The age-herald., 1902-03-27
Great Financier TestifGs in NOTth- ern Securities Case.
PHOTOGRAPHERS FORGED OUT
During Examination MT. Morgan Said Northern Securities Company Was Not Organized for Purpose of
 Interfering With Commerce.

New York March 26.-J. P. Morgan gave evidence today before Special Examiner Mabey, in the suit of Peter Power against the Northern Pacific Railroad Company. He was questioned for two and half hours by George Alfred Lamb of counsel for Powers, and during that time he an- swered questions rapidly and without the slightest appearance of reserve Only once or twice when questions were asked con- corning the relationship of J. P. Morgan & Company with the firms customers 1 did he decline to answer. Several times | during the hearing the fnancier seemed | amused. Once MT. Lamb asked if the price of Northern Pacific did not go above its real value while his firm was buying it in May, 1901.
 "No." said MT. Morgan, so amused that he had to stop to control himself before he answered. "It did when they came to deliver the stock, but not when they actually bought"
 After his examination MT. Morgan was conducted through several railways to Judge Wallace's private chambers whence he made his way out of the build- l ing.
 All this was necessary to get away from a number of photographers who were waiting in one of the hall ways to take the the fnancier's picture as he left the l examination room
 A number of photographers who were present to secure portraits of MT. Morgan were forced to leave the court room at MT. Morgan's request and went into the corridor.
 Replying to MT. Lamb, counsel for Pow CTS, MT. Morgan said 1t was the business | of the firm of J. P. Morgan and Com | pany to take up anything In financial line that was creditable and which might suggest itself as profitable. The firm had much to do with the reorganization of the Northern Pacific in 1896 involving about SIS, 0Oo 900. MT. Lamb questioned MT. Nor gan in regard to a transaction in which $26, ,OO0, GOO par value of Northern Pacific stock was purchased for J. J. Hill and associates in 1896. The witness said he | did not know whether all the purchasers of that block of Northern Pacific stock were Great Northern Pacific people. The witness said if the Northern Pacific want l by his house.
 Has your firm loaned the Northern Pacific money" MT. Lamb asked.
 "Yes.'
 Refuses to Answer.
 "On whose account have these loans been made"
 That won't answer. From whom 1t was gotten I will not say
 Mir. Morgan said the Northern Pacific had not been controlled by any other railroad since 1896. Since that time it's value had been steadily increased. The Great Northern to a certain extent was a competitor of the Northern Pacific
 Concerning the Burlington purchase the witness said he had made up his mind that Northern Pacific ought to have an Eastern terminal in Chicago.
 'I wanted the St Paul" said MT Nor gan, "and Hill wanted the Burlington and finally the Burlington was selected. MT. Hill made the negotiations. The price of $200 share for the Burlington I stock was made by the Burlington direc- tors"
 At the present time, Mir Morgan ex- plained, the Burlington is operated prin- cipally by other roads as any other rail- road in the country. MT. Morgan then told how he heard the Northern Pacific control was sought by other roads "I was at Ak Les Baines,' he said, "and I heard the Union Pacific had acquired the majority. I doubted it at first However, the news came to me so strong that we went into the open market and bought s15 000,000 worth of the stock We knew that such an arrangement would be sure to have the majority of the common stock"