New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1907-03-03
The Financial World.

results. They are disheartenilg. They ara -
voting Exploitation Of the public has -
never before so exposed Not one ENCOURAGES.
feature appears anywhere. The entire chau.er
/ IS filed with what is dispiriting.
That there win be sequels in the courts "a ~,
to be doubted and that some OF these ssaus,,
will be sensational TO the utmost degree vqor1s
seem equally certain. That $24.OOOOOO 49,,
should be grabbed simply because unwatebaS
no protection in trusteeshiD. mocks and maka,
| faces at every pretence Of integrity So sor-v
| Is the exhibit. so mean and sordid its detar,
nowhere under any circumstances can apuruscs.
/ Ing parallel be found
/ As 70 the security market: the effect came.
&c otherwise than bad 1t may be that ovna-s
Of stocks will not BE- driven into liquidation.
that. measuring prOva9le value. they will star5
staIwart; that they will count these Union Pa
cifc-Altcn disclosures as only of such vassinv
interest as was shown in shipbuiIdIng scandals.
that there viii rule the theory that Iarcenies MA
these practised in Alton are fCrgivabIs OF fs-.
settabIe. But sane. calculating men win m,
commit themselves to such conclusions AM
while for the present. owners OF stocks may m.
be inclined to sell. certainly sure 20 be revealed
is 1t that the outside public has new rsaso,
for hesitaEcy and suspicion. Investors are uut
upon notice that eminent names in finance %
not stand per Sc. for integrity. The strut ana
pretence that this. that and the other vast hnan-
cial transaction is based merely upon love" for
a corporation may elicit preliminary smiles ana
snrks; but eventually there is bound to b
distrust and disgust.
They who but recently were in free and easy
fashion criticising President Roosevelt are find.
ing themselves hard pushed now for justis-
cation All that the President has said. all thar
the President has done. is by this weeks dis
closures rev called to be conservative. Abuse d.
rected at Washington comes streaming back
upon its propulsers; and. indeed, from the very
start fair minded observers have been well IN
formed Of the narrow, selfish ultra mean meth
DDS back OF the anti-Washington campaign 30
viruIently pursued. II becomes very clear thar
we'll within bounds-fair. even necessary-ars
those methods Of supervision against which some
speculative fnancieTs have been so much az war.
II Mr.. HiITs Great Northern system or Mr.. Hav-
riman's Union Pacific combination proposes
millions of new securities-going to the public
for subscription-what is there less than duty
for Officially public inquiry into the legitimacy
Of such offered issues? Honest administration
Will not object. Only AItonesque condscatious
will be wary and antagonists.
Here and there are hippant sugsestious-as if
for detected wrongdoing-that James J. Hill Is
also to be investigated Perhaps. Why nots
But, in the face Of muItitudinOus adverse as
saults hitherto this man Hill has stood continu-
ally supeTior-and unique the record ever and
always actually welcoming the most intimate
inquiry into every official act Of his corpora
lions Never once has there been a Hin investor
looted.
Cartain havond other things certain enough
to be counted upon by the most alert OF Wall
Street operators. IS II that popularity for some
time to come will be with the industrial rather
than the railway shares. Union Pacifc-Alton
revelation is not wholly responsible for this;
almost equally responsible is the rushing dlspO-
sitiOn shown upon the part OF every railway
manager to compete as borrower in the money
market. Some performances Of this sort go
beyond foOlishnsss. reach toward what Is much
worse.
II is notable that railway managers out West
are joining in a chorus % hard-tirnes talk. They
urge that the railroads are being crushed upon
the one side By the pubIIcs demand for lover
rates and upon the other side by the demand
OF employees for higher wages They 90 not re-
vert TO what the railway managers themselves
are doing IN plhng Up new hranciat oonsa-
tiCnS. capitalized and otherwise Yer this lGSI
development IS the harshest OF depression ele-
ments.
one result of new financial conditions VIII
doubtless show in new popularity for the min
ing security market. Thomas ". Lawson "a
setting a rapid pace there. That he has fol-
lowers influence. power. is disclosed wonder
fully. Professional Wall Street dcCs rot ike Mr.
Lawson. Is inclined 20 call him names. sheer
at his propositions and combat his market e.
forts; but the present exhibit shows that ne can
laugh ar pTeiudlced critics, In Sevada-Utad
his foundation is upon actual Withdrawing as
associates there men of highest character.
Even apart from personality, the market FOR
mining securities becomes broader. Evidently
they arc going to be a popular feature tas
Stock Exchange OF course, the mere adyassion
Of a stock to listing by the Exchange gives it a
standing which curb trading cannot; and the
element Of financial safety in speculative opera
tons counts for much
Meantime, general conditions in mining ars
constantly lettering. Apart from speculative
market position, it is Instructive to read reports
of actual development wOrk-Coppsr and silver
mining taking front rank among legitinlats
business enterprises, conducted by responsible
concerns does ECJ traverse this aSSeTtiOE-rake
imitation always seeking to counterfeit success.
As here frequently pointed out. the fake Is
not hard TO GtScOVer-character OF promotion
and financial hacking affords ample test. Less
and less is heard Of the terrible danger OF
trading in mining stocks. Indeed saat cry
has risks. but there is TO peculiar risk Inherent
TO the mining market when values are quoted
as low they now. Risk Is. in fact. mini
mized However annoying it may be 70 back
number conservatives. Il must BE recognized
that present mining speculation Is 40 taetins
whtm OF the moment. 'hGt - a market Phase
which has come 70 stay, having origin in legttt-
mate good times developments
Essential beyond almost everything else n
measuring security value land particularly es-
t. ,oc fvF