Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-03-26

Author of "A Little Traitor to the South"
within three days. traversing in that space
the attempt to destroy the Union flagship,
with the mistaken result Of sinking the
Housa tonic, which had taken the anchor
age of the other vessel In the night; the
accusation of one OF the men by Gen. Beau
regard Of dfsobedience of orders; his arrest
and later that of the young nurse, who has
interviewed for reasons of her own to pre-
vent him from taking command of the al
most certainly fatal expedition, and finally
Gen. Beauregards bit OF military bypiay
which solves a knotty problem in discipline
and leads to a happy climax. The story is
short and interesting at every stage. 1t
Is handsomely decorated with numerous
city of Charleston and with number of
inadequate colOred drawings to illustrate
the text
THE TRUTH ABOUT THE TRUSTS; De
scrption and Analysis OF the American Trust
Movement. By John Moody. editor of "Moody's
Manual Of Corporation Statistics" New York:
Moody Publishing Company.
There is undeniably about this large vol
ume of statistics. analysis and reasoning a
quality which leads the dispassionate reader
to accept at its face value the title which
proclaims that it tells 1.-The truth about the
trusts" 1t Is professedly written in a spirit
of trust advocacy on the foundation prop
osition that trusts are the result of a nat
ural industrial evolution and that there is
Very broad difference between a monopoly
and a large-scale Industrial combination.
1t deprecates all manner of trust regulation
by legislative process and regards the Sher-
man law, recently in evidence in the Unit
ed States Supreme Court, a failure on it's
record up to the date of the writing, when
the great railroad merger decision had not
been announced
But the book is not chiefly an argument.
1t is description most instructive to any
student of the financial problems and is
sues of the day. of the great trust" sys-
tenn with appropriate classidcations and
tabulations. with illustrative family trees
and diagrams showing the INTERPRETATIONS
ship between the trust groups and the
growth of some of the giant corporations.
Mr.. Moody divides all trustdom into three
parts, respectively embracing the Industrial
trusts. the franchise trusts and the rail-
road trusts. OF the frst-named there are
two sub-classes. the seven great trusts and
the others OF lesser industrial trusts some
2oS In number. The big seven are Amalga-
mated Copper, American Smelling and Re-
filming. American Sugar, Consolidated To-
bacco. International Mercantile Marine
Standard OIL and United States Steel These
combined control 1,52S plants and embrace
total capitalization of 81, &C.,, 1852 100 The
29S lesser industrials in good health con-
troll 3,420 plants, with a total capital of
- O55. GS9. 1913. There are besides some thir-
Teen Important trusts IN process
or reorganization. such as the Lake Supe-
rior and the Shipbuilding corporations con-
trolling in all 334 plants ard capitalized~at
SIS. SOL 900. OF trusts controlling franchises,
such as street railroads.. telegraph teie-
phone. lighting and similar utilities there
are 1913. capitalized at 81. 733, 1901. The
railroads Mr. Moody divides into two classes
the six great groups and the ten allied
independent systems. The six are desig-
mated by the names of the ffnanciers In
control of them. follows: Vanderbilt
Morgan, Gould Rockefeller, Hartman
Kuhn-Loeb and Moore, and the Pennsyl-
vania system. The sixteen groups and sys-
TENS together embrace 10t0 plants or lines
and are capitalized at s.. 397 1888 9O7. The
whole grand system of the trusts OF all
kinds totals the control of S.664 separate
plants and a capitalization of $20,37D 1872
bil
These statistics present only the bare
edge OF the great mass of figures which Mr.
Moody has assembled and in lsrge degree
analysed in connection with a most in
structive statement regarding each of the
great trusts and general review of the
whole situation, especially with reference
10 the relationship between the two grand
groups In control of all-the Rockefeller
and the Morgan group OF capitalists He
declares that there is no friction between
them but that their interviewer interests
demand and result in a close harmonious
mutually which, he believes will eventu-
ally lead to amalgamation. He does not
venture a suggestion as to which group will
dominate In this final consolidation.
THE SHAME OF THE CITIES. BY Lincoln
Stenens. New York: Mcclure, Phillips & Co.
Washington Woodward & Lothrop
Mr.. Steffens' series of articles in recent
issues OF McClures Magazine must be said
to have more than attracted attention They
arrested thought; they presented In con-
crete. undodgeable shape certain blunt facts
about some OF the cities OF this country
which were needed in just such form to
bring forcibly to the front the fact that In
point of municipal affairs the American
system OF government Is still woefuIly far
short of the ideal. The republication of
these articles as book is due to the history
OF the political development OF the United
States. Even IL In many respects untrue.
thsy warranted preservation as attesting to
q very grave suspicion abroad In the land.
But the pity IN that they are so true they
hurt. And the more they hurt the better
It 10 for the country. This book. therefore.
lpnay prove to b the Gaping dose Of very