Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1903-05-15
MORGAN ON PROSPERITY.
Says: "Our Prosperity Is Solid, Not
F~ictitious-It Will Stand A Long Time.

rlCtltlous--lt VIII Stano "A Long lime.
Walter Wellman in a New York
special to the Chicago Record-Herald
says:
"The present prosperity of the
United States will continue for several
years. I see no clouds upon the hori
zon. our.prosperity is solid, not
fictitious. It will stand a long time.
Thus spoke J. Pierpont Morgan to
the writer. 1t was shortly before Mr..
Morgan sailed for Europe. Now a
curious thing has happened. Coin
cidently with Mr.. Morgan's appear,
ance in London the Britlshers are be-
ginning to take a more cheerful view
of Americas future. They, are
actually buying our stocks again.
Evidently Mr.. Morgan is a prophet to
whom is accorded honor in many
countries.
For a long time European bankers
and %6nanciers have had a. hobby. 1t
was that America was soon to go to
smash. Nothing could convince them
to the contrary. We were going too
fast a pace. We were wild eating.
The result was inevitable. Sooner or
later we must pull up with a dull
thud. And land all in a heap. AS
Mr.. Vanderlip said to-day, Germany
and France have for two years been
awaiting u downfall. For a year
England has been doing the same
thing. Month after month they have
been looking for the crash and month
after month wondering why it did not
come.
Now Mr.. Morgan goes to London
and Immediately London begins to
change its time. For a year or two
English and continental philosophers
and spectators have been bears on
America, predicting all manner Of
trouble and incidentally selling a few
of our stocks. This is one reason why
the boom in Wall street has been post
poned from time to time. Every ad-
vance was weighted down with
foreign selling. That London should
now begin to take a brighter view IF
our future is regarded as significant.
Perhaps in time even the Germans and
. the Frenchmen will become less ressi-
mistic and admit with Mr.. Morgan
that America prosperity is founded on
the rock of actuality and not upon the
sands of speculation and imitation.
! One Of the most difficult tasks in the
world is to convince a man that he is
a bad prophet. He always calls time
to his aid and takes refuge in a shake
of the head and his oft-used remark
"Well just you watt If the Euro
: pean prophets of American trouble
wait long enough of course they will
I be vlndicated. But from present in
: dications they will have to wait a
long time.
what is the outlook for a long
continuation Of the remarkable pros
perity which this country has enjoyed
for four or five years 2"
, For answer to this most interesting
, question l have consulted a number Of
leading men in New York finance,
= among them George w. Perkins, the
remarkable young man from Chicago,
who is at the head of the Morgan
house in the absence of his chief; tx.
Secretary Of the Treasury Lyman J.
Gage, president of the United States
Trust company; Frank V%anderlip Of
the City bank Rockefeller; Norman
B. Ream, a representative of Kuhn,
Loeb & Co., and others. None of
these gentlemen cares to be quoted,
for they see no reason why they should
rush into print at this time. But
there Is no harm in saying that they
all agree with Morgan. They all be-
lieve prosperity is here to stay
for a considerable time. They are
not worrying and while tn y, of
course, do not think we can 20 on
forever at the high pressure of tho last
two years and realize that some time
or other the country must pause for
breath, they feel no anxiety concern
ing the next year or two. All of the
men with whom 1 talked with a
single exception) thought the decision
in the Northern Securities case a good
thing on the whole. Several of them
pointed out to me that this decision
had itself brought on a sort of pause
or breathing spell. Said one con,
spicuous figure in the financial world:
"The st. Paul decision has had a
most wholesome effect. It put a stop
to several proposed combinations. 1t
chilled the ardor Of some Of the
plungers. 1t took the country out of
Wall street. 1t acted as a sort of
warning to all sorts and conditions of
men who we're going it a bit too
strong. We may liken it to a cloud
far down on the horizon, which caused
the farmers to hurry their cut grain
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