The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-01-24
STANDARD OIL HAS
AN IRON IN The FIRE
Rockefeller Interests Involved in
Far Eastern Crisis
MONEY IS NOW PILlNG UP
Expectations of Better Stock Market
Are Based on Ease of Money
In Wall 3treet-Finan-
cial News.
MONEY is NOW PILlNG UP
BY w. G. NICHOLAS.

New York, January 23.-One day this
week. at time when the uneasiness of
the financial community over the situa-
tion in the far east was somewhat acute
Wall street news agency printed in
quotation marks and double loaded a
statement alleged to have been made by
an official of the Standard Oil company
to the effect that John d. Rockefeller Sr.
considered war between Russia and Japan
| inevitable and imminent. The appearance
1 of this statement caused a sensation in
the street, partly by reason of the I'M
portance attached to information attri
buted to Rockefeller sources, and partly
by reason of the fact that everybody
knows that the Standard oil crowd 8
sources of political information are some
times more reliable than that which is
received in ordinary diplomatic circles. In
our own country the Standard Oil COM
pany has every mile of territory between
the two oceans chartered off into small
squares with a confidential agent in each
square whose business 1t is to keep his
principals informed of evrything that goes
on in his particular precinct. The same
system is followed wherever the Standard
Oil company has interests and its in
terests In Russia are very extensive And,
owing to the fact that Russia is a large
producer of oil the Rockefeller party
would have a commercial interest in
war between that country and Japan.
The statement referred to which pur-
ported to give Mr.. Rockefellers personal
views of the war situation was prompt
ly denied by the general counsel of the
Standard Oil company, not only in behalf
of Mr.. John d. Rockefeller Sr., but in
behalf of the unnamed official to whom
the quotation was attributed. On the
following morning the news agency re-
sponsibe for the publication of the state
ment defended itself in a long editorial
utterance calling attention to several
previous statements affecting the Stan
dard oil interests which It had made.
which were positively denied and which
were in due time verified by events. It
then further declared that the Rockefel-
| Ter interests were essentially a war party:
| that they profted enormously by the
| Spanish American war and would reap
vast commercial benefits from a war be-
tween Russia and Japan. 1t was. consid-
cred in Wall street that the news agency
had made out a good case for itself and
up to this time the Standard oil attorneys
have taken no notice of its somewhat
caustc reply to the denial made to its
statement that Mr.. Rockefeller consid-
cred hostiities inevitable and imminent.
1t Is generally assumed by the leading
financial interests here that the decision
| of the supreme court of the United
States in the Northern Securities case
will be adverse to the merger interests,
the only question being as to how soon
1t will be handed down. The fact is not
disguised that a decision necessitating
the dissolution of the Northern Securi-
| xxtfI1 h. \ -.
the Morgan-TIil interests and would be
received with great bitterness personally
| by Mr.. James ]. Hill. In a recent speech
before the Minnesota Agricultural society
| Mr.. Hill defended the principles involved
| in the formation of the Northern Securi-
| ties company and dwelt upon the efforts
| that he and his associates Chiefly him
self have recently made to open up new
markets for the American farmer. Ger
tain features OF this speech are we'll
worth repeating.
| Referring to the suits agalnt the North
ern Securities company Mr.. Hill said:
"When we make a rate that is the low
est rate that ever was made for trans
| portation In the world we nave to de-
| fend ourselves from the state and from
the nation because we are restraining
trade Absolutely defending ourselves
from restraining trade. 1t is said that IL
we have the power. the power must be
used to restrain trade.
"They forget that In order to compete
with the merchant marine of every nation
flying a commercial flag on the high seas
we must have power to carry that trade
to the extent we have carried 1t. Who
else has carried It? Who else has varied
It? Who else has raised their hand for
It? But they forget that the greater con-
Trims the less The mower to expand n
trade and build 1t up and make 1t great
and make it possible to ship barrel of
flour from here to Hong Kong at 30 cents