The daily morning journal and courier., 1902-03-27
J.P. P.kORGAN EXAMINED Interesting Statements Re- ~ garding Big Railroad Merger and Northern
 Securities Co.
LATTER ]. ]. HILLS SCHEM t
THE PRINCIPAL PURPOSES OF THE
 ORGANIZATION.

Majority of Northern Pacific Stock Put
 Into It so That the Stock Would be In
 Safe Hands-Nothing but "Morai"
 Control Contemp ed-AIso Wished
 to Protect Stockholders If He Should
 Die or J. P. Morgan & Co. be Dissolved
 Could Not Rem em Der Exact Amount
 of Sale of Stock to y. J. Hnl Although
 1t Was S1o,o0O,00 Worth-Declares
 Such Transaction Does Not Appear
 Vcry Big to Him.
 New York, March 26.-J. Pierpont
 Morgan gave evidence to-day before
 Special Examiner Mabey in the suit of
 Peter Power against the Northern Pa
 ciffc railroad. He was questioned for
 two hours and a half by George Alfred Lamb, of counsel for Power, and during
 that time he answered questions rapidly and without the slightest appearance of reserve. Only once or twice when ques-
 tons were asked COlceflliliS the lSla-
 tionship of J. P. Morgan & Co. with the firms customers did he decline to answer,
 Before the hearing was opened MT. Morgan objected to the presence of a number of photographers and they were directed to leave the room During the examination MT Morgan leaned back heavily in his chair, his left hand thrust from time to time deeply in his trous- CTS pocket. He toyed with an envelope | impatiently now knocking it against i his knee, now against the table on which his right arm rested His eyes 1 expressed inpatience. They roamed | about in extreme restlessness while the l questions were being put to him, but | the moment he was ready to answer | they fixed themselves on MT. Lamb. Several times during the hearing the 1 financier showed amusement Once MT. ! Lamb asked if the price of Northern | Pacific did not go above it's 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 Tt did when they came to deliver the stock but not when [ they actually bought"
 At another point the witness was ask ed if Mir. Hill had not told him that there was danger that the Hartman syndicate would buy the Burlington.
 "No replied he but such a thing was only to be expected. The papers had much in them about railroad inter- ests buying roads. I believe that with ing a few days we bought every rail- road in the United States" and Mr. Morgan laughed.
 After his examination had been fin- ished MT. Morgan was conducted through several railways to Judge Wal laces private office, whence he made his way out of the building. All this was necessary to get away from a number of photographers who were waiting in one of the railways to take the fnancier's picture as he left the ex- animation room
 Mir Morgan said Union Pacific men { were put on the Burlington board in carrying out a community of interest plan They could fight among them , selves however, if they wanted to- Harmony was what was desired. There , was no special object in putting MT Gould on the board
 In further explanation of the inten- ton and purposes leading up to the : Northern Securities company MT Nor t gan seid that, as far as the placing of Y the Northern Pacific stock in that or 3 ganization was concerned, it was done ( to have the majority of the stock placed C in safe hands so as to secure q continu S alton of the policy of the road and in- e sure the moral control No other T control was contemplated, the financier | declared The project of the holding company for the Northern Pacific com t mon stock had been contemplated for a c considerable time--as far back as two ( years ago, MT, Morgan haid Mr. Hill | had approa ched him two years ago | about organizing a holding company o which would throw the Northern Pa- d cific and Great Northern interests to- t gether. q told MT, Hill we could work to- t' rether" said the witness, "but that we 0 could not form any closer alliance. as Il that was against the law" The idea of actually forming the u Northern Securities was never thought of previous to May 9, MT. Morgan said. sl MT Morgan further said that after the D experience of May g he became more g imbued with the idea Of form v ing holding company for the Northern u Pacific stock. "This was what occurred s' to me" MT Morgan continued: 'I might g die or the firm of J. P Morgan & Go. se might be dissolved, and in such an event d I wanted the Northern Pacific stock to co be in safe hands so that the stockhold- te CTS might not suffer. I did not care who went into the company as long as the Northern Pacific interests were safe IS they would be as if I held a majority R If the stock" V ''Such majority you could not have sU without MT. Hill going in with you?" to asked MT Lamb. or q could. MT. Hill did not have con- WI trol, nor did l." of l