DWIGHT W. MORROW, A PARTNER OF MORGAN, AS AMBASSADOR TO MEXICO
Dwight W. Morrow, a Partner of Morgan, As Ambassador to Mexico DOLL A R DIPLOMACY was never more firmly intrenched in American foreign policy than under the administration of President Coolidge....
...The manager, Mr...
...National City Bank...
...The required kilowatts hour consumption to supply these needs is about 33,000,000 per year...
...Chase National Bank, and Kidder Peabody & Co...
...Doheny did not hesitate to bribe Secretary Fall in order to get a lease on the Elk Hills Naval Oil Reserve in California...
...It is no answer to say that Mr...
...These powerful American oil interests through their influence over the administration brought this country near to a break with Mexico during the last days of the G9th Congress and after its adjournment...
...It operates and maintains two power plants leased by the city for a term of twenty years from the Green Bay & Mississippi Canal Company, owners of the waterpower rights on the Fox river...
...President Coolidge has appointed the representatives of great wealth to positions of power in every branch of government...
...A few months ago the oil interests had the ear of the President...
...There will be some friends, of the Mexican government who will look upon Mr...
...Should this fund fail to cover current interest charges, the difference was to be paid in certificates, maturing in twenty years after January 1, 1923, and bearing interest after January 1, 1928, at per annum...
...Such was the critical situation in late March and early April when the administration suddenly veered away from its bellicose position...
...just now the banking group is in favor...
...Kaukauna's municipally-owned and operated electric department furnishes a splendid example, a most valuable and...
...It was to total not less than $15,000,000 in the first year, with an additional $2,500,000 in each of the succeeding four years, bringing the fund up to $25,000,000...
...The controversy between this government and that of Mexico over the laws enacted concerning oil and other natural resources under the Mexican Constitution, adopted in 1917, has been long and at times seriously .endangered peace...
...It is therefore not difficult to understand why he is in favor of a strong arm policy of this government toward Mexico...
...The purchase price was met by a bond issue of $50,000, to which was added another bond issue the same year of $6,000 for needed improvements and repairs...
...Yesterday and today it may be to the economic advantage of the banking group to support the effort of the Mexican government to restore order, solve its great domestic problems and-to meet its foreign debt obligations...
...Payment of interest was resumed at that time...
...Kaukauna's municipally-owned electric department has to its credit real estate investments including the Municipal Administration Building of $206,188...
...Of these documents the New York World said editorially: 'It goes without saying that the publication of these documents would have been enormously embarrassing to the government of the United States and to the administration in particular.' The other mollifying influence on the administration was the pressure brought by the great banking interests who own large blocks of Mexican bonds, upon which the Calles government has been making regular interest payments...
...3648 H. P. in lighting...
...Rates have been lowered twice since the City assumed operation, once early in the history and in January, 1925, by order of the Railroad Commission...
...The appointment of Dwight W. Morrow, a partner of J. P. Morgan, as Ambassador to Mexico is the most flagrant avowal of domination by the international bankers which any President has ever dared to make...
...It condemns the appointment of Dwight W. Morrow, Ambassador to Mexico...
...Interest coupons payable before January 2, 1923, but which had not been met, were deposited with agents of the International Committee, who exchanged for the coupons certificates of an equivalent face value, redeemable by the Mexican government from a fund sufficient to retire them in full, over a period of forty years, beginning January 1, 1928...
...The agreement covered §508,830,-777 (U...
...President Coolidge, speaking before the United Press Association in New York, struck a comparatively conciliatory note in speaking of the Mexican situation...
...Morrow's appointment with favor because they feel that as the situation now stands he will assume a more helpful attitude than his predecessor toward the present administration in Mexico...
...January 1, 1928, when the five-year period provided in this agreement ends, will be an important date for the banking interests concerned with the Mexican debt...
...an athletic field for use of the High School in process of making, $7,909...
...This startling statement of fact by no means .tells the whole story of the value of the investment to the Kaukauna taxpayers...
...Recently Doheny sold his interests in Mexico to Standard Oil, but he guaranteed the titles to be good...
...He has scuttled the Federal Trade Commission, the Interstate Commerce Commission, the Tariff Commission by the selection of men whose training, environment, experience and personal interest put them completely out of sympathy with the purposes for which these great regulatory and investigative bodies were intended...
...Speyer & Co...
