The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1904-10-04
LAWSOn'S TALE OF
"FRENzIED FINANCE"

Ass0 ssOS
Boston Man Describes Birth Of
Amalgamated Copper Company.
HOW s36,ooo,0oo WAS MADE
Henry H. Rogers, william Rockefel-
Ter, National City Bank Of New
York, 'sOfhce Boys and Clerks" He
Declares, Put the Scheme Through.
Says Funds Were Juggled.
"At no time in the history Of the
United States has the power Of dollars
been as great as now" writes Thomas
w. Lawson, the Boston copper mag
nate, in his ''FrenZied Finance; the
Story Of Amalgamated," in the Septe4n-
Der number of Everybody's Magazine.
Freedom and equity" he continues,
''are controlled by dollars. The laws
which should preserve and enforce all
rights are made and enforced by dol
lars. It is possible today with dollars
to steer the selection Of the candidates
Of both the great parties for the high.
est Office in our republic, that Of presi-
dent of the United States, SO that the
people as a matter Of fact must elect
one of the 'steered' candidates.
II shall go further and say that there
exists today uncontrolled in the hands
of a set Of men a power to make dol
lars from nothing"
Mr.. Lawson's use Of the phrase
"make dollars means an expansion Of
credits, and this he shows in an illus
tration is made possible by the inda-
ton Of values Of property. The Stand
ard Oil men, he alleges, used this de-
vice. BY using Standard Oil stock as
collateral the Standard Oil group Of
men, he says, acquired control Of
banks and trust and insurance compa-
MES in all parts Of the United States.
Then, he writes, the funds of a
bank were so manipulated by deposit
ing those of one institution with an
other as to create in all an apparently
legitimate basis for increases Of capt.
talization.
The jugglery OF the $3O,O0O,OOO Of
mining stocks and other property into
$75,OOO,OO Of Amalgamated Copper
company stock is thus described in the
article:
1.-THE second part was the summon
ing into the City bank" New York; "of
Standard Oil lawyers, Office boys and
clerks and the organization by them Of
the Amalgamated Copper company.
The lawyers drew up the papers, and
the office boys and clerks signed them.
First the papers certified that whereas
we (the office boys and clerks) are de-
sirous Of taking advantage Of the cor
poration laws Of the state Of New Jer-
sey, we (the said Office boys and clerks
do SO take advantage of the said laws
and form ourselves into b Amalga-
mated Copper company, which will
have a capital Of SIS, 100000 and which
will be allowed by said laws to own
copper mines and other things, to mine
copper and other things, to manufac-
ture, buy, sell and trade in copper and
other things and to do numerous and
~variegated other things"
The office boys having thus be-
come the A~malgamated Copper COM
pany, Mr.. Lawson tells how they went
on with the deal:
; "One of u number will purchase
. the entire capital stock Of the said
Amalgamated Copper company for
S75,OOO,OOO cash, which $75,O0O,0OO
, cash we herewith certify to have been
, paid in the form of a check for $780,
QUO, 900, herewith delivered to the treas
urer, one Of our number, by the clerk
. who drew 1t, and the treasurer, here
!, with certifying that he has received
, the SIS, 100000, herewith delivers unto
!. said clerk the $75,OOO,OO0 capital stock
Of the Amalgamated Copper company,
: and we the said Office boys and clerks)
) herewith certify that there is within
:, the treasury Of the ~Amalgamated Cop
per company Z 5,OOO,OO0. and we the
. said office. boys and clerks) vote that Il
the said SIS, O00,OO0) shall be used In
: the purchase Of certain stocks and
!. properties, and said certain stocks and
!. properties shall be the same stocks and
properties previously purchased by MI
Rogers and william Rockefeller and
now owned by them"
: Further describing the process, Mr.
! Lawson shows how I'VE (said Office
:. boys and clerks herewith certify thai
:. we have paid from the treasury $75,
|. 100000, that said $75.000.O00 is in thu
= form of a check, and said check is thu
: one previously received or it's equiva
: lent by our treasurer from n Of oul
: number-to wit, the clerk referred t.
:, earlier in these papers, and said SIS.
100000 has been paid to Henry H
!. Rogers for his and William Rockefel
1 ler's USE"