The Idaho recorder. [volume] (Salmon City, Idaho) 1886-1927, 1908-01-02

illustrate this point the situation in
railway circles might be mentioned.
The railways of the country have
been given over to the stock gamblers
Tor manipulation 10 place OF perform
Ing their ordinary functions. Fol-
Instance. two lines OF railway may
have been capitalized at one hundred
million each. These two companies
we're merged into one and watered to
perhaps 800 million, the stock placed
upon the market. The roads were
Their stripped OF their properties to
show fictitious earnings and the
stocks doomed on the market. The
result was that the manipulators
placed three hundred millions In
their pockets OF made dollars and the
poor devil OF an Investor was left to
hold the stock. To carry out these
nianipulations the banks loaned their
money TO the gamblers, getting In
deeper and deeper all the time. When
these watered stocks we're forced up
on the market the result was that
the scare became general and the bot
tom dropped out Of all stocks, re-
gardless OF whether they had legiti-
mate value or not.
-.
When this forced liquidation &C
Cured the large banks had securities
which had comparatively little value,
upon which they had not only loaned
their own capital below the reserve
point, but the money Of their depos-
ItoIs as well as the reserves CT the
major portion OF the inland banks OF
the country. This manipulation OF
the railway stocks, and the railways
are mentioned merely as an illustra.
ton OF the whole industrial system,
Is largely responsible for the recent
panic. When the sober sense OF the
purchaser Of moderate means began
to see the actual situation they re-
fused to longer throw their hard
earned money In to the maelstrom,
and the gamblers were holding stock
upon a falling market. The banks
were being forced to Withdraw credits
to these gamblers, the rates In inter-
est increased, and the banks con
trolled by gamblers began to 20 to
the wall as a result. These failures
began to shake the confidence OF the
people, and they began to withdraw
their deposits. This Is when the
government went to the rescue of the
banks with the $50 millions and later
the clearing house began to issue GER
tificaues so the banks could keep
what little money they still had in
tact.
In the above we have tried to give
the primary cause Of the panic In as
plain language as We can. There has
been AN effort to lay the blame en-
tirely upon President Roosevelt.
There Is no doubt but what he has
contributed TO some extent to the re-
cent panic by his lack OF discretion.
In place OF prosecuting the malefact.
ors In an unostentatious way he has
attempted to do so with the accom-
paniment OF brass bands and the
blare OF trumpets. No one, especially
among the common people, but who
give Theodore Roosevelt credit with
an honest desire to rid the country
OF many Of Its abuses and contribute
towards Its we'll being, Neither does
any one credit him with anything
but the best of motives In such pro-
secutions as he has attempted, 1t is
not the purpose Of this article to
show that he has not accomplished
anything In this direction, but show
where he Is culpable In adding the
last straw which broke the camel S
back.
~
In his addresses to the public, both
on the stump and In his interviews,
he has not distinguished between the
good aud bad trust but has led
the people TO believe that they were
all tarred with the same stick, and
all were malefactors. In place Of or,
dering prosecutions for disobedience
of law, In quiet way, he has first
given notice OF such prosecutions
from the top Of the dome of the
White House. lie has rallied against
the undesirable citizen, the pre-.
datory rich, the malefactors In high
places until the general reader, did
he not know better, would ut once
conclude that all bankers and trust
managers, and all the wealthy men OF
the nation were instructive rogues
and should be hung as high as Ham.
an on one common scaffold. BY thus
playing to the galleries and not dis.
tlnguishing between the rich man
who is attempting to do an honest
aud conservative business and the
criminals In high finance, he has as.
sisted the New York gamblers In de.
stroying confidence. As result OF
this publicity, In such grandstand
manner, the credit of every corpora