The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-11-14
LAMBS AMONG WOLVES,
Community Of Interest Between
the Farmers and Spectators
Of Wall Street.
Tho Latter Not Antagonistic to
All the Rest Of the
World.

World.
an Fact Ono OF Theni Makes Out That
His Glass Are Marvelousiy Proper
Persons.
New ORLEANS, Oct. Is. - During the
second days proceedings Of the meet
ing Of tho American Bankers associ-
ntion, George Rutledge Gibson, banker,
paper on Wall street, In which no
dealt with the utilities and ethics
OF speculation, the stock exchange ~ an
economic factor and international NANCE.
Discussing the community Of interest be-
tween Wall street and the farmer, Mr..
Gibson said: Some demapoRuss have
sought to create the impression that there
resides in Wall street 4 moneyed interest
A%ntagonistio to all sections OF the country,
and thriving on the misfortunes Of all.
This Is 80 riEiculously false that I surely
have but to state tho facts to insure an inn
mediate denial Of such misleading nsssr-
tions.
"When a killing frost blights a farm in
the northwest, or a destructive Hood sub
merges a plantation in the south, Wall
street takes immediate motto of the fact,
and il general damage be done to either
section, all the railway and other corpor-
ate properties located therein whose shares
nre held or dealt in are Immediately denrs-
ciatsd in value. The destruction Of prop
o.@. lv Sha srraat 1hiAanO fra ~na Anti.
mated to have dspreoiatsd stock exchange
securities $780, oo, 900. On the contrary. if
crops are large and prices of farm pro-
ducts high. the values Of these properties
reflect the prosperity of the agricultural re-
Rions. 1t 10 sometimes alleged that a COR
ruption fund exists in Wall street, de-
signed to promote legislation hostile to the
country. This is palpably absurd, for
nowhere ia to be found q wider diversity of
views as to political and financial measures
than within tho purlisus Of the stock OK
change. Republicans. democrats, mug
wumps, free traders. protectionists, single
standard men, bi-mstallists, debtors and
creditors, ali shades of opinion ana senti-
ment mingle there. There are some very
rich men who arc purely creditors, and there
are some very poor msn who are purely
debtors, but there as elsewhere most
individuals belong to both classes at the
same time. The banker and the broker
keep books, with the debit side balancing
the credit side. The banker owes his de-
positor about the sum total that the bor-
rover owes the banker, and 80 II u with
the stock broker. His clients owe him and
no owes the banker. This business interest,
if it is to be paramount in determining
political opinion, keeps the Wall street man
evenly poised in mind and judicial in
character.
however, that contracts should be kept,
that property righta should be. respected,
and that honesty should rule in all the re-
lations of life, and not reputation and
chaos.
"Finally, the reflection should not be
overlooked that Wsll street can adapt itself
to changed conditions more readily than
almost any other class of business, 50 that
il has no exceptionally powerful motives to
impose any Of its ideas upon the country.
If legislation against capital and honesty
be passed. the capital will migrate as it did
from California when the hoodlum and the
sand-lot agitator exercised their baneful
sway over politics. !.
"Wall street itself is largely composed of
brokers, who act as agents for their princi-
pals, who may be n western farmer, .
southern planter, y New England manufac-
NAV 0D VIVA ~ I" ASSpA
shares of the great corporations arc widely
distributed; there are over 2 1900 stockhold-
era in the Pennsylvania road, or about one
eleventh of the total number of sharehold-
era in all the national banks of the country.
If the western farmer or the southern
planter thinks that the railroad running
through his section is making more money
than it should let him economic and in
vest his accumulation in the property and
thus become a beneficiary of its prosperity.
Az a matter OF fact, however, experience
and statistics show that the railway corpo-
rations of this country have not acquired
an undue proportion Of the reward of in
dustrial and commercial growth during the
past thirty or forty years. According to
'.Poor's Manual the total capital in
vestment in railroads in 1880 was $50. 1922
100000, the gross earnings being 1913 Fer
cent, and net earnings "a per ?
Thus over two-thirds of all the earnings
went to labor and supplies, the capital get
ting for its share less than 81 per cent,
whereas in England, where lower in
railroad capital il 40 per cent. The re-
ward of capital should be proportionate to
the risk involved, and it is manifestly Il
tyrannical abuse of Legislative authority to
limit the interest returns on the exploita-
ton of new railway or industrial enterprises
to tho rate currently received on old-estab-
lished and tested forms of investment.
The truth 10 that labor and legislation nave
been eneroaohing 80 upon railroads that II
proper charges for maintenance were made
much of the present small apparent profit
would be swallowed up. Ths western obieetor
says that the railroad has "watsred" its
stock; that its original cost Is
fully rept sssnted by its bonded in
d%ebtedness, and that the capital stock upon
which it would pay a dividend it it could,
ia all fictitious and represents no value
expended. This il trus perhaps in most
instances, but is it not equally true that
the western farmer bought his land oriRi-
nally at 8 few dollars an acre, and that its
so called 'unearnsd increment" i. O., in
crease in value, without any act of its own,
has been much greater, propoltionate to his
expenditure and riak, than that OF the rail-
road of which he complains? According
to tho census reports, the average value OF
farm land in Illinois, a typical state, se-
lacted at random. increased from $S per
acre in 1850 TO $50 per acre in 1860, and $32
per sore in 1870. Thus ii qusdrupled in
value in twenty years. Many acres of
western land now worth 800, $50 or $40 per
acre were purchased from rail DAD Rrants,
or from the state or government. twenty or
thirty years ago, at $1.25 to $3.50 per acre.
'Ths st pAul Pioneer Press prepared
statements in October, based on inquiry
and investigation in Minnesota and the two
Dakotas. tending to show thnt the farm
lands in the northwest have appreciated in
ynlue $500. GOO, 00o since the close OF the crop
ssason of 1890. The increase in valuation