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MONEY TRUST I INVESTIGATION INVESTIGATION OF FINANCIAL AND MONETARY CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES UNDER HOUSE RESOLUTIONS NOS. 439 AND 504 BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY PART 27 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PBINTING OITIOE 1M3 SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. AR8ENE P. PUJO, Louisiana, Chairman. WILLIAM Q. BROWN, West Virginia. GEORGE A. NEELEY, Kansas. ROBER-T t . DOUOHTON, North Carolina. HENRY McMORKAN, Michigan. HBBERT D. STEPHENS, Mississippi. EVEKIS A. HAYES, California. JAMES A. DAUGHEBTY, Missouri. FRANK E. GUERNSEY, Maine. JAMEB F. BYRNES, South Carolina. WILLIAM H. HEALD, Delaware. R. W. FONTINOT, Clerk. A. M. MCDEEMOTT, Assistant Clerk. MONET TRUST EXAMINATION. SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE COMMITTEE ON BANKING AND CURRENCY, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, Jekyl Island, Get., Friday, February 7,1913. Present: Mr. Pujo (chairman) and Samuel Untermyer, Esq.. counsel for the committee. Present also: John A. Garver, Esq., and A. J. Crovatt, Esq., counsel for Mr. Rockefeller, and Dr. Walter F. Chappell. TESTIMONY OF WILLIAM ROCKEFELLER., Mr. Rockefeller was sworn by the chairman. Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I am urgently advised and warned by my physician that this examination is attended with very serious danger on account of the precarious condition of my throat. I desire, however, to make the effort, as I have not now and never have had any disposition to avoid testifying before your committee except as I have been cautioned by my physicians tfiat doing so would endanger my life. If I find that the strain is too great for me to take further risk, I shall have to ask your indulgence in not pressing the examination further. As I have lost my voice, I would esteem it a privilege if you would permit me to whisper my answers to the official stenographer who sits beside me, and who will read them aloud. It is impossible for me to write them. Mr. UNTERMYER. Mr. Rockefeller, the chairman will expect you and your physicians to advise us if you feel at any time your condition becomes such as to render further examination inadvisable. It must be clearly understood that neither the chairman nor counsel care to or are willing to assume any responsibility whatever on such a subject. You and your physician are the best judges of the situation, and we shall have to rely upon you under the circumstances disclosed by the testimony before the committee as to your physical condition. On that understanding we will proceed with the examination. What is your residence? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. Six hundred and eighty-nine Fifth Avenue, New York City. Mr. UNTEKSIYEE. Referring to the statement just made by you, Mr. Rockefeller, it is currently reported that your health is such that you are able to play golf and indulge in sports of that sort. What is the fact as to that ? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I have never played a game of golf in my life. I try to take open-air exercise every day. That is the extent of my amusement—taking outdoor exercise. 71352—PT 2 7 - 1 3 21 -n 2142 MONEY TEUST INVESTIGATION. Mr. UNTEEMYEE. DO you recall the occasion of the organization of the Amalgamated Copper Co., in 1898 ? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I do. Mr. UNTEEMYEE. Was it in 1898? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I think it was in 1899. Dr. CHAPPELL. Mr. Chairman, I would like to take the liberty of drawing your attention to Mr. Rockefeller's condition at the present moment. He is showing some symptoms which precede these spasms of the larnyx, and I strongly urge you not to proceed, as in doing so you are certainly endangering his life at the present moment. Since my appearance before the committee in Washington a new and more serious development has occurred in Mr. Rockefeller's throat. You can see his general shaking now, and he is at this moment on the verge of a spasm of the larnyx, which might choke him. The CHAIRMAN. I will ask you to be sworn, Dr. Chappell. Do you solemnly swear that the statement you have made with reference to the present condition of Mr. Rockefeller is true and correct according to your knowledge as a physician and your judgment as an expert ? Dr. CHAPPELL. I do. Mr. UNTERMYER. Mr. Rockefeller, you have heard Dr. Chappell's statement. Do you feel in such a condition that you think it unsafe to proceed further? Mr. ROCKEFELLER. I certainly do. The CHAIRMAN. The Chair states that, in view of the declaration by Dr. Chappell, under oath, and also that of the witness, Mr. Rockefeller, besides what is manifest from the appearance and condition of the witness, no further proceedings will be had at this time. Mr. UNTERMYER. I should be unwilling to go further with the examination at this time: from what I have just heard and observed as to Mr. Rockefeller's condition. Whereupon an adjournment was taken.
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