The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-04-16
ANGRY OVER THE ANTI-MERGER
DECISION.

DECISION.
In Wall street and the circles which can
be Influenced by Wall street there is an
cutlery against the decision in the matter
of the Northern Securities Company, all
OF which is alluded to as the merger case.
1t is claimed that the decision has serious
ly affected the stock market, which is
equally true of any sort of rumor. Stock
exchanges and grain pits are filled with
men who seem TO believe canards which
sane men outside that unnatural at
mosphere would ridicule Stocks are a
speculative quantity, and their ups and
downs depend upon influential manipula-
ton, the condition of the money market
and other artificial influences. Wall-street
papers and wall-street orators give out
that there will be trouble all along the
line of railroads because of this decision.
which Is simply a declaration that 1t Is In
violation Of law and against public policy
for company chartered in a distant
State to acquire control of all the COM
peting railroads in several States. II the
decision means more than that it Is that
two or three syndicates will not be per-
mitted to control all the railroads in the
country and thus be in a position to OPP
press the people through their monopoly.
Some of the papers which have criticised
the decision and deplored its influence say
Ii will result in throat-cutting competition
and general railroad war. This is not
complimentary reputation which such
friends give to the merger-making mag
mates. The same men own the roads under
the merger who owned them before that
device was discovered. They will contine
to hold them. Therefore. those who say
that the merger is necessary to prevent
railroad wars and rate-cutting practically
assert that IL these magnates are not per-
mitted to create a monopoly they will turn
and rend each other. Speculative values
i'm stocks may have shrunk SIG, 100000 Mon
day. They shrank because the value to
earn dividends is not in them. The stocks
of the three railroads concerned in the mer-
ger, however, are higher now than when
it was formed. No decision can wipe out
those great properties. The prospects of
an immense wheat crop will do more to
sustain values in railroad stocks than a
merger.
One of the most remarkable protests
against the merger decision comes from
Mr.. Henry Loomis Nelson, a Cleveland
Democrat. rather inclined to mugwumpism.
In a two-column article in the Boston
Herald Mr.. Nelson raves against the de-
he says, the decision of judges who ignore
the law and follow the election returns.
In his indignation Mr.. Nelson declares
that If two railroad companies cannot
unite to operate their roads then two ex-
pressmen, doing business in two States,
cannot legally continue their business. In
his anger Mr.. Nelson regards this as an
argument, but men with a small part of
his intellectual capacity regard 1t as the
sheerest nonsense to which the term rot"
can be applied. The railroad merger is
intended to effect combination of rail-
European empires and to control all the
traffic and make anything like competition
impossible. The merger practically mo-
nopolzes the interests of several million
people so far as they can be affected by
transportation. 1t creates vast power
to influence legislation by Hobbies, and, IL
necessary. with money. On the other hand,
the two expressmen by uniting may raise
the price of carrying parcels between two
or three towns. They are not incorpor-
ated, and whatever they may do cannot
affect the cost of transportation over
wide area. If the two expressmen become
exorbitant in their demands, capital of
$500 would establish competitor. Mr..
Nelson. in his frenzy. declares further that
If the law shall say how many railroads
man may own, 1.-The law may hereafter
prohibit to the individual more than
certain percentage of butchers meat, or of
fresh vegetables, or of any other article of
food which enters into consumption" This
is not argument. but very weak nonsense
Attention has been called particularly to
Mr. Nelson's vaporings because from his
past professions as an anti-monopolist he
might be expected TO stand by the people
| against the movement to bring all the rail-
roads under the control of mergers, which,
| to the mass of people, would be dangerous
in the extreme. Moreover. he is quoted
as showing to what groveling demagogy
an able man is driven In order to assail
the decision against the merger. 1t may
not be out of place to remark that Mr.
| Nelson believes in the reorganization of
the Democratic party according to the
| Eagle.