Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-02-08
Most Weighty Factors in the Finan.
cial World, According to the
VIEWS OF MATTHEW MARSHALL.
Railroads Shelved for Awhile by the
Industrial Combines.
THE FATE OF THE SMALLER CONCERNS
ESPECIAL TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH,

FtPEClAb IELE1fShh ~ thh bisfaTCHsN
New YORK, Feb. Under the caption,
tsNew Industrial Combinations, Matthew
Marshall writes for to-morrow's Sun as fol-
lows:
The most important feature of the weeks
news except perhaps to individuals who
have made or lost money by the fluctuations
of the stock market, has been the announce
meng of a number of new aggregations OF
capital invested in industrial enterprises.
Following closely upon the vote
of the stockholders of the Amer
lean Sugar Refiners' Company to
adds S25 100000 to its old $50 900 share
issue the two great electric supply COM
panies-the Edison, OF this city, and the
Thomson Houston, OF Boston-have agreed
TO a consolidation; several of the largest
lithographing concerns in the country have
formed a business combination; the cotton
pressers and the rice cleaners of New Or
leans have Joined forces, and the National
Cordage Company reports that it has re-
Gently taken in, or is about to take in. the
remaining manufacturers OF cordage, Dag
ging and twine in the United States which
have hitherto held aloof from it.
Special attention has been called to the
DiStilers' and Cattle Feeders Trust by trans
actions of its officers in its stock, which are
not favorably viewed by those W no have lost
money by them; q big anthracite coal COM
DinatiOn is talked about and Chicago Gas
Trust certificates, though not SO prominent
in the public eye Us they were a fortn1g ght or
so ago, are still tolera5ly conspicuous.
Railroads shelved for Awhile.
Altogether, the affairs of these enterprises
Rave, for the moment, taken precedence of
those of railroa d., and their merits as money
making Instrument talities are more actively
discussed. 1t would seem that, since in the
case OF railroads aggregation earliest began,
il had also earliest ended. The force under-
living it is, indeed, as powerful as it ever WAS,
but it 1inus little lett upon which to exert it.
self All the small companies char could be
merged III greater ones have long since sue
cunlDed TO their tate, leaving the field to a
lew giants. each able to maintain itself
against its brethren, bTt none big enough TO
swallow them. The industrial companies
now in the midst of the process, and
with them it has vet some time to continue
70 repeat what have often said upon pre-
GiOus ccaSions, this formation OF companies |
with big capitals and the absorption Of them |
by smaller ones e1citeS no alarm in my |
mind. II is not the quantity of money in a |
concern that makes It formidable, but the !
degree OF intellectual ability that directs its |
a1iairs-and great ability in business is as |
rare is any other great mental or physical |
endowment. There is Il natural limit OF 4
asrOHrh to aggregate capital, resulting from |
The natural limitations of the human mind: |
Most men cannot carry on enterprises Oh |
more than certain magnitude, just as they |
cannot lift more than Il certain weight. The |
attraction OF gTavitation, tie strength of |
bone and muscle, and nutrltlye power OF |
loou COlnOlAe TO IA Ine DOullE SIZE anu |
strength OF the human race at what 1T is, ana |
emily 4 change in those constituent forces |
viii ALLOW Il Change i'll the dominant type.
Modern Advantages for Work.
Steam and electricity, it is true. enable |
men TO accomplish much more work in
finance, trade and manufacturing than they |
could a century ago, just as in ages OF
which geologists tell us, when different at
mosphere aud different food supplies e1
~l,sl I1
20 an enormous size compared TO that which |
they attain in our day. The fact to which L |
isavc already tdverted, that railroad COM
Iination has pretty nearly come to an end,
results from this law OF nature, and it will |
not tail to Vindicate itself in the of in
uu~trial enterprises. The original impetus
which they receive from their founders will
eventually cNpend Itself, ana then, like
other corporations they VIII settle down
into joc trut CT earning salaries for their Off
Gers and making moderate dividends.
= il uOJ without re1s that the pro-
meters oI these great industrial combina-
tlons solicit from the puDlic contributions of
capital ON the ground that the larger the
business they Go, the less will he the ratio
OF expenses to gross profits. This, a gen
Cri,l truth, nobody can dispute. 1t has been
lll.>tra teQ over and over again IN CONNER |
cial history. and many an immense fortune
remains to hear witness TO If. Still, against
lhis advantage must be offset the tendency |
OF all concerns nOt managed exclusively for |
The benefit of tie managers to avoid taking
risks, and to adhere to Stereotyped prece-
cents. This eventually brings their divi-
Genas down 10 an amount far less than that
earned by private persons in the same line.
and to point just enough above the rate of
interest on borrowed money 70 compensate
Ior the additional risk at ending them. This
has been the experience of investors in rail-
ROAD stocks, and il Will be that of those who
buy the industrials.
Tho Gre Thing Now Lacking.
For the present, however, investments in
Industrial comma mics are WELDING hand |