COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY. GEORGE P. M'LEAN, Connecticut, Chairman. CARROLL S. PAGE, Vermont. JOSEPH S. FRELINGHUYSEN, New Jersey. ROBERT L. OWEN, Oklahoma. W. H. SAULT, Clerk. NOMINATION OF JOHN SKELTON WILLIAMS. MONDAY, JUNE 30, 1919. UNITED STATES SENATE, COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, The committee met, pursuant to call, at 10.15 o'clock a. m. in the committee room, Senate Office Building, Senator George P. McLean presiding. Present, Senators McLean (chairman), Page, Gronna, Norris, Calder, Newberry, Keyes, Hitchcock, Pomerene, Fletcher, Henderson, and Walsh. Present also, Hon. John Skelton Williams, Comptroller of the Currency; Hon. Thomas P. Kane, Deputy Comptroller of the Currency; Mr. Wade H. Cooper, and others. The committee had under consideration the nomination of Mr. John Skelton Williams as Comptroller of the Currency. The CHAIRMAN. This meeting was called for the purpose of consideration of the nomination of Mr. John Skelton Williams for Comptroller of the Currency. Senator POMERENE. The committee went fully into this at the last session, taking a large amount of testimony. If there is any new testimony, I can understand why that should be heard, but if it is simply a repetition of the old testimony, haven't we the full record? The CHAIRMAN. Senator Pomerene, you will remember that along near the close of the hearing last session the Riggs Bank became insolved. The Comptroller brought an action against the bank, and some portions of that record were put into the hearings. The president of the bank notified me shortly after the close of last session that he wanted to be heard if Mr. Williams' name was sent in again. I notified him and he said he would be here, and he was very anxious to be heard. Senator POMERENE. I am not objecting, if there is any new testimony. If there is any new testimony, of course we should hear it. The CHAIRMAN. That would be in the nature of new testimony. Senator POMERENE. But if it is simply a repetition of what we had had heretofore, it seems to me we have that already in printed form, so that it would save the committee a lot of time. The CHAIRMAN. We ought not to go over that again. Senator FLETCHER. My recollection is that the extent to which Riggs Bank was insolved, and the relevancy of it to this matter, was voted on by the committee, and the committee decided that there was nothing in regard to the Riggs Bank that had any bearing here, and there was no need for their being heard. Was it not voted on by the committee? Senator NORRIS. As I remember it now, I expected the Riggs Bank to be present, but they did not come. As far as I am personally concerned, I do not care whether you have any hearings or not. |