Arsène Pujo
Encyclopedia
Arsène Paulin Pujo was a member of the United States House of Representatives
best known for chairing the "Pujo Committee
", which sought to expose an anticompetitive conspiracy among some of the nation's most powerful financial interests.
, and was elected as a Democrat in 1903. In 1908, he became a member of the National Monetary Commission
, a body which sought to study foreign banking systems in search of ways to better the domestic banking system. In 1911, he was appointed to chair the House Committee on Banking and Currency. In 1912, he left the National Monetary Commission and obtained congressional authorization to form a separate committee, which came to be called the Pujo Committee
, to investigate the "money trust
".
The Pujo Committee found that a cabal of financial leaders were abusing their public trust to consolidate control over many industries. Although Pujo left Congress in 1913, the findings of the committee inspired public support for ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913, passage of the Federal Reserve Act
that same year, and passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act
in 1914. They were also widely publicized in the Louis Brandeis
book, Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It
.
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
best known for chairing the "Pujo Committee
Pujo Committee
The Pujo Committee was a United States congressional subcommittee which was formed between May 1912 and January 1913 to investigate the so-called "money trust", a community of Wall Street bankers and financiers that exerted powerful control over the nation's finances. After a resolution introduced...
", which sought to expose an anticompetitive conspiracy among some of the nation's most powerful financial interests.
Biography
Pujo practiced law in LouisianaLouisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, and was elected as a Democrat in 1903. In 1908, he became a member of the National Monetary Commission
National Monetary Commission
National Monetary Commission was a study group created by the Aldrich Vreeland Act of 1908. After the Panic of 1907 American bankers turned to Europe for ideas on how to operate a central bank. Senator Nelson Aldrich, Republican leader of the Senate, personally led a team of experts to major...
, a body which sought to study foreign banking systems in search of ways to better the domestic banking system. In 1911, he was appointed to chair the House Committee on Banking and Currency. In 1912, he left the National Monetary Commission and obtained congressional authorization to form a separate committee, which came to be called the Pujo Committee
Pujo Committee
The Pujo Committee was a United States congressional subcommittee which was formed between May 1912 and January 1913 to investigate the so-called "money trust", a community of Wall Street bankers and financiers that exerted powerful control over the nation's finances. After a resolution introduced...
, to investigate the "money trust
Money Trust
The main belief behind the concept of a money trust is that control of the majority of the world's financial wealth and political power could be controlled by a powerful few.-Pujo Committee:...
".
The Pujo Committee found that a cabal of financial leaders were abusing their public trust to consolidate control over many industries. Although Pujo left Congress in 1913, the findings of the committee inspired public support for ratification of the Sixteenth Amendment in 1913, passage of the Federal Reserve Act
Federal Reserve Act
The Federal Reserve Act is an Act of Congress that created and set up the Federal Reserve System, the central banking system of the United States of America, and granted it the legal authority to issue Federal Reserve Notes and Federal Reserve Bank Notes as legal tender...
that same year, and passage of the Clayton Antitrust Act
Clayton Antitrust Act
The Clayton Antitrust Act of 1914 , was enacted in the United States to add further substance to the U.S. antitrust law regime by seeking to prevent anticompetitive practices in their incipiency. That regime started with the Sherman Antitrust Act of 1890, the first Federal law outlawing practices...
in 1914. They were also widely publicized in the Louis Brandeis
Louis Brandeis
Louis Dembitz Brandeis ; November 13, 1856 – October 5, 1941) was an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States from 1916 to 1939.He was born in Louisville, Kentucky, to Jewish immigrant parents who raised him in a secular mode...
book, Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It
Other People's Money and How the Bankers Use It
Other People's Money And How the Bankers Use It is a collection of essays written by Louis Brandeis first published as a book in 1914, and reissued in 1933.-Contents:...
.