The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-05-24

scription books open for weeks at time
and then TO postpone their closing for the
accommodation OF tardy subscribers. Mr..
Morgan's innovation excited a lot of COM
ment in financial circles and there was
great deal Of curiosity to see what would
come Of ii. The books opened and closed
within twenty-four hours as advertised. and
the next day il was announced that the Is
sue had been over-subscribed. 1t did not
become known in banking circles until
nearly year afterward that the public
subscriptions amounted TO only one-fftietn
Of the whole and that rather than postpone
the closing of the books Mr.; Morgan him
self subscribed for the other forty-nine
fiftieths. The public. of course. knew moth
ing of this inside history, but il was might
lily impressed with the announcement that
the issue had been over-subScriped witnin
twenty-four hours and when Mr.. Morgan
repeated the experiment a few months
later with another issue OF securities the
public really did over-subscribe the onefing
and did il in one day.
Mr.. H. H. Rogers, who Is really the
leader of what is known as the Standard
Oil crowd is expected TO return TO Wall
street next week 1t is hoped that his re-
appearance will mark a change in the
Standard Oil crowds present policy OF
stock-market inactivity. Mr.. Rogers is the
manipulating genius of this crowd. His i'm
! mediate associate in all stock market OPP
erations is William Rockefeller, and they
have very rich, though limited following
within the mystic Rockefeller circle. John
d. Rockefeller. pere. and John d. Rookie
feller jr., conduct independent operations.
The personal activities of the elder Rookie
Teller in the stock market are very great
at times, and the Standard oil crowd does
not always participate therein. Jonn D.
Rockefeller, jr. has been training lately
with George Gould and the younger ele-
ments of the so-called Gould party. II
must not be supposed that the Standard
Oil crowd ever works at cross purposes
| The elder Rockefeller may do things quiz
| city and alone in the stock market, William
Rockefeller and II: IL. Rogers may conduct
a campaign in Amalgamated Copper in
| which the elder Rockefeller takes no part,
and John ID: Rockefeller. jr., may bull
Missouri Pacific on his own account but
| there is always a perfect understanding
between the several divisions of the Stand
| ard Oil crowd and q certain strict loyalty
in observance Of which one division goes
| instantly to the assistance Of the other or
| co-operates with it in every manner de-
| sired. 1t is this unity and perfect accord
that gives the Standard Oil crowd its tre-
very extensive and its concerns varied.
and only, a spirit of absolute 10y 10y
atty could have prevented its break saa..
ago. Secretiveness is its cardinal pre-
| cept. If a member Of the crowd is found
talking. whether. he be in the inner circle
or on the fringe. he is first reprimanded. and
then, for his second offense, thrust out of
the crowd. The public knows only as much
| about the affairs of the Standard Oil par
| ty as the Standard Oil party wants 1t to
know. The youngest Office boy in the STAN
| dard Oil Company is as noncommunicat-
I've as many veteran Wall-street man who
learned the value of silence by experience.
| The Standard Oil boys seem never to have
| to learn 1t. 1t is in the atmosphere in
which they work.
| The increase of the Calumet and Hecla
| dividend this week from s. to $40 a share
| for the quarter attracted a great deal of
attention as an indication that the copper
companies must be making a great deal of
money. Indeed, there can be no doubt of
that There is very substantial margin of
profit between the cost of producing copper
and the prices that have prevailed for the
| metal this year. In the case of the Anal
gamated Copper Company the cost Of pro-
ducing copper, besides, is being constantly
| reduced. 1t is believed that Mr.. Rogers
will permit the Amalgamated Copper Com
| pany's dividend to be advanced at the next
period to per cent. rate. IT all depends
of insiders is known TO be favorable to an
advance, and ii is difficult to see how Mr..
| Rogers can deny their wishes in the matter
any further With great justice to stock
| holders the dividend might have been in
creased at the last period. The affairs OF
the company are in more fiourishing con-
dition than at any previous time since the
surplus of between s6,OO0.O00 and $1,000, 0O(
in bank. Strong hints to buy copper were
| abroad in the West last week, and all OF
| the Western wire houses in Wall street
| bought the stock on orders from the in
terror. The Western interest in Amalga-
mated Copper is or was very large. The
losses suffered by Western holders Of the
| stock were tremendous. Whole fortunes
Were swept away by its decline from 100 to
below 60. w. G. NICHOLAS.