Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1903-07-18
The Rockefeller Influence in
the Market.
WALL STREET RATIFIED
BELIEVED TO BE BACK OF GEO.
eou1D,s MOVEMENT.
Russell Sage, However, Explains the
Decline on Rational Grounds and
Predicts Reaction.
Correspondence OF The Evening Star

NEW YORK. July IL, 1873
Rockefeller's name has been on every lip
in Wall street this week. The man is
credited with engineering the most stu
pendous deals In the financial and railroad
world. yet nothing is actually known about
him. In fact. not one man out of a thou
sand in the financial district knows whether
Mr.. Rockefeller has been in his office at 26
Broadway during this week or not. Per-
sonally MIR. Rockefeller Is a difficult man
to see; his business affairs are usually
delegated to others, and callers are taken
care of by subordinates. Moreover, If the
truth were known, it would probably APP
pear that Mr.. Rockefeller Is greatly In
terested in his farm and does not concern
himself very much about business, be 1t
ever so large and important. But Rookie
feller's millions speak in his stead What
Mr.. Rockefeller Is credited with doing, his
money or rather. power is doing for him.
Just at the present time Rockefeller Is
said to be demoralizng the stock market
and depressing values numerically. with
the view of obtaining control both of the
New York Central and the Pennsylvania
railroads. Somebody. is evidently en-
gagged in the undertaking, but just who
the individual may be is a deep mystery.
The rumOrmongerS go a few steps fur
Their and say that Rockefeller is cunning
for Morgan and the steel trust, and also
for all the other copper interests not en-
braced in the Amalgamated Copper Com
pany.
One story is to the effect that heavy
sales of United States steel stock bearing
the name of Bertram Cutler represented
the tollateral for loan which Rockefeller
last spring made to prominent steel man.
The loan expired on July l, and Rookie
Teller, not being able to collect the money,
sold the collateral. 81.
Io J, 20
have in view Rockefeller must be the
greatest bear of this or any other age. for
he is compelling thousands of people to
let go of their stocks. that he can get
them for about half price. and in the
operation many people ruined.
1t is not believed in Wall street that
George Gould would have dared to openly
antagonize the Morgan. Hartman and
Pennsylvania interests If he had not back
of him the powerful resources of the
Standard Oil interests.
Situation Very Peculiar.
Altogether the situation Is very peculiar,
as 1t seems to put the Rockefeller, or the
STANDARD Oil Crowd" as they are called.
in the position of dictators in the business
affairs of this hemisphere. for if they can
beggar people by wholesale and get control
of the largest and most solid corporation
in the country by depressing the stock
market, they will soon own everything
worth having. Besides, the wealth they
are rolling up will be a dangerous menace
to all institutions public and private. The
question is where will the process end
and how? II. II. Rogers, who was OPP
Grated on recently for appendicitis and
was supposed to be dying, but who reeov-
cred and Is again In the saddle, is believed
to be the brains behind the Rockefeller
throne, at least as far as stock specula-
ton goes. He is a. born financier, keen Of
Judgment far>seeing' and reiehtless to
foes. He is probab bly, the fnanipalator of
the movement which. is causing such heart
breaking in Wall street and wherever. the
tape" is worshiped:- 1t is generally adj
mitted that business conditions every
where in the United States are satisfac-
tory, yet in the New York stock exchange
hundreds of securities are selling below
their value. or not selling at all. because
some one Systematically bearing" the
market and hundreds OF brokers have
nothing to do because the. public won't
buy. There is no exaggeration in the state
ment that many men who have lost their
money employment in. the street are
in condition bordering on desperation.
Some of them have made wild threats.
Wall street Is firmly convinced that the
Standard Oil interests are behind the bear
campaign in the market. Outside of the
Standard Oil interests 1t is not believed
that there is a single group Of people in the
country sufficiently powerful to have caused
the tremendous decline in values in the
market since the first of the year. The
| recklessness with which stocks were sold
after they had declined aver forty points
showed that those who We're depressing the
market were sure of their position. The
control of New York Central by the Rock
efellers would give the Missouri Pacific
Wabash combination trackage right into
New York by the most direct route. 1t
| would give st. Paul. which is also con-
trolled by the Rockefellers, equal advan-
tages 1t would create by far the most
powerful railroad system in the world, and
would completely change the railroad map
of the United States.
Never Played Prominent Part Before.
For years the Rockefellers have been
large holders of railroad stocks and bonds.
but have never before played a very prom-
| nent part in the railroad industry. ST. Paul.
which is one of the most conservatively
managed railroads in the country, Is the
only company which has been considered a
| Rockefeller property. For. several years.
however. the Rockefellers are understood
to have owned the controlling interest in
Missouri. Kansas and Texas. The Rock
| efellers are also large holders of stock In
| all the Gould railroads. Their holdings OF
stock in Missouri Pacific and Wabash are
understood to be equally large, if not
| larger, than the amount controlled by the
| Gouds The Rockefellers are believed to
| have furnished a large part Of the capital
which was required to enable the Wabash
| to secure an entrance into Pittsburg. John
! D. Rockefeller has for years owned a large
amount of the stock Of both Pennsylvania
| and New York Central. Indeed, he is said
to be the second largest stakeholder of
| Pennsylvania. With their present large
holdings of railroad securities. and with
| their almost unlimited financial resources
! the Rockefellers could play a prominent
| part in the railroad industry of this coun-
| try. With the acquisition of the New York
| Central. suppOsing that the rumors in Wall
| street have some basis in fact, the Rock
| efeller-Gould combination will control a
| larger amount of railroad mileage than any
| other single interest in the country. The
resources of this combination are almost
| unlimited.
| The liquidation in the stock market, Sc
| we're as it has been. Is not without its
| beneficent uses. Out of 1t will come sounder
| and more wholesome conditions. Wall
| street is suffering from specula tive excuses
| The reaction is severe and painful but 1t
| is beneficial. There will shortly be return
| to more hcalthful conditions. The expan-
| sion of business was followed by "A train OF
evils which in time corrupted the Specula-
! tive markets. New men, suddenly made
| rich by the change In national conditions
appeared in Wall street and took posses
sion of the stock exchange. Promotion was
carried to excess. The market was glutted
| with new securities Speculation became
| gambling. \ craze to get rich quick in.
| fected the community. One of the pecu-
liaritieS of the recent liquidation is that il