The silver blade. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1895-1903, 1903-04-24
MODERN MERGERS ARE PAST
UNDER PRESENT LAWS II is IDLE
WORK TO ORGANIZE.
Financial Leaders Are Dsvotins Their
Time Finding Way Out Of Their
pllemma-It 10 Believed That North.
srn Securities Company viii Lose
In Higher Court.

AvOW 4 VI M "A RAA 6OAtAOAAAssn
close to ]. Pierpont Morgan has ad-
mitted that the combination era is
practically over, that with possible
suits confronting various mergers
which have already been put through.
and threatening to undo some Of the
great Industrial mergers. 1t was idle
to organize any more. He said the
attention Of the financial leaders dur.
ing the last week had been devoted
to finding their way out Of a bad job
in hope Of saving, as far as possible,
what had already been accomplished
and keeping together the equities in.
volved. But as for the future, no more
are to be undertaken, at least not UNI
less some new legislation Ia passed
which will protect such transactions
Nothing Of this kind Is thought pos
sible.
As for the Northern Securities
merger. 1t is assumed that it will be
finally knocked out by the United
States supreme court. Some sort Of
trusteeship will be devised to save the
pieces of this combination. They will
have to do something, since it would
be manifestly impossible to return the
equities and dividends to the proper
persons. One shareholder might de
mand Great Northern and another
Northern Pacific. and there would be
too little of one or too much of. the
other required. A trusteeship will
solve the problem. That Is, the Great
Northern stock controlled by Northern
Securitie5 may be held SO that ths
combination will in sense be KEEP
together, in which event present share
holders would get q proportionatt
amount Of those of each subsidiary
company, the management being con
trOlled by the same group Of men. ThiI
would violate the law in spirit, but
II is thought, the scheme could not b.
upset.
Community Of Ownership.
Although no new mergers are to b,
put through, the highest authorities
said that the benefits Of community O
ownership would remain. They regard
I'd 1t as certain that there would bt
10 more rate wars, such as devastatet
the resources Of the railroads few
years ago. The benefits derived from
cooperation have been strikingly II
ustrated, by the Northern Securities
group. The earnings Of the Grea
Northern, Northern Pacific and Bur
lington last year increased IA per cent
| compared with the previous year. OF
details of those companies said tha
undoubtedly so per cent of the In
crease was directly due to the fac,
that the Burlington was controlled BY
the Great Northern and Northern Pa
ctfic and IA were run in close har
mony, instead of trying to injure one
another as much as possible. The
benefits of cooperation have been toe
striking. they declare, for them te
throw away the lessons which have
oeen learned. There will undoubted
~ be close cooperation between finan
sial heads Of corporations in future
whatever may be the fate of existing
mergers. They will find some way
SO that each may get the greatest ne
results, as they are doing at present
A parallel was drawn with the gloon
OF railroad officials when the decision
OF the supreme court in the transmits
souri, case pronounced all traffic asso
Citations illegal and compelled them tt
disband. Serious rate wars were pre-
dicted, but nothing Of the kind oc
Cured. The railroads went abou
their business as heretofore-they
| even did better.