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The Commoner.
W-ILUAil J. BRYAN, EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
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Vol. 3. No. 35.
Lincoln, Nebraska,-Sept. 19, 1903.
Whole No. 87.
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BANKING MERGER
The United States Banking corporation, with
a capital of six millions and headquarters in Now
York, is inviting subscription to its stock and in
doing so gives an outline of 'its plan of operations.
According to tho prospectus it is the present in
tention of tho corporation to "organize a trust
company in forty cities." It will be possible, it
adds, "to extend the operation of the United
States Banking corporation to more than one hun
dred cities and towns of importance whenever it
is deemed desirable." The corporation will "ac
quire existing trust companies by purchasing a
controlling interest" unless it finds it more profit
able to organize a new company.
A reader of Tho Commoner sends the pros
pectus in, and asks if it is the first fruit of tho
scheme embodied in tho Fowler bill. No; the
Fowler bill has not yet become a law, and when
it does become a law its adoption will be signaled
by the formation of a national bank trust, built
upon tho plan followed by tho United States Bank,
which, after a tremendous struggle, was over
thrown in the days of Jackson.
The Bankers' corporation above referred tois
more like the "merger" companies which are or
ganized for the purpose of controlling other cor
porations. The plan Is a very simple one. A
group of financiers, in order to control a corpora
tion having a capital of one million, must own
more than half of the stock, or a little more than
$500,000 worth. To control ten corporations hav
ing a capital of a million each would, therefore, re
quire a little more than five million dollars (if tho
stock was at par). A merger company, however,
can be organized with a capital of a .little more
than five millions, and this merger company can
then control a majority of the stock in each of the
ten corporations, but the group of financiers desir
ing to manipulate these corporations would only
have to control a little more than half of the capi
tal stock of the merger company that is, a little
more than two millions and a half. It will thus bo
scon that a corporation organized to purchase
stock in other corporations is merely an indirect
method of doubling the influence of a given amount
of capital, U ten merger companies were organized
to control ten corporations each, and then a new
merger company was organized to control a ma
jority of the stock of the ten, the influence of a
given amount of capital could be doubled again,
and so on indefinitely.
It seems necessary for the evils of this system
of financiering to be shown by actual experience.
It is difficult to ward off danger because so many
people are indifferent to the operation of a vicious
principle until they are actually hurt by it But
while the public cannot easily be aroused in ad
vance, it is always quick to respond when it feels
the effect of bad principles put into practice and,
In time, applies a remedy. If there were moro
foresight there would bo less suffering.
JJJ
Statesmanship vs. Money.
The senatorial campaign in Missouri admir
ably presents tho contrast between democratic and
republican methods. Ex-Governor Stone is the
democratic candidate and Richard Kerens tho re
publican candidate. The former, as chief executive
of the state and as a member of congress, became
acquainted with the state's needs and with na
tional issues; the latter is acquainted with machine
politics and with the state's corporate Interests.
The former has made a study of government and
of public questions; the latter has been- occupied
with schemes for making money. While Governor
Stone has been studying legislation with a view
to protecting tiie rights and promoting the wel
fare of the people generally, Mr. Kerens has been
taking advantage of governmental favoritism to
rdd to his private fortune. Which of the two would
best represent the great state of Missouri in the
senate chamber? .!.
Governor Stone goes among the voters, point
ing out the evils ,tp be feared and suggesting the
romedics to be applied; Mr. Kerens relies upon a
largo campaign fund to carry a few close counties.
Governor Stone appeals to tho conscience and in
telligence of tho people and, If elected, will bo un
der obligation to tho people and to them alone;
Mr. Kerens relies upon his money and the party
machinery and, if elected, will bo under obligation
to tho machino and to himself.
If tho voters were as alert as they should bo to
tho encroachments of organized wealth it would
be impossible for a candidate liko Mr. Kerens to
steal a march on the public, but because so many
blindly follow the party leaders and support any
person or anything bearing tho party brand It Is
necessary for democrats to talk to their neighbors
and call attention to the situation.
In some states the corporations have carried
democrats away on election day, and they try it In
Missouri. Each democrat is told that one vote
would not change the result and some yield to tho
temptation to take a free trip. No one can afford
to make such a bargain. The railroads will not
give passes for nothing and an honest man oufcht
to ?et a pass bribe as vigorously as he , would
a money bnoe. Let every democrat bo at the polls
and see that the full vote of the party in his pre
cinct is cast Let every democrat endeavor to
make !a convert and thus give Stone an over
whelming majority. .,..
Mr. Kerens is an affable and genial gentleman,
but the thought of his going to the senate and
Wiling Senator Cookrill's vote for six years will
not be tolerated by the Missouri democracy-and
thousands of republicans will join with tho demo
crats in protesting.
JJJ
What, M6re Moneyl
At this time when tho advocates of tho singlo
gold standard are assuring us that tho money
question is dead, it is interesting to observe the
efforts on the part of the secretary of tho treasury
to avoid a money famine.
