The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1903-10-29
4 WORLD POWER And WH4 TO


Workers" Edwin Lefeyren tells in the
Saturday Evening Post of the gigan-
tic growth and development of indus
trial America during the past seven
years, and paints a vivid picture of
Wall Street and the great captains
of industry. The writer says: ''Hu-
manity has never witnessed so re-
markable a period of prosperity as
has blessed this country since 1886.
remarkable not only for magnitude
but for duration. That it has slammed
itself deeply on our peoples habit of
thought, engendered recklessness, Gre
ated new social and Industrial condi-
tions, is NATURAL" One of the new
industrial conditions that the times
has created is the formation of trusts.
and none can tell to what the concen-
tration of vast power in the hands of
few may lead, though trusts will not
produce hard times, as they would be
lnlmlcal to trusts, and the develop
ment of these great industrial con-
densers, are as logical as the speciali-
cation of knowledge, thinks Mr.. L.
fevre, and none may say what strug
giles may arise before the place and
functions of the trust are definitely
fixed in the economy Of the nation.
The cause of our great development
or late years has been that wealth has
been actual and not potential, and a
productive population has been pour
ing the wealth into the channels of
trade. We awoke from our CONNER
cial lethargy in 1896 and took the
worlds trade by the horns. I'm the
year ending June 30, 1897. we sold to
Europe s267, 271, 600 more than Europe
sold to u.s. says the writer: bear in
mind that it was an accession of
wealth from out the wheat fields Of the
Northwest, the corn fields of the Mid
die West. the cotton fields of the Sonth
1t was not old wealth changing hands:
1t was new wealth plucked from the
ground, the transmutation of SUNLIGHT
rain and the sweat of mems brows
into gold by the alchemist Nature.
In the five fiscal years of the United
States Treasury Department from
June, 1896, to June, 1901, we bought
from the world So, $50, 542, 1872: we sold
to the world during the same five years
Sc, PIT, l96,032 The balance in our
favor was 81, 526, 1858, $50. It was more
than all the present gold mines of the
entire world at the current rate of out
put could produce in twenty-five years!
There wasn't enough cash available to
pay for Europe's purchases of Ameri-
can products; SO Europe began to send
back the old American [. O. U's-the
mortgages on our railroads, on our
farms, on our factories. American
securities came back to American
In the accumulation of this immense
wealth vast fortunes have been made.
and an ordinary millionaire is Just
considered common in the galaxy of
our great chieftains of industry. We
became a world power, and our multi
millionaire mariners are sailing. the
seas of the industrial world. Our in
dustrial bonds have not had to be ped
died on the world S markets and thew
have found plenty of buyers at home.
The pendulum of prosperity has
swung with a mighty stroke, until we
have reached the high noon of a de-
velopment almost magical.
We are living in a new commercial
era, and the old customs and practices
have passed away. But in the great
fever of industrial excitement stocks
and bonds have been played with a
recklessness that has been appalling
and if interest was paid at the rate of
four per cent on all the stocks and
bonds listed" on the New York Stock
Exchange to-day it would amount to
1925, 100000 annually.
The great danger has been in over
capitalization, and as Mr.. Lefevre
says, both profits and hopes have been
caDitalized