The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-12-24

IN y
Once more has it restored to him
his crown as king OF finance. The lost
prestige Is regained. and the-ran for
whom the brokers and speculative public
alike had but the most bitter criticism
even six months ago is given the salute
or the conqueror.
Down in the financial district. which
again has become n land of plenty, those
who are learned in the secret lore of the
street credit j. Pierpont Morgan with the
stocks.
"horgan has made this market one
Yes" rejoins another, and the market
has remade Morgan
Perhaps both are right. but this does
not gainsay the fact that the power OF the
money king is restored in a large meas
/ ure. He may not be the autocrat he was
4 three years ago-it is doubtful if he cares
= 10 Debut ne has rehaOiltated himself in
the eyes OF the investin public, ard he has
redeemed many pledges, tacit and spoken.
All this has taken wOrk-and money.
Six months ago the stock market was all
! but corpse, IL had vitality enough to
gasp and go lower, that was all. IL took
money-millions OF ito gaIvanlze Il into
/ life and give it snap and yigor. 1t also
/ took some pretty earnest missionary
work. and il is here that Mr. Morgan
sh0ne at his best. Never before In all his
! long and active career has he put his
whole soul into the stock market as he
/ has in this case lie has urged his friends
! IN this country and in Europe to buy
stocks. He has bought them himself. He
( has shown his good faith by risking
| his own money. and Wall street considers
/ this the best test in the world.
Talk about bulls said one broker in
/ the striking Vernacular of the street,
/ why, j. p. Morgan has horns that reach
/ from here 10 the Battery Which is
simply another way Of saying that Mr..
Morgan is quite confident that the top is
still a good many points higher up.
There were several good reasons why
I Mr. Morgan should be arrayed strongly
on the side of higher prices. Mr. Nor
gan. rightly or wrongly, was blamed
/ for the slump and stagnation that came
| in its wake. 1t was urged that Steel was
/ the weak feature OF the situation. Here
1 was a great corporation. ran the argu-
I .nent, inflated far beyond its earning ca
pacinty and capitalized for a billion dol
lars For the purpose of investment the
/ common stock had absolutely 10 value
and the preferred shares were Tot worth
more than half par. The stock had been
I deliberately unloaded on a gulllble public
ana then the bubble was permitted to
burst.
This was the chief argument of the
/ bears when they talked of further depres-
1 sion. bull campaign. Such ii thing
would be impossible unless Steel rallied
and who would put up" Steel?
Three years ago J. Pierpont Morgan was
! looked upon as a Colossus. He seemed to
bestride the world. His goings and COM
I ings were Chronicled as the movements
I OF crowned head America was eager
I 20 do him homer, and the toadyism of
/ Europe was as marked as il was Judi
I CrOUs The American banker was spoken
/ Of as one of the most powerful men In
I the world. The yellow peril cid not
! trouble Europe One-half as much as the
American invasion typified by J. Pier
| pOnt Morgan
Then came the slump in Steel and the
/ collapse of the shipbuilding trust. The Sc
clrity market staggered under the blow
! me Colossus was but a pitiful. clay
I footed idol after all, insisted the grum-
/ blers- J. r. Morgan was no longer sub
! tect OF public interest except as eXecra-
/ ton centered on his head. The army OF
annoying photographers ceased TO bother
/ him, but this was the only way of COM
( fort in the storm that RACED about him
: His trips TO Europe were no longer royal
( pilgrim8ges. The art dealers continued
TO pay him court. but as a financier ne
/ had ceased to be an object of supreme
/ interest. Some wag called him John z.
/ Morgan. an act of lese majestic as heinOus
1 as addressing Kaiser Wilhelm as Billy.
Something had TO be done. The Gepres-
Z sion in stOcks-a riCh mans Danlc-waS
! blamed on J. Pierpont Morgan. II was j..
/ PierpOut Morgan who set about to work
! the resuscitatiOn Of the market. Out
/ Wardly careless of public opinion. he was
/ sensitive enough to care a great deal His
( friends said he felt the CRITICS keenly.
] One day a western promoter called on Mr..
/ Morgan and asked his aid in floating an
/ But we want your name, Nh. Morgan,
/ urged the caller. 1T will be tower Of
| strength to us"
! MY name" said the banker with Just a
/ hint of wistfulness, would be G milestone
] around the neck Of any venture just
/ now"
! Steel was among the first stocks to be
! stimulated. The bears on the stock eX-
| change laughed No power in the world
| could repair that biliOn-dOllar bubble any
more than HUmpty Dumpty could mend
/ natural level, in fact, was above il. they
said, The market could not shake off its
| incubus
But prices began to go up. The Morgan
I shares were the leaders Steel, Reading,
Erie all scored advances. There was no
J outside interest. The public would not
nibble. Pure manipulation. said the bears.
Perhaps It was manipulation. IL may
have been the sheer force of buying or
ders. But buying orders are always nee
essary to cause a rise in stocks. Reading
I was above 80. Steel common at II and
Steel preferred up to s. before traders in
general began to think that this manipu-
I lation might have some steam behind it.
j p. Morgan Is very bullish," said the
! street gOssips.
Verify he was. If ever a man was bull
| ish.' talked publish" and acted publish. -
that man was ]. p. Morgan. He threw
into the campaign all his Old energy
| more than his old energy. He was fight
ing to regain his lost prestige. He was
fighting to redeem those old pledges; for
example, the one by which the Steel en-
plOyes had been urged to buy the pre-
ne wanted boom to increase his own
/ business. although that is neither here
nor there. He sat in his office and ad-
| Vised the purchase OF stocks. He went
out into the highways and byways and
preached the gospel Of higher prices. The
country is too prosperous. he urged, to
] nave its great securities depressed. He
] saw no cloud on the horizon As to Steel
ne ola not hesitate and hem. 1t would
go TO par before Christmas, to 120 in 1905.
/ but It's earnings did not equal those OF
three years ago. Never mind New bust
ness would come. Wall street led II did
not follow, industrial revivaIs. Railroads
couIo aIIord TO BUY new rails when their
securities advanced and great improve
I ments would follow in the wake of high
er prices on the stock exchange.
Never before had Mr. Morgan given
! himseif over so utterly to the making OF
a market. And he made it, Steel pre-
! Ierred advanced more than a points from
the low and Steel common more than p
points. Other stocks followed and even
the eats and dogs" put a gloss on their
NANCY fuTs and capered about like ami
mas or parade.
But Steel has been the feature. Cali il
manipulation or not. the shares have held
/ thcir own. Even when Thomas W. Law
| son pulled OFF, his raid on the market
last Wednesday, with breaks of ten points
/ ~ AmalSamated Copper and Sugar, the
Steel shares sold off siittle in proportion
! Under the influence OF the boom in
STOCKS Wall street has taken on a new
appearance. Customers have prOfited as
a matter OF course. for they All have
bought But the prosperity has extended
elsewhere The office forces have beer
doubled, trebled and in some cases quad
rupled- New telegraph wires have beer
I Installed. making a great demand for OBJ
/ orators. Good clerks that were thrown
/ OUT OF employment by the stagnation in
business have found positions easv to oh
/ tain. Tor there is hardly "A house on the
stock exchange that has not been adver-
using and hunting for experienced men
As fer messengers. there seem to be-
/ more bows IN Wall street than in HesteI