The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, October 14, 1915, Page 2

PAGE TWO Blood-Curdlmg—- Like Darkest Russia Frankfort Ky., Oet. 6.- -Nearly one- seventh of the 7,615 national banks of the United States receive an- aver-|treasury statement so as to show a| THE NONPARTISAN LEADER Significant Things in Events of the Day Banks Charges Are|McAdoo Juggtes With Treasury Figures-- | emSomething from¥Y)| s n|NOthing (By Angus McSween) Washington, Oct. 20.—Juggling the age rate of 10 per cent per annum,|fictitious net cash balance in the or more, on loans. This statement was| treasury, Secretary McAdoo’s latest made today by John Skelton Williams, Comptroller of the Currency, in a speech to the Kentucky Bankers’ as- sociation. Some banks charge 40 to 60 per cent and one case was report- ed where a bank loaned a washer- wottan $3.50 for six days and charg- ed her one dollar, a rate of 2,400 per cent per annum. “Disreputable Extortion.”" ‘achievement, has caused wxdeapread astenishment. Deceiving the public is a practice resorted to by politicians, but gener- ally’ the deception is effected in such a manner that it is difficult to prove that the politicians’ assertions are un- true. In this instance the attempted deception is. so palpable and the at- tempt so brazen that reliance is plac- ‘A majority of the national banks|ed obviously upon the inability of the “are new conducting their business | Public to understand what is being on awkigh and boneribie plane, and|dene, or the scheme would not have are charging fair and reasonable rates | been resorted to. on loans,” Mr. Williams said, but the By a mere change in the form of bankers that -charge ercessive rates|the: treasury statement just issued ‘know, and you and I &n>e; that-such|the net cash balance in the treasury rates are dicreputable “and - without| has been increased by $85,000,000 al- excuse, whatever the sécuvity for the |though not one additioral dollac has loans may be. at such rates is destreying its con-| The ‘bank that'lends [ been-placed in the treasury. ‘This has been accomplished by re- stituency - and is at the same time movmg from the liabilities of the committing ‘slow but" sare suicide. |treasury the -balances of the disbur- Some - reports’ from -the South" and|Sing officers and adding these balan- West, the Northwest and ‘the South-| ¢es-to the net.cash balance. wast, espeeizlly in the wheat and cotton sectionsi of the Southwest, are Did not Have Courage. In removing the balaness from the blood-curdling. - They are like stories | liability column, however, Secretary from darkest. Russia; of the oppres- McAdoo did not have the courage to siens * inflicted upon- the ‘peasantry. place them in the assets column. Yet The reports received ‘at the 'comp- the net cash balance in the treasury troller’s office show: indisputably | is a real asset and, therefore, if these that in some states and' sections; bor- | disbursing officers’ balances are to be rowers and especially small borrow-|included in the net cash balance, they ers, have been and -are -being sub-{are alwo presented as assets of the i cted to. extortions and exactions|treasury, the balance being the dif- whxch the average man would- con-|ference between treasury assets and sider impossible in this enhghtened treasury liabilities. agen Where the Offending Banks -Are. The list of banks that get rates av- eraging mere than 10-per cent are:. - Texass s i danes s cesees 315 Cklahoma “.......... P 1 11] trssscoce Colorado v cccvueieevasnncranans Idaho .......... tesesccveee Liabilities of the treasury are ere- ated- by appropriations made by con- gress. All expenditures by the gov-| ernment,” are made by disbursing of- ficers whether in the payment of bills on account of government contracts 301 °F the salaries of many thousands of 38 government employees. The disbursing officers make state- ments of the immediate bills that South Dakota...:.... o3 | must. be settled, and the money is New Mexico ............ 13 Sm’a!l'lo!'mwors HH Hard.‘ : : .In one: Seuthwestern- state,; said Mr. | -Williams,~ 13} banks jreported’ they - ‘charged. a .maximum ra.te of interest of from ‘15 to. 24 per cent; sixty- ‘seven banks a:maximum between 25 {and - 60: per’ cent,” twenty-two -banks | -100 ‘per:cent, eighteen: betwveen *100 ‘and’ 200 per cent and elght between ‘200 and- 2,000 per.cent.: “Most: of :these - disgzaceful rates,” 5 ‘said’ the comptroller; “were for com-| :paratively.: small loans.”- The “legal rate- methe state, was:6 per cent-and the maximum authorrzed by apecxal eontmt, 10 per cent.” Wonkingmurb‘mks may raise. hegfi ; X’\y B = | bursing officers. 3 partment - these accounts are carried| - o | 23 balances of: the disbursing officers. 5| But they are balances of ‘the disbur- 5 rlaced ‘to their credit against which they draw their checks. . The secre- o1 |tary of “treasury himself signs the 18 .document which places the money at the disposal of the disbursing officers for immediate expenditure. Once “these documents are signed, the money is as far removed from the eontrol of the:treasury as if it had been: taken by the szeretary from the vaults and-handed over to the dis- In the treasury de- sing officers because the: di-bursing officers. need: the money: for 1mmed* iate necessities. Removed Liabilities - In’ the aecounts of the disbursing officers every dollar placed to their credit is-matched by a debt of the government, which these officers are called upon to.pay. These debts of the govemment do not show-in the aecounts of the treasury department, and therefore the’ amounts: placed’ to the crecht of the disbursing: offie have-always heretofore been catne 'as linbilities of the. treasury bmuse they. represent liabilities: which the government- is to meet through its ! dxsbursmz ofixcers The manfifaetuxjer llgures Jinterest on every do lar ‘he hns mvested a.nd charges a good; lng additional pro- fit and- pay&hmsel!'affme sala!y for g the only }wa‘ Scott’s Missio'n to Mexico in Interest of Certain Interests Washington, Oct. 20.