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Show - BRYAN GRILLED BY G0MM1TTEE ; OF THE SENATE j Secretary of State Tells of, t the Proposed Treaty With Nicaragua and Holdings of American Bankers. - SWEEPING INQUIRY LIKELY TO RESULT Senators Want to Know the Part Played by State Department De-partment in Affairs of the Little Republic. 0 ' WASHINGTON'. June IS. A sweeping, investigation of the relations between the Nicaraguan government and American bankers interested in that republic, an' the part the American state department rear have played in Nicaragua affairs, probaMy will be undertaken by the senate sen-ate fore! trr. relations committer in thv f rear future. Before the committee consents to rati-. rati-. fy the proposed treaty with Nicaragua it is practically certain that it will use every means in its power to obtain all possible 1 tr.forrr.ation which will bear on the treaty and what it rrar.s. Secret ury Bryan and Charles A. Douglass, Doug-lass, attorney for the Nicaraguan government, gov-ernment, were before the committee for several hours today discussing this treaty, wr.ieh would give the United States lnter-ocanic lnter-ocanic canal rights and naval bases in exchange for $5,100,000, and the practical establishment of a protectorate over the Central American country. Bryan Answers Questions. Questioned by members of the committee. commit-tee. Mr. Bryan said that American bankers bank-ers own Zl per cent of the stock of th-: Nicaragua n railway, and that the other 49 per cent was hypothecated for 000 to the same bankers, and now Is in danger of being sold under foreclosure proceedings. He said part of the $3,000,-V'.'O $3,000,-V'.'O might be used to prevent such foreclosure fore-closure and allow Nicaragua to retain a large interest in her railroads. Mr. Bryan . also said that the same bankers control -. ill per cent of the stock of the Nicaraguan national tank. These two statements were heard with interest by members of the committee. They are said to be anxious to learn how Nicaragua turned over her railroad and her national bank to American financiers, i Who Would Get the Money. Interest was aso shown in the question ques-tion of whether most of the 000,000 is to get into the Nicaraguan treasury or be subject to the hands of politicians and others. Mr. Douglass declared that he ' , believed the money would get to the Nicaraguan Nic-araguan government without question. There has been some talk in the com- miuee about requesting interested bank-r bank-r era lo appear and give their story of their Nicaraguan operations, but so far this ' has not taken definite shape. Senator Smith cf Michigan, a member of the committee, who aiready has pro- l-js-rd an investigation of this matter, to-'. to-'. n.ght issued a statement declaring that tr.e pay roll of Nicaragua is filled wilu Amerirjanfi. a-111 Intimating that political , intrigue by banking interests has figured in putting the present Nicaraguan government gov-ernment in power. : - Colombian Treaty. The Colombian treaty, also before t.ie - - foreign relations committee, did not cone "J up for discussion today. It was made public tonight by the senate and the cor- respondence which preceded It probably " wiii be published later. Reports that the 125,000,000 to be given Colombia under the treaty might be largely spent In enor-.'; enor-.'; mous fees instead of establishing the '. , country's national defense, was denied in a statement by Senor Betancourt, the Colombian minister "The minister declares," said a state- rnent Issued from the legation, "that the . money will be spent entirely in the works of peace and progress, sanitation of ports, ... colonization and cultivation of public lands. Mr. Betancourt's sincere task ts io establish the cordial relations which have so long existed between the two countries for their mutual and reciprocal - profit and for the final end of civiliza-tion.' |