...Those bankers representing bond holdings of half a billion will have delicate and important negotiations with the Mexican government when this agreement of 1923 expires on January 1, 1928...
...The two principal companies which refused to abide by the Mexican land and petroleum laws are the Mellon interests, owned by Andrew VV...
...It was believed upon substantial grounds that the administration intended to lift the embargo on arms shipments to Mexico thus precipitating a revolution, which would give the excuse for the severance of diplomatic relations and armed intervention' by the United States in Mexico...
...In the year of 1927 the electrical plant ;which cost the citizens of Kaukauna $56,000 in 1912 is worth $404,416...
...who can say what may be the developments of the future...
...Throughout his administration President Coolidge has conducted the foreign affairs of the United States at the behest of the great exploiting interests...
...Mellon, Secretary of the Treasury, which produce 5 1/2% of Mexico's oil, and the Doheny interests which produce S6\-'i'.'o of all the oil in Mexico...
...The appointment of a scion of the House of Morgan as Ambassador to Mexico should arouse the American people to wrest control of our foi-eign policy from the great exploiting interests...
...At the same time rental of waterpower based on kilowatt hours generated by water-power( on the switchboard was increased 50%, materially affecting profits of the department and preventing further large undertakings by the municipally-owned electric department except for such improvements as are required to furnish reliable electric service that must be met as demands are made...
...In the present agreement they have exercised a large influence in the internal affairs of Mexico concerning the administration of the railroads and the export tax on petroleum...
...This affords both companies assurance of power under extreme conditions and is a valuable safeguard, as many small pumping stations now rely entirely on electric service...
...The rates charged for this service are below the average charged throughout the country...
...Failure to meet interest charges occurred during 1924-25...
...The appointment of Mr...
...the paving of streets adjacent to the Municipal Building, $10,187...
...Kaukauna's Municipally Owned Electric Dept...
...A standby connection is maintained with the Wisconsin-Michigan Power Company where current is exchanged, and in case of low water the entire load at Kaukauna is handled by them with steam plants at Appleton and Milwaukee...
...This argument does not justify...
...The distribution as shown September 1, 1927, was 9895 H. P. in motors...
...President Coolidge ha.s been the ever ready tool of the interests exploiting weaker nations...
...Training, experience, environment of years cannot be shed like a coat...
...The peace of the nation is involved...
...These banking interests feared if the Coolidge-Kellogg Mexican policy was pushed to the limit and the arms embargo lifted with its consequent revolution and chaos, their Mexican bonds would become so much waste paper...
...3408 H. P. in cooking and heating...
...J. P. Possou, very kindly gave me a statement of the essential facts of the experiment which now covers a period of more than fifteen years...
...One thing may be said, at least President Coolidge is frank in his worship of Mammon...
...c) the entire net operating revenue of these railways...
...The State Department under his administration has been further "degraded from its high service as a strong and kindly intermediary of defenseless governments to a trading outpost for those interests and concession-seekers engaged in the exploitation of weaker nations...
...It was, signed by representatives of eleven great banking institutions of this country: Thomas W. Lamont of J. P. Morgan & Co...
...concrete object lesson of what a progressive community can do for itself when willing to take the initiative and assume public responsibility...
...The House of Morgan is holder, with other bankers, of nearly half a billion of Mexican bonds, most of them acquired at thirty-five cents on the dollar...
...All sinking funds were postponed for a period not exceeding five years from January 1, 1923, ending January 1, 1928...
...Central Union Trust Co...
...The plant was purchased from the Kaukauna Gas and Electric Company...
...The banks called a halt and there is hope that their restraining hand will cause the Coolidge administration to adopt a kindlier attitude and to move more carefully in its future dealings with Mexico...
...The time has come for the American people to understand that the control of foreign affairs is of vital interest to every American citizen...
...The gross annual revenue will approximate $335,000...
...The Mexican government agreed to set aside a cash fund increasing annually over each of five years, out of which current interest falling due after January 2, 1923, was to be paid...
...The designation of Morrow establishes a precedent of appointing an interested party to a position of great power in a delicate diplomatic controversy which calls for the greatest possible freedom from bias...
...This $56,000 represents every dollar that the city of Kaukauna has invested in the plant that must be paid for in taxes...
...In 1922 Thomas W. Lamont, likewise a partner of J. P. Morgan, negotiated an agreement regarding the Mexican external debt which became effective January 1, 1923...
