The herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1893-1900, 1897-07-20

parently inevitable.
Rockefeller has now an income greater
than any other one man in the world.
His tastes are quite simple, as those OF
a good, sound Baptist should be, and his
early lessons in economy doubtless pre-
vent his family expenses running over
a modest half million or so annually. He
is generous to his church and gives
money to the Chicago university, but
both these institutions are now on pretty
firm financial legs, thanks to him. 50
that if we add another half million for
his donations to charity, we probably
are allowing a sum for family and other
expenses far in excess Of the actual
amount.
Now. his income is at least 100000 900,
and probably considerably more.s His
holdings in Standard oil stock bring III
this much without our looking for fur
ther items. This makes his surplus in
come over expenses of living at least
$14.oOo,ooo. That is, he spends" mil
lion every year and has fourteen mil
lions to save"
Here, then, is a large surplus income
every year seeking investment. His
brother William and his partner Flag
Ter and two or three other associates
who operate with him, have all together
as much if not more than he has him
self. The joint surplus Of all is prob
ably 10000, 900 annually, or, say. one
hundred millions every three years.
1t is only recently. that Rockefeller
ousted Carnegie from control of the iron
and steel industry. He has acquired
control recently of the tran sportation
interests on the Great Lakes, and it is
rumored that he is heavily interested in
the Yerkes syndicate that is onsolidat-
ing the street car companies of the coun-
try. The immense surplus income of the
Rockefellers must be saved" some way
or other, and what is more natural than
that they should now be casting longing
and envious eyes at Havemeyer's hold
ings in the sugar trust? There is no more
room for the investment of fresh capital
in oil refining-too much in it already;
that is the very reason that led to the
formation of the trust. They are forced
to look outside for investment. They
gobble up Mr. Carnegie; they are licking
their chops preparatory to swallowing
that sweetest of the sweet in every
sense, the sugar business Of the country.
Now, nobody is sorry for Carnegie, nor
will any tears be shed over Havemeyer's
financial extinction, and the country is
Just as we'll off with Rockefeller in sole
control of the industries of iron, sugar
and oil as If 1t had a triumvirate. The
point Of interest, however, is, What is
the grand finale?" A big capitalist like
Rockefeller is totally different from any
other production in nature. in that there
is absolutely no limit to his growth. The
young boa constructor swallows rabbits
at first and grows up to the dignity Of
pigs and then oxen; but there Is such
thing as his reaching maximum
growth and having maximum demand.
and, besides, he finally dies. The Rookie
Teller Frankenstein is not only inea tia
BILE, but every time. he makes a meal off
one industrial plant he becomes that
much bigger and has correspondingly
increased appetite. The older he gets
the larger he grows, and in the sense
that the, richer he is the@less danger there
is of financial death, we may add the
paradox that the older he lives the
younger he becomes. A few years ago
he felt he had had square
meal when he had swallowed
an oil refinery or two; now the
Carnegie business Is snapped up as a
little after dinner trifle hardly to be
considered and in no way diminishing
his appetite for breakfast provided by
Havemeyers financial "long pig
In the early days of the formation of
trusts" there was a swarm of small
capitalists, who as they were swept into
the net of the Rockefeller class, raised
a terrific yowl about the iniquity of
trusts. There were good many of
them and they made quite noise, and
congress got very much stirred up over
the matter, passing numerous antitrust
! laws. These small fellows are now finap-
cially dead and never whimper from
their graves. They know that no power
on earth can resuscitate them. While.
| they were dying, however, they were in
| such numbers and had so many friends
that the public at large were greatly ex-
cited That's all over now. The boa
constructor is over the rabbit stage.
| There is no small game left, ard, be-
sides, he has grown up to the oxen size.
Rockefeller may have excited public
animosity during the years he was
wading through the financial gore of
the small oil refiners to his throne at
the head OF the oil trust. but now, when
he is devoting himself to the extermina-
ton of other economic Titans, the Car
nagies and Havemeyers, who, too, have
past history as unpopular as his own,
he need have no fear of public sentiment
again being aroused against him.
A Nemesis however, awaits the
mighty hunter. When our financial
Nimrod has bagged everything in sight,
Uncle Sam will bag him. Uncle Sam
r,,,ct n will he bo good hin,