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35-604: Beginning in the late 1800s, a concern regarding the power of bankers and monopolies began to grow. This led to a breaking point in July 1911, when Congressman Charles August Lindbergh asserted that a banking trust existed within the United States and that it should be investigated. A move to create an investigation was then made on February 7, 1912, when the democratic Money Trust Caucus decided to pass House Resolution 405. Not long after this resolution's passage, amendments followed placing

70-537: A Republican against the Republican incumbent, Joseph A. A. Burnquist . Lindbergh was endorsed by the Farmers Nonpartisan League , which called for government ownership of some agricultural enterprises, such as mills, plants, and grain elevators. Many of his campaign speeches were attended by thousands of supporters. But due to his opposition to American entry into the first World War and his connection to

105-563: A handful of men held manipulative control of the New York Stock Exchange and attempted to evade interstate trade laws. The Pujo Report singled out individual bankers including Paul Warburg , Jacob H. Schiff , Felix M. Warburg , Frank E. Peabody, William Rockefeller and Benjamin Strong, Jr. The report identified over $ 22 billion in resources and capitalization controlled through 341 directorships held in 112 corporations by members of

140-722: A leader in foreign exchange. By 1902, the bank was able to pay any sum of money to any city in the world within 24 hours. He was worth approximately $ 77 million at the time of his death, making him one of the wealthiest people in the country at the time. Stillman was born on June 9, 1850, to Charles Stillman (1810–1875) and Elizabeth Pamela Goodrich in Brownsville, Texas , a town founded by his father. Both of his parents were born in Wethersfield, Connecticut . Charles Stillman had significant business interests which James acquired in 1872. He expanded those to control of sixteen Texas banks and

175-508: A memorial plaque in the columbarium at Lakewood Cemetery in Minneapolis . According to his wishes, son Charles scattered his ashes near Sauk River over the place where the first Lindbergh home once stood. James Stillman James Jewett Stillman (June 9, 1850 – March 15, 1918) was an American businessman who invested in land, banking, and railroads in New York, Texas, and Mexico. He

210-640: A significant land holdings in the Rio Grande Valley , particularly Corpus Christi and Kerrville, Texas . Stillman was an investor in a Fractional Warrant of the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad . Along with Edward Henry Harriman , Jacob Henry Schiff and William Rockefeller , he controlled the most important Texas railroads (including the Texas and Pacific Railway , the Southern Pacific Railroad ,

245-609: A strong proponent of the investigation himself, eventually came to be the committee's counsel. Despite being called the Pujo Committee, in March 1912, approximately a month after it received authorization, Pujo's wife became ill, forcing him to take an indefinite leave of absence from the investigation. His successor was Representative Hubert D. Stephens of Mississippi. The investigation originally intended to examine data from 1905 to 1912 regarding all loans of $ 1,000,000 or greater; however,

280-672: A successful law practice. Evangeline often had difficulty raising her two surviving step-daughters, who both eventually moved away. Evangeline often threatened Lindbergh with divorce; he caved in to her demands, fearing a divorce would cost him his seat in Congress. After further problems, Evangeline began to live in a separate residence in 1909. They separated in 1918, their only child being the famous aviator Charles Lindbergh , who also became an antiwar leader. Charles August Lindbergh died in 1924 in Crookston , Minnesota , of brain cancer . He has

315-871: The International-Great Northern Railroad , the Union Pacific Southern Railway , the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico Railway , and the Mexican National Railroad ). In 1876, Stillman supported Porfirio Díaz 's overthrow of the government of Mexico by the Revolution of Tuxtepec. He was chairman of the board of directors of the National City Bank and retired in 1908. He died on March 15, 1918, at his home at 9 East 72nd St (also called The Henry T Sloane House ) His funeral

350-609: The Minnesota Farmer–Labor Party ticket. Lindbergh's campaign was cut short by his death. He would have been the first Minnesota governor from the party if he had been elected. In 1887, Lindbergh married Mary LaFond, with whom he had three daughters, Edith, Lillian and Eva. Edith died at less than one year old. Mary LaFond died in 1898. In 1901, Charles married Evangeline Lodge Land (1876–1954). In 1902, they settled in Little Falls, Minnesota , where Lindbergh established

385-597: The United States with his mistress and their illegitimate infant son, Carl, in 1859. Lovisa became Louisa and young Carl became Charles August Lindbergh. They settled in Melrose , Minnesota , and had six more children together. August worked as a farmer and a blacksmith for 26 years before marrying Louisa in 1885, having become a widower in 1864 with the death of his first wife in Sweden. Charles August Lindbergh studied law at

