OCR Text |
Show BANKERS HELP BRAZIL BOOST COFFEE PRICE House Committee Told That Three New York Institutions Have S10,000,000 Invested Invest-ed in Valorization Scheme. (SOST TO CONSUMER HAS BEEN DOUBLED New York Dealer Testifies There Are 900,000 Bags of CorYee in Warehouses of Dock Company. WASHINGTON. May 16. The first Illustration of thc activities of the so-called money trust given to thc house Investigating committor, com-mittor, tofluy, was testimony that three New York banking Institutions Institu-tions thc National City bank. J. Pler-pont Pler-pont Morgan Co. and thc Kirs I Nsi-tlonal Nsi-tlonal bank lent financial assistance to Brazil to limit Iho outpul of coffee and maintain prices ai a profitable flguro for tho benefit of Brazilian planters and American and Kuropean coffee dealers. This testimony came from Herman Slelcken of the Now York firm of Gros-man Gros-man & Sick-ken, large dealers In green coffee His testimony was the first oral confirmation given to the committee. Mr. Slelcken attributed to the National City bank a patriotic motive for its Investment. In-vestment. He regarded the loan by the bank oa a sreat benefit to thc United States, and paid the bank made the loan reluctantly to exploit trado with South America. Witness Gets Excited. Mr. Slelcken was excited at several points of hla testimony. He questioned tho propriety of the committee going Into Brazil'.-! affair?., and hh for his own participation, challenged tho attorney general of Mfc -'United f?ta7js and oil the attorneys of the country to discover any Illegality In his action as a coffee merchant. mer-chant. The witness said unless something had been done to help tho planters of Brazil, there might have been a revolution. The price of coffee had grown so low through overproduction that the Brazilian government gov-ernment exercised lis right to encourage planters to diversify their crops. lie said that while a tax had been put on planting of coffee, the Brazilian government govern-ment and the state of San Paulo had not tried to prohibit the planting. "Which would have been the worse revolution In San Paulo or for the consumers con-sumers of thi3 country to pay more for their coffee?" aakod Samuel Untermeyer, counsel for the committee. Says No Escape. "You would have had to pay that anyway," any-way," said the witness. Ho charged that coffee would be higher still If tho valorization scheme had not been put Into operation. Mr. Untcrmycr rend from tables to show that the production or coffee for several years amountud to about G.000,-000 G.000,-000 bags and that it sold at from CI to 7 cents a pound. Now the production was 1-1,000,000 bae3 and the prlco was between 13 and 14 cents a pound. This was accomplished by withholding from the market tli surplus supply of coffee, he said. Mr. Slelcken .testified that there were four million bags of corfco now being held out of tho market by the valorization valoriza-tion committee of seven, of which he la a member. Of lhat amount, 300,000 bags wore In warehouses of the Now York Dock company, com-pany, ho said. "Would not the price of coffee go down if thin were put on the markot?" aalccd Representative Byrnes. Valorization Scheme. ".No, It would have no effect on tiio market." said Mr. Slelcken. "The bljr loan by which the valorization scheme was floated was 15.000,000 pounds stor-llng. stor-llng. English, German. French and Belgian Bel-gian bankers took 10,000,000 of it through J. If. Schroedor of -London, who sold to thc National City bank 2,000.000 pound3 sterling. Thlq amount was pro-ratod between the Morgan bank, the National City and the First National." Mr. Slelckcn's testimony was heard at this time out of the order originally planned by Edwin H. Farrar and Mr. Untermeyer, counsel for tho committee, in order to permit Mr, Slelcken to go to Kurope. Chairman Pujo announced lhat the future course of tho committee would be determined by counsel and that no other witnesses were to be called Immediately. |