The weekly register. [volume] (Point Pleasant, Va. [W. Va.]) 1862-1909, 1904-04-27

eressional Record his list of 500
trusts, with nearly sl4. COO. .OOO.O .OoO
Of capital, the country was startled
at the exhibit Now comes John
Moody. Wall street publisher,
with new book entitled The
Truth About the Trusts" which
gives even higher figures.
Mr Moody gives a classified
list of the leading trusts in the
United States. he gives 518 i'm.
portant industrial trusts, controll-
ing 5,2SS plants, having a total
capitalization of S7.246, ,342. 1873
He enumerates Ill important fran.
chise trusts (telegraph, telephone.
gas Isctric light and street rail
wsy cohsolfdations) controlling
1886 plants. and having total
outstanding capitaliz stion of
So, 735, ,456.075. He discusses the
six great steam railroad groups
with total capitalization Of
S9.o17.0 ,907. and the ten allied
independent railroad systems hav.
ing a capitalization of $3.50, ,277,-
600.
The great total of the capitaliza-
tionsof all the trusts considered in
this book, industrial, franchise
and transportation. is $50, ,379, I62,-
5l1.
After mentioning the fact that
there is in this country about
$50. 600. 100000 of wealth outside
of the trusts discussed in Mr..
Moody's book, the Wall Street
journal of March 17th makes the
following very significant state
ment:
1t should not be overlooked that
the trusts wealth is the most i'm
portsnt, in that it largely controls
all the other wealth. The trusts
are in control of the transporta.
ton facilities of the oonntry
They are practically in control of
it's banking facilities, and they
control its main industrial systems.
Through control of the banks, the
railroad and leading industrial
companies. the directors of these
trusts practically direct the busi
ness of the country, and when it is
said that of the S2O,0OO,oOO,OOO of
trusts capital in the United States
upward of $l,ooo.oOo,oOO is held
by one family and that the greater
amount is represented by a group
of perhaps dozen capitalists, one
gets some conception of the i'm
mense power which is welded in
this country by few capitalists. 4"
The fact that the Wall Street
Journal and to some extent also
Mr.. Moody attempts to justify
the existence of these trusts is of
no consequence. 1t is of great
Importance that nearly every one
of these trusts, with over $4,000.
100000 of capitalization, is an
Illegal combination and would pro-
badly be so declared if it were
brought to the bar of Justice
Our easy going attorney general,
however, got frightened when he
won suit against one of them,
really begun by the governor of
Minnesota. and hastened to tell
them that the government was not
going to run smuck" in it's op.
position to trusts. Wall street in.
terpreted this statement, and other
assurances that were said to come
direct from the White House, to
mean that there would be no more
suits begun against these illegal
and criminal trusts this year and
proceeded to put up the prices of
trusts stocks. The supreme court
decision was given on a Monday;
on the following Saturday the
prices of these stocks closed higher
than they had sold for many weeks
before. Even the stocks of the
Northern Securities company,
against which the decision was
rendered, sold up about s points
within one week from the render
ing of the decision.
1t is perfectly safe to say that
the present occupant of the White
House knows full well on which
side of his Republican bread is
the trust butter and that he will
not do anything greatly to disturb
the harmonious relations which
have for many years existed bet
ween the Republican party and
these hundreds of tariff. fostered