The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-04
WALL STREET NERVOUS


THE passage by the house oferepre-
81 sentatives ofssa resolution call
ing upon the presid for in
formation regarding the lines connected
with or embraced by the Pennsylvania
railroad system, sent shiver thru Wall
street, filed the minds Of brokers and
traders ewith. nervous fear, and put
prices lower all around. It was as good
an illustration as has been afforded for
a long time Of the scariness Of the stock
market, and Of the fear Of publicity.
Every one in the street knows the
connections Of the Pennsylvania and
the manner and. time of acquisition of
ownership or control. But whether or
not, in the upbuilding Of the great sys-
tenn, which in tonnage and earnings out
ranks any railroad in the world, there
was anything illegal, is another ques-
tion. The Gillispie resolution would
have the president report to congress
all the facts in possession of the inter.
state commerce. commission, with view
to ascertaining whether the existing
group is an organisation in violation of
the, antitrust law of 1890. There may
have. been nothing at all to warrant a
scare, but memories Of the merger case
Of the northwest and it's undoing by
the supreme court are still too fresh in
the minds Of the followers of the mar
ket to permit them to look with equi-,
nimity upon an inquiry into the Penn
sylvania. =.~.
/ The publicity idea has grown greatly
in the past few years. Once many a
corporation president went ahead on the
theory that it was none Of the public 3
business how affairs were being man
aged on the inside! To this day not
more than dozen. men really know the
inner workings Of the American Sugar
Refining company, or sugar trust, and
the Standard Oil company, or its men,
never broke silence until recently, when
the pressure Of public opinion forced
some general statements. No public re-
port of Standard Oil finances ever has
appeared. \ -, .ases A.. -. -.
With corporations. that rank. in the
public service. class it is different, and
railroad reports. have long been feat.
ure Of the financial news, Not every
thing isytold in them, but they serve 9
good purpose neyertheless, not alone
from the point Of f., affording, necessary
information. to stockholders, but for thu
general effect upon public sentiment.
! When the. steel trust, that billion
dollar giant, was s organized i, "a few years
ago, the management announced at once
its publicity program, which went far
ther than that Of 81 other industrial cor
porations. It has worked out to the .ad
vantage Of the company. x,..,s
/ The great .stimulus to publicity wal
given by the president, who, in one Q:
his earlier messages, dwelt upon it a.
4 q. first. step towards the correction Q:
corporate abuses and the. creation O
mutual. confidence and trust. The, ide'
spread rapidly. and the plea for pub
| Lefty had seffect in many ways. TIL
public knows more today about tn
workings on the, inside. in railroad an,
corporate affairs, as well as in politics
than it knew five. OF ten years ago. An,
the good work has only begun.
Wall street has: seen so much corrup
tion exposed within. the past year. tina
it is susceptible to. fear. For lon
time conditions that, would have bee
Thought impossible were maintained
with the knowledge Of only the fey
who were. pro6ting by them. The lif
insurance s "a q scandals were shock to. tn
country, but they were only the unco1
! ering Of corruption that had long bee
; there. 50 Wall street now scents da1
: ger in everything, and fears new di'
a closures Of illegality whenever an
!, move towards an investigation is mad
: This is. not as it should be. Wa
Il :.
8 street is the center for the investmer
t Of millions of dollars. It should be til
!. center. for the dissemination of all r,
= !. liable information bearing upon inves
: m4ents. # the Pennsylvania road is a
= right, nothing can harm it. If the1
d was anything illegal in the putting t
e gether Of the great system Wall sire,
K ought to desire to know it. Instead tt
n street duakes with fear: when the ma
: ter Of an investigation is brought u
4 because the speculative interests al
+ predominant, and especially SO no,
J. and an investigation would be bad f,
speculation and a bull market.
nfnEn George F. Piper
- AXN Walter D. Do1le.l