—How the gov- ernment protects some of the Amer- ican interests in Mexico from lawless depredations, while leis influential in- terests are left to shift for themsel- | ves, is the burden of the most recent i disclosures of conditions south of the Rio Grande. It transpires that the real ob_]ect of the trip of General Hugh M. Scott chief of-staff of the army. made to Mexico in August, was to prevail up- en Villa to cease alleged persecutions {of the rich mining companies in: Chi- hauhau, in which American capital- ists are heavily interested. . Villa was preparing to exact tribute from the companies, and his soldiers wers com- mitting all sorts of depredations on the properties. General Scott, who is a persenal friend of Villa, concluded a treaty of peace between the northern general and-the mining companies. His work was so sati:factory to the American | interests that he received a message of thanks from the United Mmmg and Smelting Association. Policy of Suppression + As a result of the policy of sup- pression and censorship the origin of the influence that procured admipis- tration aid for the big mining“ctm+ panies is enveloped in mystery. "q’he holder of one large American iw st ment in Mexico, who is known: as a republican party leader, says heghas been unable to induce the sdminsitra- tion to_protect his property from the Villa raids. The Wilson order to all Americans to leave Mexico compelled ! thousands of small owners to abandon | their properties to the bandit looters. Immediately after Gereral Scot$ ob- xtamed immunity for the mine owners | the administration permitted Viila to | resume shipments of dressed meat into the United States, whereupon he reopened his Jaurez packing plant. Villa ships the carcasses to Kansas City at a profit of $10,000 a day. The products of this plant were barred from this country last May by the department of agriculture beeause of insanitary conditions of slaughtering. This is General Seott’s version of the affair: “I was sent to the border by the state department to confer with Gen- eral Villa over the mining conditions in Chihauhua. The mine owners were heving difficulties with Villa’s troops, and I was sent, there to strajghten these matters out. I think that 1 was successful. : a5 - -Lansing Tebgnphs “I made no. tra,de with himr to: re- open the urez. packing plan ‘Be- fore T left Washington I was given a marked-copy of -the -United States regulations: for killing cattle and 1 was asked to give it to Villa. When 1 arrived in El Pago I receivéd a tele- gram from Secretary ‘Lansing saying that if Villa would issue’a decree .in accordance with :those reg'u]atmns an arrangement had been made with Sec- retary Houston - whereby ;the meat from the plant could be- m;por‘ 4o the United States. . = 41 communicated: thi and I understood ths issued, ' and that a former United States: meat mspector was plazed ia / 12 is decree was. Ten Cents a Vote Was the Market Price in This Election Indianapolis, Ind.-—One of the sur- prising disclosures .at the trial of Mayor Bell is the cheap price of the votes. ‘Men were bribed to vote for ten-cents apiece, and even for a drink of whisky. ‘Blg Chief” O’Leary, an ironwork- er ‘and political friend of Mayor Bell is one of the men indicted. He has turned state’s evidence and testified that he was given a $10 bili and told to go “after them.” ' He did go after them and got eight men to vote for one drink apiece, three men voted for one supper each, and a cheap meal at that. Persons who believe that it takes big sums of money to corrupt an elec~ tion ought to read the testimony of “Big Chief” O’Leary. ; He said he worked for the Demo- ‘cratic party in the election. lle was sent to a voting place and wken he got there four or five men came out of the alley and asked him: : “Are you putting out anything?” “I told them,” "testified- O’Leary, “that I would give them'the price of a drink if they would go iu and vote under instructions, Then T went to the polls and said to the clerk that five men would vote under- instruc- tions “Did you see a man named Callihan there"” 5 T Yes I@aw“]:ifin There” = - “What did the five men do?” They went in and voted:” ' “What was then done.” “The clerk said ‘0. K.2» - ‘Wha.t did you then do"” : ‘T gave each of them ten cents for a drink.” - “What did-you tken do?” “Three more men came out of the alley and I voted them.” “What was done then?” “The clerk looked out of the win- dow and said ‘O. K Then I gave each of these men ten cents. ' CHINESE EGGS FOR BRITAIN. Hankow, China, Oct. 11.—Prices of eggs, chickens ard other poultry are g0 low in the ¥an-tge-Kiang valley that an English company has- devel- oped a large business in shipping such produce te Great Britain. Practically every Chinese family-in the remote country districts, as well as-in the towns and cities, keep chick- ens. The price of eggs in the: vil- lages accessible to river transporta- tion is about 3 cents gold a dozen. Spring chickens sell for-about 6 cenis ‘.| gold each.: In remote interior points, where copper coins still are largely in use, the'prices are much lower: PORTLAND HAS DOLLAR WHEAT. Portland, Ore., Qct. 11.—For the second time this season dollar wheat became a reality in the Pacific North- west recently. The advance was made in the face of the most de- |mestic and foreign trade. Several opitions of large sized lots o! ‘wheat were taken by Easterners,” ‘as well as by export interests on the basis of $1-a bushel, Portlam! dehvery ‘termined opposition of ‘both the dc- - - e <