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420-565: The University of Michigan Law School , graduating in 1883, and was admitted to the bar that same year. Lindbergh served as prosecuting attorney for Morrison County, Minnesota , from 1891 to 1893. He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1906 as a Republican , serving in the 60th , 61st , 62nd , 63rd , and 64th congresses . In 1912, he supported Theodore Roosevelt's unsuccessful third party Progressive bid for

455-594: The 1913 Federal Reserve Act . Lindbergh is best known as the father of famed aviator Charles Lindbergh . Lindbergh was born Carl Månsson , in Stockholm , Sweden , to Lovisa Carlén, the 19-year-old mistress of Ola Månsson , a peasant member of the Riksdag of the Estates and a bank manager. When accused of bribery and embezzlement, Ola Månsson changed his name to August Lindbergh, left his wife and seven children, and emigrated to

490-622: The Bankers Use It . House of Morgan partners blamed the April 1913 death of Morgan on the stress of testifying in the Pujo hearings, though other health factors were certainly involved. Charles August Lindbergh Charles August Lindbergh (born Carl Månsson ; January 20, 1859 – May 24, 1924) was a United States Congressman from Minnesota's 6th congressional district from 1907 to 1917. He opposed American entry into World War I as well as

525-584: The Comptroller of the Currency furnished only a fraction of the overall data, hampering the investigation's scope. Three sections of the economy were the focus of attention: clearing houses, the New York Stock Exchange , and the growing concentration of wealth within the economy. Witnesses were first examined on May 16, 1912. The committee concluded that clearing house associations (associations created for

560-517: The Federal Reserve and big banks. He also wrote an anti-war polemic titled Why is Your Country at War? In 1918, under the Comstock laws , federal agents destroyed the printing plates of both publications. The latter was posthumously released in 1934 under the revised title Your Country at War, and What Happens to You After a War . In the first chapter, Lindbergh wrote, "It is impossible according to

595-575: The Money Trust Hunt—'a Swede who dreams', a fellow member described him—Charles A. Lindbergh." Lindbergh declared, "This Act establishes the most gigantic trust on Earth. When the President signs this bill, the invisible government by the Monetary Power will be legalized, the people may not know it immediately, but the day of reckoning is only a few years removed ... The worst legislative crime of

630-491: The Socialistic Farmers Nonpartisan League, Lindbergh was attacked by the press and there were often protestors who pelted him with eggs and rocks. Lindbergh's son Charles worked as his driver and "never forgot the hostile crowds that harassed his father, or the way the press derided him." Lindbergh's 1918 bid for governor ultimately failed. In 1924 , Lindbergh was once again a candidate for governor on

665-494: The United States. The report revealed that at least eighteen different major financial corporations were under the control of a cartel led by J. P. Morgan , George F. Baker and James Stillman . These three men, through the resources of seven banks and trust companies (Banker's Trust Co., Guaranty Trust Co., Astor Trust Co., National Bank of Commerce, Liberty National Bank, Chase National Bank, Farmer's Loan and Trust Co.) controlled an estimated $ 2.1 billion. The report revealed that

700-654: The White House. In 1916 he unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat in the United States Senate . When World War I broke out in Europe in 1914, Lindbergh was vocal that the United States should not become involved. In 1916 he lost his United States Senate bid to an opponent who openly advocated American intervention in Europe. In March 1917 as a lame duck member of the House, Lindbergh was one of only 14 congressmen to vote against

735-660: The ages is perpetrated by this banking bill." In 1917 Lindbergh brought articles of impeachment against members of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors , including Paul Warburg and William P. G. Harding , charging that they were involved "... in a conspiracy to violate the Constitution and laws of the United States ;..." In 1913 Lindbergh published Banking, Currency, and the Money Trust , which attacked

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770-583: The arming of United States merchant ships. By 1917, the third year of the Great War, Lindbergh's son was aged 16, which meant some possibility of conscription. In Congress, Lindbergh was one of the first outspoken critics of the Federal Reserve . His stature grew when he was featured in an article in The American Magazine : "It was a Swede from Minnesota who first raised in Congress the hue-and-cry of

805-518: The authority of Bennett's will, as he died a few weeks after Bennett's death. Stillman named Sterling one of his executors. Sterling could hardly have begun his duties under Stillman's will when he too died suddenly. The Bennett estate, the Stillman estate and the Sterling estate totaled about $ 76,000,000. After Sterling's death it was learned that he had appointed his long time intimate companion, Bloss, one of

