The Houston daily post. [volume] (Houston, Tex.) 1886-1903, 1900-07-31
NOTABLE INTERVIEW WITH FINANCIER KEENFI

promoters. bankers. brokers-all peo-
pie hold them.
Do you believe in general trust
smash. so often spoken of here? he
was asked.
If YOU had to reproduce them, he re-
Piled, somewhat cautiously, you could
do il so per cent cheaper. There Is
going 10 be struggle during the next
twenty years with these trusts, just as
there has been with the railroads. The
directors have pocketed the surplus
similarly. and thousands Of millions
in securities has been added to the
general volume during the last few
years.
The effect OF this and its relation TO
the great problem of money, Mr.. Keene
presents with great force when he says;
Six hundred million dollars have
been made in the last three years, put
not 5000, 900 600 of fresh money nave
been placed in circulation. How are
you going to do it? How can business
be conducted with all those floating
securities? All nations today demand
gold Five thousand millions OF silver
for business purposes have been with
drawn. IL that money could be re-
stored Just look how you could coal
w. Look at the consequent depression
in India and in the United States OF
silver.
In the United States. to take con-
servative figure, the property of the
country from all manner OF things
which the industry and the money OF
the people have created each year in
creases by $1,000, 000,0 900. Add 10 that
the increases of England and France
and you reach $4,000, 0OO 600 Of prop
erty added each year, and added to
the already existing volume.
Now, what we want to ascertain Ia
how fast is the circulating medium
how fast S gold-increasing
Remember the supply from South
Africa has been very much curta!led
OF late but the supply OF gold is in
creasing by S4OO000,0OO per annum.
When you come to think Of the in
crease Of property by ten to fifteen
hundred millions among the people /
ask where does the money come from
to buy such property?
You understand people build up
properties that they may sell them.
When a man who has developed wild
land, fenced it in and built his farm,
wants to sell it, who is going to buy?
Where is the money, when silver is
stricken out OF its real value and its
equality with bold is destroyed?
MIR. Keene adds. in response 10 the d.
rect question. that he docs not favor re-
monetizdtion unless the other govern
ments agree And he adds significantly;
The republicans evade the issue; the
democrats do not. The republicans join
in the nonsensical cry of dishonest
money"
Mr.. Koene's comments upon the infla-
ton and manipulation of railroad stocks
and upon the management of railroad
properties were called forth by being
asked why American rails are SO low
when American fnanciers are claiming
that trade is booming with the roads and
that more freight is being offered than
they can carry. american rails are not
low; IN fact. consider them high" said
Mi keene He added that while they
might be low as compared with year
ago. this was because they were alb
normally high then Then discussing at
greater length the raj 70 ID question, he
said
There are good sound roads in the
United States. like The Chicago and
northwestern but the majority of the
railroads of the United States have
been robbed TO death by people con-
nected with them. Only in abnormal
times can American railroads be made
to pay 1t is one constant struggle
and is only achieved by the very best
management in the reduction OF work
ing expenses and so on. which enables
the payment OF dividends
The whole thing lies in this: There