...Full interest charges are to be met by the Mexican government after that date, and the restrictions upon the use of the funds of the Mexican government which the agreement provided should be used for interest payments, are in general to be removed...
...It is a far cry from the administration of Theodore Roosevelt when the minions of Wall Street were received at the White House in the dead of night, to that of Calvin Coolidge who appoints a member of the Morg;^ firm Ambassador to Mexico...
...On March 22nd the anti-smuggling treaty was abrogated, facilitating the shipment of arms to Mexican revolutionists...
...The City of Kaukauna does not own the power...
...and $25,769 besides, transferred to meet part of excess cost over the bond issue for the new Fox River bridge...
...The oil investments of Americans in Mexico are tremendously large...
...Our Ambassador to Mexico or to any other country should not be a person whose attitude is primarily governed by the balance and counter-balancing of enormous financial interests...
...Guaranty Trust Co...
...They will argue that because the Mexican bond-holders in the United States have reason to hope for continued efforts on the part of the Calles government to meet its external debts, Ambassador Morrow will be sympathetic to that government...
...Several critical periods have arisen during the Coolidge administration which have seemed to be drawing the United States in the direction of armed intervention in Mexico...
...It is notorious that his titles to oil lands in Mexico are shady...
...Morrow has resigned from the Morgan firm...
...pLECTRICITY in the Home," a H most valuable and inspiring arti-cle generously contributed by Senator Norris to this issue of our Magazine, makes especially opportune a brief history of the municipally-owned electric plant of Kaukauna, Wisconsin...
...January 1, 1912...
...Some changes were made in this agreement in 1925 providing chiefly for greater separation of the government and railway debts...
...the other banks were Kuhn Loeb & Co...
...Admitting the divergent economic interest which exists at present between the exploiting oil interests on the one hand and the bond-holding banking interests on the other, there is no possible justification for the appointment as Ambassador to Mexico of a man who has a tremendous special interest in the Mexican problem...
...The risk was too great...
...This fund should absorb (a) the entire proceeds of the oil expert tax (not to be diminished during the five year period) ; (b) ten per cent of the gross revenues of the National Railways of Mexico...
...These bankers have a tremendous stake in Mexico...
...In accordance with the agreement the National Railways were early in 1926 returned to private management and to the control of a board of directors agreed upon by the Committee...
...Hallgarten & Co...
...Illinois Trust & Savings Bank...
...Certain matured notes of the railways and of the Government were extended for ten years from January 1, 1923...
...While the original investment of $56,-000 by the City of Kaukauna has been increased entirely out of the revenues of the department in the 15*,4 years of operation to $672,868, or an increase of $616,868, not a cent of which was met by taxation, at the same time rates have been reasonable and considerably below those paid by neighboring places for the same service...
...The railroad share of the total debt was $243,734,777...
...In the past year the department has built about thirty miles of rural lines at a cost of about $38,000 to service about 100 farms within a radius of twelve miles of Kaukauna...
...A connection is also made with the Wisconsin Public Service Corporation of Green Bay whereby either Kaukauna or the Green Bay Company may have mutual service from either company in case an emergency demands it...
...One was the mysterious documents taken from the American Embassy in Mexico, transmitted directly to President Coolidge, instead of publishing them to the world at large...
...In Nicaragua, Mexico and China he has pursued policies which have had but one end, one motivating purpose...
...S. money) worth of unpaid interest had accumulated since 1913...
...When I was there recently I became interested in the successful venture in public ownership made by this enterprising little city of some six thousand inhabitants...
...LA FOLLETTE'S pointed out at that time: ''Two things induced the President to modify the stand he had taken on Mexico...
...Tomorrow the situation may be reversed ; the banking group may find itself aligned with the exploiting oil and mining interests...
...Ladenburg Thalmann & Co...
...With the exception of one mill which operates entirely by waterpower, Kaukauna furnishes each and every industry, large and small, within its territory with electric service and has connected to its lines one customer for each three people within the region served...
...Morrow, Ambassador to Mexico, raises the issue as to whether or not our diplomatic service is to be turned over lock, stock and barrel to the great banking interests engaged in international finance and exploitation...
...S. money) worth of foreign-held obligations of the Mexican government and of the National Railways, upon which $200,000,000 (U...
Vol. 19 • October 1927 • No. 10
