per day and railroad fare. *Erroneous is the widespread belief that the Federal Reserve Act grew out of the Pujo in-vestigation.

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