The Coeur d'Alene press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1892-1907, 1903-04-25
MODERN MERGERS ARE PAST
UNDER PRESENT LAWS IT 10 IDLE
WORK TO ORGANIZE.
Financial Leaders Are Devotins Their
Time Finding = Way Out Of Their
piIemma-It Is Believed That North
srn Securities Company VIII Lose
in Higher Court.

New York, April 22.-A gentleman
close TO J. Pierpont Morgan has ad-
mitted that the combination era lie
practically over. that with possible
suits confronting various mergers
which have already been put through,
and threatening 10 undo some Of the
great industrial mergers, IL was idle
70 organize any more. He said the
attention Of the financial leaders dur.
ing the last week had been devoted
to finding thei- way out Of bad job
In hope Of saving, as far as possible,
what had already been accomplished
and keeping together the equities In
volyed. But as for the future. no more
are TO be undertaken. at least not un,
less some new legislation is passed
which win protect such transactions.
Nothing OF this kind is thought pos
sible.
As for the Northern Securities
merger, il is assumed thai ii viii be
finally knocked out by the United
States supreme court Some sort Of
trusteeship Wilbbe devised TO save the
pieces Of this combination. They Will
have 20 do something. since il would
be manifestly impossible 10 return the
equities and dividends 20 the proper
persons. One shareholder might de
mand Great Northern and another
Northern Pacific, and there would be
too little Of one or too much Of the
other required A trusteeship will
solve the problem. That is. the Grea;
Northern stock controlled by Northern
Securities may be held so that the
combination viii in a sense be kept
together. in which event present share
holders would get a pnoportionate
amount OF those of each subsidiary
company, the management being con
trolled by the same group Of men. This
would violate the law in spirit, but
IL is thought. the scheme could not b.
upset.
Community Of Ownership.
Although no new mergers are to b.
put through. the highest authorities
said that the benefits Of community o.
Ownership would remain. They regard
ed IL as certain that there would b.
no more rate wars. such as devastated
the resources OF the railroads q few
years ago. The benefits derived from
cooperation have been strikingly i
Illustrated by the Northern Securities
group. The earnings OF the Grea'
Northern. Northern Pacific ana Bur
lington last year increased IL per cent
compared with the previous year. OF
hcials Of those companies said thai
undoubtedly 50 per cent Of the in
crease was directly due TO the fact
that the Burlington was controlled By
the Great Northern and Northern Pa
cidc and Aa were run in close har
mony. instead OF trying to iniure one
another as much as possible. The
benefits OF cooperation have been toe
striking, they declare. for them &
throw away the lessons which have
been learned. There win andoubted
~ be close cooperation between finan
cial heads OF corporations in future
whatever may be the fate Of existing
mergers. They will md some way
SO that each may get the greatest ne
results. as they are doing At present
A parallel was drawn with the gloon
OF railroad officials when the decision
Of the supreme court in the transmits
souri, case pronounced all trafic asso
Citations Illegal and compelled them e
disband. Serious rate wars were pre-
dicted, but nothing Of the kind &C
CURED. The railroads went abou
their business as Reconsideration
even did better.