Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-11-08
WHAT THEY ARE
TALKING ABOUT.

. =
The fight against Tamany brought to
the front many old timers. The Hart
ford Courant said in a recent issue, that
the indignation at the atrocities of Tam
Schurz much of his former force and
fire. His old friend Shepard's program
for making Tammany good by directing.
its attention to the lofty Shepardian
ideals-''by lessons in ethics and Writ
uous example," as Mr.. Shurz put IT,
fills the ex-senator with amazement
This would be equivalent" he says"
ito preaching the gospel to pack OF
wolves" Shepard tells his audiences
that he accepted the Tammany nomin-
alton out of his great love for and sense
OF duty to the democratic party. me
bands of brigands," says Carl Shurz, in
the mountains of Italy. offering prayers
Of thanksgiving to the Virgin Mary al
ter a successful loot, are as much q part
Of the Catholic church as Tammany
Hall is a part of the democratic party.
"The Reverses OF the Trusts" is the
subject of an article in the Outlook Tor
october. 1t is stated that at their divi-
dend meetings, last week, the directors
OF two great copper companies the
Amalgamated and the Anaconda,
omitted their usual extra DIVIDENDS
without any explanation to shareholders
as to the reason Of such action. HOW
ever, one reason Is not hard to fnd--the
decline in the foreign demand. especially
In that from Germany, the great devei-
oper In Europe of electrical workshops.
The copper trade and its collateral
branches have become demoralized
Fortunately for the general market, the
use Of copper. tho vastly increased py
the demands of electricity. IS not extern
siye enough to make the fall in Its price
indicate any great retrograde movement
in the commercial market as Whole
However, the dividend cuts which re-
duced the quotations on Analgamated
stock to So and of Anaconda to "a GEAR
llier in the season one was quoted at $50
and the other at 54) indicate more than
81 mere market, decline in properties con-
trolling the sources of production. The
| real reason for such a break is the ele-
ment of mystery which prevails in the
management. Such trusts are really
/ blind pools. Stockholders in them can
rot get at the real results of the trusts
business, because that business is sys-
Dramatically masked: there is no open ac-
counting. In the face of the long list OF
securities concerning which regular and
detailed statements are published 1t
seems incredible that thinking men not
| on the inside should buy the shares of
companies, no matter how eminent the
names in their management, when the
securities Of such companies represent
anything but above-board investment
Opportunities.
| Quite apart from the reduction of div
.dends by the copper trust there has re-
Gently been such a succession of adj
verse reports from industrial combira-
! lions a. to lessen popular ardor for this
| form of investments. Not many weeks
| ago the so-called wooden trust reduced
prices only to disclose the fact that the
| Independent wooden manufacturers did
not fear the combination, and claimed
| to be able to buy more cheaply, as well
as manufacture at less expense for COM
! Detent management. simultaneously
| came the drop in lnseed oil from So
| cents a gallon to SO cents, indicating
that outside competition had forced the
unusually well-established trust iE this
| field to restore prices very nearly to the
level prevailing before it's organization.
Then came the dismal report from the
| Republic steel and iron company-a
combination OF individual mills bought
at inflated prices and put upon the
market at still more inflated capital
ization-and finally second collapse for
La. hi
When President Flint, of the rubber
trust boosted a few months ago that
! the important trusts-exclusive Of the
Standard oil company-had during the
past year earned ~ per cent on the par
value of their stock and 1877 per cent on
its market value. we observed that such
profits mad often been realized In pros
porous years by individual manufacture
ers whom the next depression made
bankrupt, and that the test of the se-
curity OF trust "slNurities' was yet to
come. The recent adverse reports do
not prove that most of the trusts will
not stand the test OF hard times, but
the; do make clear, sooner than we am
ticipated, that the mere process OF
forming a trust is not OF itself guar
antee CIR substitute for competent man
agement. AS with individual enter
prises, good management and good
financiering are requisite to success.