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Amsterdam, chairman of the Board of International Acceptance Bank,
and numerous other banks, railways and corporations. "Kuhn Loeb &
Co. with Warburg have four votes or the majority of the Federal
Reserve Board."29
Despite his retirement from Kuhn, Loeb Company in May of 1914 to
serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, Warburg was asked
to appear before a Senate Subcommittee in June of 1914 and answer
some questions about his behind-the-scenes role in getting the Federal
Reserve Act through Congress. This might have meant some questions
about the secret conference in Jekyll Island, and Warburg refused to
appear. On July 7, 1914 he wrote a letter to G.M. Hitchcock, Chairman
of the Senate Banking and Currency Committee, stating that it might
impair his usefulness on the Board if he were required to answer any
questions, and that he would therefore withdraw his name. It seemed
that Warburg was prepared to bluff the Senate Committee into
confirming him without any questions asked. On July 10, 1914, The New
York Times defended Warburg on the editorial page and denounced
the "Senatorial Inquisition". Since Warburg had not yet been asked any
questions, the term "Inquisition" seemed remarkably inappropriate, nor
was there any real danger that the Senators were preparing to use
instruments of torture on Mr. Warburg. The imbroglio was resolved when
the Senate Committee, in abject surrender, agreed that Mr. Warburg
would be given a list of questions in advance of his appearance so
that he could go over them, and that he could be excused from
answering any questions which might tend to impair his service on the
Board of Governors. The Nation reported on July 23, 1914 that "Mr.
Warburg finally had a conference with Senator O’Gorman and
agreed to meet the members of the Senate Subcommittee informally,