The Birmingham age-herald., 1908-03-25
Senator LaFoIIette Declares That Wealth Is More and More
 Concentrated
SMALL NUMBER OF MEN
 IN CONTROL OF WEALTH
Wisconsin Senator Renews His Attack Upon the Aldrch Bill, Declaring 1t Will Only Aid the Great
 Money Power.

Washington, March 24-Upon the con- clusion of Senator LaFollette's speech on the Aldrich currency bill in the Senate today a. plan was decided upon by which Senator Aldrfch will tomorrow move to take up the bill and continue its consid- eration until it has been disposed of.
 MT. Aldrich also asked for unanimous consent to take up the bill tomorrow and to dispose of it before adjournment Thursday, but to that proposition Sen ator LaFollette objected on the ground that he feared debate would be curtailed by such a procedure.
 The colloquy which resulted in this an- nouncement followed the conclusion of the third and last installment of Sem ator LaFolettes speech in opposition to the Aldrich bill. He spoke for two hours. Resuming his speech MT. LaFollette de- clared that his statement that the indus tries of this country were controlled by less than 100 men had been attacked as sensational. Declaring that such was not the case, he said that he had been too conservative and that in fact much smaller number of men dominate the in- dustries.
 Increase In Power.
 ''Along with this enormous increase in trust power has gone a steady process of centralization in the control of that power. Until now the entire situation Is dominated by the Standard oil and Nor gan combination" he declared. "The old fights between these two great powers have been laid aside. Mr. Morgan's pie ture adorns the wall of the inner room nR r el Trr combination today they are working to- gether to gather in the smaller sewers. MT Hill has been taught that he must not oppose the big ones. Standard Oil got on in the great North ore deal. The Gould interests are being swallowed up by the combine.
 "Morse and Heinze were neatly pocketed during the recent panic. The smaller trust was given a drubbing and started in the same direction. The Vanderbllts can no longer retain their independent control and themselves see the hand Wrlt- ing on the wall.
 The senator quoted John Moody to show an enormous growth in trust consolida- tion and capitalization in four years. In 1904 MT. Moody placed the capitaliza- tion of the industrial franchises and rail- road trusts at over $2O,OOO,oo0,0oo. That amount had increased more than $llO00,- OOOOoO or more than 55 per cent The S3l,- O0000 900 did not represent the nnancial combinations-bank, trust and insurance companies. 4ALA-lAa
 Lists of Financiers.
 MT. I,aFollette read several lists of emil rent fnanciers to whom he accorded various degrees of power in the control .1f industries. He included Senator De- pew of New York as among those who exercised large power and held many nf dQ1 fa6 r.ower exercised by them in mere rep resentative capacity. MT. Depew was in his seat and general laughter followed.
 MT IIaFollette najled as next after MT Morgan and the Rockefellers group ol fourteen men whom he said were pig operators and men of large power snd interests in their own rights" These mon he said. find their best interests ..in working in harmony with Morgan ond Standard Oil" No combination which they could form among themselves or others could cope with that power, he de- olared. In his list of fourteen, he placed them as follows:
 William K Vanderbilt, August Belmont, Frederick Weyerhauser, Henry c. Prick, J. ogden Armour, George J. Gould, Jacob Sohiff B. H. Harriman Thomas F. Ityan, Louis s. Swift, John Jacob Astor, James Speyer, James J. Hill and w. H. Moore.
 The Second Class.
 second class of men in the list were the stars of lesser magnitude" but with wealth and power who work in with the combine and few of higher rank of at- t, rneys and bank presidents of the sys- tenn. This group follows:
 C. H. Dodge, c. H. Mccormick, Ste .hen s. Palmer, Brayton Ives c. A. Peabody, G. F. Baker, J. F. Dryden. J. S. Post, H. Taylor, T. H. Hubbard, G. G. Haven, W. J. Oakman, F. J. Der wynd F. B. Duke, J A. Valentine, w. D. Stone, Adrian Iselin. Jr., Frederick Cromwell, G. w. Young, c. Ledyard Blair, D. Guggenheim, " P. Snyder, A. II. Brady, Edwin Hawley, D. O. Mills, Charles Steele, John J. Waterbury, Oliver Ames, Nathaniel Thayer, E. H. Gary, John Claf1in, John R. Hageman, c. H Mackay, F. w. Vanderbilt, J. J. Mltcli- ell, T. Jefferson Coolidge. Thomas Do- Ian, Samuel Lea, Charles Lanier, James c. Fargo, D. o. Reid, Henry Walters, Norman D. Ream, H. l.. Hgginson, P. A. B. Weider and F. B. Morris.
 Of the third group, including tho balance of the list. Senator LaFollette said:
 While some of them exercised larger power and held many director ships it was a delegated power exer- cised by them in a mere representa- tive capacity"
 AIdrich Bill Condemned.
 MT. LaFollette argued that the AL erich bill would only serve to strength en this great money DO of Wall street. He criticised the fs of the committee on finance in n leeping bank reserves in the vauA the banks throughout the countrA
 MT. LaFollette concluded hh >ech with strong appeal to the "p es- sve men," in the Senate to staA o- gether and beat the bill. He spo f the activities of the President and fBryan in combating with wrongdo-..A. -tamong high fnanciers.
 .& "Whatever difference there may be in party policy or personality between the President and MT. Bryan they are striv- ing, each in his own way, for certain fundamental truths Whatever mis- takes MT, Bryan may have made n policy. whatever mistakes the Presi- dent may have made in compromistng