840-489: The big press to be a true American unless you are pro-British. If you are really for America first, last and all time, and solely for America and for the masses primarily, then you are classed as pro-German by the big press which is supported by the speculators." These beliefs would influence his son, who would later famously oppose American intervention in World War II . In 1918 , Lindbergh ran for governor of Minnesota as

875-596: The boards of these clearing houses to stifle any competition that might arise from smaller upstart banks by simply telling their member banks not to act as their clearing agents. In fact, the Panic of 1907 started with the closing of the Knickerbocker Trust Co., when its member clearing bank (the National Bank of Commerce of New York) refused to act as its clearing agent anymore. The committee discovered that, much like

910-404: The clearing houses, certain predatory listing practices were forcing certain restrictions on both members and non-members of its exchange. Additionally, the committee discovered large amounts of "unwholesome speculation" and price manipulation, citing examples of large groups colluding for profit and ultimately driving companies out of business. The committee discovered that several forces, such as

945-423: The clearing of checks to and from individual banks) based in New York were gaining power at the public's expense. This was done via minimum capital requirements as well as predatory membership and discriminatory member policies. The report states, "Non-member banks must engage a member bank as its clearing agent, which in effect leaves its future up to the discretion a single bank." This clause allowed member banks and

980-478: The consolidation of banks and interlocking directorates (small groups of the same men serving as directors on several different boards) had led to increased wealth accumulation of 42.9% of America's total banking resources held by its twenty largest banks. Furthermore, and surprisingly to the investigators, it was found that "180 individuals" covering "341 directorships in 112 corporations...[possessed] $ 22,245,000,000 in aggregate resources of capitalization." Finally, it

1015-667: The empire headed by J. P. Morgan. Although Pujo left Congress in 1913, the findings of the committee inspired public support for ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913 that authorized a federal income tax, passage of the Federal Reserve Act that same year, and passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act in 1914. The findings were also widely publicized in the Louis Brandeis book, Other People's Money and How

1050-482: The executors. And a few weeks after Sterling's death, Bloss died. His grandchildren included Godfrey Stillman Rockefeller (1899–1983), a financier, and James Stillman Rockefeller (1902–2004), who married Nancy Carnegie (died 1994), grandniece of Andrew Carnegie . James also served as president of National City from 1952 to 1959 and was chairman from 1959 to 1967. His great-grandson is the director, and Academy Award nominee, Whit Stillman (born 1952). In 1928,

1085-599: The failure of the Senate to pass the bill to amend section 5241 of the Revised Statutes, and the lack of any authoritative decision by the courts sustaining the committee's right to access the books of the national banks, the Pujo Committee Report concluded in 1913 that a community of influential financial leaders had gained control of major manufacturing, transportation, mining, telecommunications and financial markets of

Pujo Committee - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-614: The investigation of the Money Trusts into the hands of then-chairman of the Banking and Currency Committee, Arsène Paulin Pujo of Louisiana. Pujo submitted a resolution, later amended and passed by a vote of 268–8, to establish the footing upon which the rest of the investigation would base itself. As early as December 12, 1911, the lawyer Samuel Untermyer supported the creation of such an investigation, encouraging Lindbergh to continue fighting for its creation despite early setbacks. Untermyer,

1155-514: Was chairman of the board of directors of the National City Bank . He forged alliances with the Rockefeller family , Standard Oil and Kuhn, Loeb & Co. to lay a foundation that made it, arguably, "the greatest bank in the Western Hemisphere." He engaged in an expansion policy that made National City the largest bank in the United States by 1894, the first to open foreign branches, and

1190-458: Was at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church, New York . James Stillman was married to Sarah Elizabeth Rumrill from 1855 to 1925. Together they had: Stillman was an intimate friend of both James O. Bloss and John William Sterling . After the death of James Gordon Bennett Jr. , it was learned by the administrators of his estate that he had appointed Stillman one of the administrators and trustees. Stillman had little or no opportunity to act under

1225-468: Was concluded that a system known counterintuitively as "Banking Ethics" restricted competition among banks and firms. Despite the fact that lead attorney Samuel Untermyer had predetermined that no money trust would be found as part of the Investigation because “There is no agreement existing among these men that is in violation of the law”, and despite the refusal of aid by the Comptroller of the Currency,

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