MONEY MANIPULATION

Waikato Times, Volume 114, Issue 19125, 9 December 1933, Page 5

MONEY MANIPULATION

SHIPPING AND BANKING. AMERICAN METHODS. FURTHER REVELATIONS. United Press Assn. —Elec. Tel. Copyright. WASHINGTON, Deo. 7. At the reopening of the Senate’s investigation of ocean mail -contracts further laxities were revealed. One company received over 1,500000 dollars for carrying mails to the West Indies, which, on a pound basis, would have cost 1903 dollars. It was disclosed to-day that the sale of Shipping Board's vessels to private concerns in the last few weeks of the Hoover Administration had been held up by President Roosevelt. Furthermore no deliveries will be made until the shipping situation has been thoroughly investigated. The chairman of the Senate 'Committee, Mr H. Black, announced that the hearings would be thorough, all steamship lines being subject to questioning. Something of a sensation was caused when the ervidenoe indicated that the same type of political financial “pressure,” which was brought to hear on officials of the Hoover Administration, had been exerted on the Post Office Department since the Democrats came into power. ■ln one case efforts were made to advance a Post Office official to the post of Under-Secretary under the Postmaster-General, Mr J. A. Farley, because he was sympathetic to ocean mail bounties.

Banking Investigation. The Banking Committee of the Senate to-day heard the evidence of Mr Charles McCain, chairman of the Chase National Bank. He said that while the former director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, Mr Couch, owed money to the Chase Bank the corporation made loans to certain railways that enabled them to repay more than 10,000,000 dollars of debts they owed to the bank. Witness also disclosed that Mr Couch, with an associate, still owes the bank 153,000 dollars. Another loan to Mr Couch (since paid back) was under-ooilateralised for six months in 1931. Mr Couch has denied any irregularities. Losses totalling 30,000,000 dollars suffered as the result of two huge pool operations by an air line and railway company on its securities were described by Mr McCain, who stated that he and Mr Norman Davis participated in one of the pools.