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derstood Jones was connected with the Houston bank, but while he was testifying word was received from Jones himself in Washington, and from officials of the Houston bank, that the R. F. C. chairman had no connections with the Texas institution.
Firmly, and with curt answers, Wilkins gave his story of what he termed "the Wall Street plot,' in questioning by Prosecutor Harry S. Toy, before Judge Harry S. Keidan, sitting as the one-man jury, which is holding public sessions, Wilkin, who remained on the stand all day, charged that the assets of the Second National Bank of Saginaw were under-valued by federal bank examiners, and charged it was for the pupose of cooperating with "fellows who wanted the bank back at a price which was not equitable." Most of Saginaw bank's stock was held by the Guardian group. The bank finally was purchased by R. Perry Shorts, director of the new National Bank of Detroit, and a group of associates, Wilkin saying the price was $400,000. He said their first offer was $140,000, and, after the group went into ership, they reduced the offer to $54,000. The bank's receiver, however, held out for $500,000 and finally accepted $400,000. Wilkin testified. Discussing trip to Washington, in which he conferred with G. Awalt, then comptroller of the currency, Wilkin said Awalt told him: "We've been too easy on you birds all over the country. Now, going to be tough." "Did they get tough in any place except Michigan," asked Judge Keidan. "I can't find any other place," he said. "But they were tough here "Yes, sir, plenty tough," said Mayor Frank Couzens, son of Senator and Mrs. Couzens, said this afternoon that "Mr. Wilkin's testimony, if it has been reported to me correctly, reveals that he is in possession of only a part of the facts." Senator Couzens in London as a delegate to the world economic conference and Mrs. Couzens is with him. "Certainly," Mayor Couzens continued, "no funds were transferred from the National Bank of Commerce or any other bank with any knowledge that a banking holiday would take place." He said that while his father's family was living in Washington, "the Detroit Trust Company was used to collect monies from coupons and each month the collected funds were transferred through the National Bank of Commerce to the Riggs National Bank in Washington. This had been the custom over a period of several years." The mayor added that "I certainly do not know what was behind his (Wilkin's) statement."
BRITAIN IS BEING PRESSED BY FRANCE
(Continued From Page One.) LONDON, June 26. France is bringing tremendous pressure on Great Britain to hitch the pound sterling to the franc, it was learned on high authority tonight, in an effort to form stabilized currency bloc with the dollar excluded. The French were laboring to prevent Holland and Switzerland from leaving the gold standard as an international ring of exchange bear operators were blamed in gold bloc quarters for today's heavy fall in the guilder from 8.46½ to 8.58 Dutch guilders to the pound. Such a stabilization, the high authority said, would mean direct opposition to the apparent American plan to induce the world to accept President Roosevelt's price-raising program which the gold bloc believes would mean depreciation of their currency. The speech of Senator James Couzens, of Michigan, before the world economic conference today was interpreted by the gold bloc as an announcement of the intention of Raymond Moley, assistant United States secretary of state, who will arrive tomorrow, to ask Europe "to move in concert with the United States." The French worked persistently today to set up an European stabilized currency group, it was said, about which Scandinavian satellites of sterling could find a haven. The British answer to the French move has not yet been made, it was learned. The British, it was said, were hesitating to peg sterling until they are certain the rise of prices in America will be sufficient to offset the dollar's depreciation. If prices fail to rise high enough to prevent American dollars selling too cheaply in world markets, the British, it was declared, were unwilling to fix the pound at definite point. "The French plan would settle the franc and sterling rate at the present level," the high banking authority asserted, "and it would mean the de facto stabilization of the pound on gold. "The sterling has not fluctuated widely recently in relation to the franc, and the French scheme would, therefore, be freezing the existing ratio. The French idea is to let the dollar run loose by ignoring it, as sterling was ignored shortly after Great Britain left gold.' The French believe Europe should go ahead and stabilize despite America's refusal to peg the dollar momentarily. Bankers at the world economic conference said discussions on monetary policy with several out-and-out partisans of inflation tended to shake confidence of the currencies still on gold. Dutch delegates, among them President Tripp of the Netherlands Bank, said that with 67 per cent gold coverage Holland could withstand asaults of the speculators as long as the Dutch themselves keep confidence. Swiss fears of depreciation were expressed to the Associated Press by President Bachmann of the National Bank, who declared: "Our financial authorities and the public in general are opposed to monetary tampering because they know currency depreciation is just palliative which brings a lower standard of life and a general loss of savings." Feeling against "the internaitional speculative ring" ran high among the gold bloc delegates. The president of one national bank said, "I would like to hang the entire ring."
LONDON, June 26. (P)-Senator James Couzens, American delegate, said today it was time the world economic conference made a concrete move to relieve debtors, raise prices and increase the demand for raw materials. Both the Michigan Senator and Neville Chamberlain, British Chancellor of the Exchequer, urged negotiations between debtors and creditors, in speeches before a monetary sub-commission. The conference appeared to be hitting its stride at the start of the third week with pronounced progress toward international COoperation to rehabilitate wheat and silver. Australian adherence to the American wheat acreage restriction plan, along with Canada and Argentina, the other big exporters, appeared nearer tonight after conference between Henry L. Morgenthau, Sr., American representative, and Stanley M. Bruce, of Australia. India, world's largest holder of silver, indicated adherence to the American silver rehabilitation plan. China, Mexico and South American countries are backing the Americans and Canada is the only other big producer to be heard from. Delegates from the gold standard