Recently it was announced from Washington
that Mr. Shaw had a plan "to relieve the money
market in the event of a possible stringency."
His plan was to persuade the national bankers to
increase their issue of bank notes. Mr. Shaw evi
dently found some difficulty in accomplishing the
desired result, but recent dispatches announce that
he is congratulating himself on the fact that ho
has persuaded certain national banks to take out
notes aggregating $12,000,000.
In his now famous interview, printed in the
Chicago Record-Herald, Mr. Shaw protested
against any agitation of the tariff question. He
pointed out that all the money of the country
was locked up in water-cured concerns, and he
said he didn't want anything to happen. Some
thing certainly would happen In the event of an
agitation for a radical revision of the tariff under
conditions which he described in a way to show
that there is not even today money enough with
which to do the business of the country.
Commenting upon Secretary Shaw's plan to
relieve the money market, 4the Columbus (O.)
Press makes this pertinent comment:
"Bank notes are predicated on bonds,
which are an interest-bearing burden upon
the people. If the quantitative theory of
money is the solution for financial stringen
cies why cannot the same relief be obtained
by opening the mints for the manufacture of
non-Interest bearing money instead of start
ing the printing presses to stamp moro mort
gage currency for the people to use in their
business dealings? Why not open the mints
that will open the mines for tho production
' of 'one of our coins of commerce, one of our
own products,' as McKlnley said at Toledo
ten years ago?
"Open mines and open mints mean more
employment, more machinery, more manufac
ture, more business and more money. Open
mines and open mints will adjust finances on
the quantitative plan in the event of financial
stringency.
"And still the fiction goes the rounds that
'the money question is settled' and some
democrats are foolish enough to believe it"
TRUSTS-A REMEDY
Attention has already been called to tho presi
dent's utterances on tho trust question and It has
been shown that he has no romedy that deserves
to bo considered. That other republican leaders
nro in tho same condition is evident from two
speeches recently delivered, ono by Sonator Dolll
ver, tho leader of western republicans, and tho
other by Sonator Lodgo, tho leading eastern re
publican. Senator Dolllver's principal remedy was,
"Walt until natural laws assert themselves." Ho
predicted that all of tho great trusts of today
would dio a natural death within five years and
advised patience. Tho insufficiency of such a rem
edy is plainly apparont It is only a restatement
of the argument of a Chicago banker, who said:
"In tho long run tho trusts can do no harm." But
supposo a man is short-winded and cannot stand
a long run, what then? It Is no consolation to a
man who has been driven Into bankruptcy by a
trust to tell him that tho trust cannot Hvo moro
than fivo years. It Is no relief to tho public to
promise that tho era of extortion for any ono
trust will not lost more than fivo years. If trusts
are allowed to exist iho dissolution of ono trust
will bo followed by tho formation of another and
tho interim ci relief will be short compared with
tho duration of tho period of Injustice. Sonator
Dolliver suggested publicity, but ho spent so much
tlmo trying to show that tho trusts were not as
black as they are painted and that they could not
last very long, that ho could not spare much time
for the discussion of a remedy.
Sonator Lodge's speech on',tho trust 'question
was oven weaker than Senator Dolllver's. Below
will bo found an extract from tho press report of
bis Portland (Mo.) speech:
Portland, Me., Sept G. Tho state cam
paign was ended tonight by tho republicans
with a big rally, at which Sonator Henry Cabot
Lodgo of Massachusetts was tho principal
speaker. He gave his attention to tho trust
question. He said that the subject most in
the minds of mon was that of trusts and that
the president had recently said some strong,
wise words upon tho subject Senator Lodgo
said that the president was not at liberty, as
ho was, to discuss It from a party stand
point He-described the trust in a technical way
and said that to 95 per cent of them there
was not the least objection. To undertake
to destroy them by rash legislation, ho said,
-would bring on at the present time the most
disastrous business panic that could bo im
agined. Ho said that undoubtedly tho great
combinations present certain dangers and cer
tain evils and that at present the difficulty
was in distinguishing among tho corporations.
He had been asked, "What are tho evils of
tho trust?" and ho had replied that they can
easily be enumerated. First and more serious
Is that there Is a great popular suspicion about
them. Somewhere there ought to be soma
means of a state controlling what it create.
Ho said this was an evil, because under this
government he did not believe that anything a
creature of tho government should be beyond
the government's control. There had been
many schemes proposed to solve the trust
question, and chief of thoso was legislation
Reckless legislation wouldi bo destructive to
property. Another solution proposed is that
of sweeping away the tariff duties on article!
that a trust makes. Ho said that sounds easy
and would be punative, no doubt Tho most
it could do would be to reduce profit Some
trusts would Buffer, and Senator Lodge said
that he would like to see the meat trust pun
ished that way.
The steel trust, he said, is organized to
compete in every market of the world, while
many other companies having been built up
under a protective tariff would be dealt a death
blow should the tariff bo removed. You may
reduce the profits of the steel trust, but yoa
v