The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-07-12
Belief that They Have Secured the
Baltimore e. Ohio, and Are Domi-
nant i'm the Anthracite Field.
WALL STREET AND Mr.. CANNON
FAILURE OF ATTEMPT TO r.
LATTER'S CURRENCY POSITION.
waH-street- Agricuiturists ATE still
Railroad Losses by Floods.
Special to the Indianapolis Journal.

Special TO the Indianapolis Journal.
NEW YORK, July 1.-THE developments
in the stock market and transportation
field afford convincing proof that John ID.
Rockefeller and his immediate following
have become the dominating power in the
Eastern trunk line situation. The belief
now amounts to a conviction in Wall street
that on the late slump Stanard Oil money
wrested Baltimore & Ohio from Pennsyl-
vania control, a turn which carried with it
Reading and the key to the anthracite coal
problem. Previous to this coup Standard
Oil purchases of New York Central have
been on a scale so extensive as to give rise
to northumberland reports that control
of that property had passed from the Van
derbilts. This version was Indignantly de-
MED at the time, and in order to show that
he could not be unhorsed w. X. Vanderbilt
returned hastily from Europe. 1t is evil
IDENTIFY not the purpose of the Standar Oil
multimillionaires to disturb the Eastern sit
~uation, but rather. by reason of their hold
ings, to stop fractional quarreling and to en-
force harmony where strife was threatening
stability in values. 1t is now assumed in
Wall street that there will be no further
warfare between the Pennsylvania and the
Gould interests, and that George Gould will
be permitted to reach the seaboard without
further waste of treasure or unnecessary
loss OF time. There may be a pretense Of
disturbance between the two elements, but
the surmise is that it will only be skin deep.
Only a day or two ago casual announcement
was made that the Western Maryland had
secured a right Of way for which it had
been striving for a year or more without
success owing to the opposition of the Penn
s~ylvania interests. This announcement only
occupied a few lines Of newspaper space,
yet IL is one of the most significant pieces
of railroad news appearing in print for
many months. 1t tells of Standard Oil SUI
premacy in a quarter where heretofore it
has never openly attempted to make it's
influence felt.
The most determined efforts on the part
of. that portion of the press controlled by
Wall street to drive Uncle joe Cannon
from his position on currency legislation
| failed to meet with the cordial response
anticipated. Wall street refuses to believe
that Mr.. Cannon represents any consider
able element in the business or political
world in his utterances on the currency
question. Those who know Mr.. Cannon best
recognize and appreciate the fact that his
main strength in the House of Representa-
tives lies in his ability to reflect majority
opinion. He has views of his own on every
important issue and is courageous i'm their
! expression, but at the same time he rarely
| goes to the front on any big proposition
| without first consulting ht colleagues and
| getting In harmony with the machinery of
the House. Those who are taking the
ground that Mr.. Cannon is speaking for
| himself and himself alone in declaring that
| there Is no urgent need for currency legis-
lation may be committing a mistake. Sew
eral leaders of the House are admittedly
| antagonistic to many of President Roose-
velts theories and refuse to recognize him
as an authority on a variety of
subjects; They hold to the eonvie-
sound as his. and they have the added vir-
tue of being founded on long personal ex-
perience in public life and longer direct
dealings with the matters about which he
assumes to speak as the molder of party
policies. The President may carry out his
purpose of calling a special session of Con-
does, 1t is more than likely he will make
the necessity for Cuban and Panama legis-
lation the excuse for so doing, leaving the
matter of currency legislation in the back
ground, or, at least. not specifying II as one
of the urgent requirements. This Is an un-
settling proposition to Wall street, but ii
will not be the first time the financial cen.
= nos oAiC " iPLt lS4C Will AS
paramount wisdom. Mr.. Cannon made a hit
when he called attention rudely to the fact
that the volume of currency had increased
$4,000, 600 last year and that there was no
reason why the increase this year should
not be as great without the special aid OF
Congress in introducing further elasticity.
Mr.. Cannon's statement that there Is an
abundance of money with which to move
the crops and perform other legitimate
functions has been confirmed by reports
from many quarters throughout the Yves
II and South -whlrQ fhArQ lie havnn6 a nrnc
ton. strong sympathy with the position
taken by him.
Arrangements of Western railroads are
reluctant TO admit the magnitude Of the
damage inflicted upon their properties by
the floods which recently swept over Iowa
Nebraska. Kansas. Missouri, Illinois and
many other Western and Southwesterr
States. The figures they have given ou,
as representing the money loss are ridicu.
lousy. inadequate. 1t Is estimated by
competent authorities that not less thar
s2O.0O0,00o will be required to make good the
actual injuries inflicted on railroads By
these foods-that is in addition to tht
usual appropriation allowed for mainte
nance of track. etc. IL will take more thar
a year to restore the properties to the con
dition they were before the deluge. VIVA
effect this may have on the dividends fol
the junior securities for some of these line.
is p~roblematical. The Southwestern ans
Western country is filling UP very fast b,
immigration, which will i'm q measure off
set the damage. but this latter element i
likely to be stronger as a factor I'm tn,
gradual upbuildins of the properties than II
immediate revenue results. Railroads II
the Southwest are d~eyoting themselves a
never before toward attracting population
and estimates are heard that within tn
next ten years that territory will be abb
TO show an increase of 1900. 0e0 souls o
more. This estimate refers to the area
west of the Mississippi river and south o
the Omaha parallel. a country to which ST
Louis and Kansas City will be the chic
Such growth would more thaI
double the value of railroad properties i
that section. This prospective enhance
ment in railroad values may not, however
afford the relief required TO pay the cost o
the floods. That outlay is for the immedi
ate future and must be provided for If tn
railroads expect TO handle the bushes
offered them.
There Is talk in Wall street that Colorad
Fuel and Iron will be lifted out of the mar
ket as a speculative proposition. The grea
I bulk of floating supply OF stock of the COZ
p~oration has passed into the hands of job
ID. Rockefeller and hts son. John d., il
There is a pool in the shares composed Q
the younger members of the Gould famil
: and the junior Standard Oil crowd, but TIL