The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-02-07
COMING WIZARD IN FINANCIAL WORLD HawIey Now Working on the Chesapeake & Ohio MORE GOOD CORPORATIONS Sugar Trust Is Coming Into Line and Wants to Take Public Into Its
 confidence-Tarif
 Revision.
MORE GOOD CORPORATIONS
By w. G. NICHOLAS.

hardly second to those possessed by MT. Hartman. Indeed these activities seem to be along the same general lines. Con struetion. combination and financial ex- ploitation go hand in hand The differ ence between the two men seems to be largely one of degree. MT. Harriman's operations have run far up into the az gregated hundreds of millions of dollars, even across the billion dollar mark. MT. Hawley's deals have crossed into the hun dred million arena. but further down the line. Still, he is very much younger than MT. Hartman, and by the time he is 50 years old he may be more imposing figure than the Little Giant of Union Pacific Already he has position, stand ing and power greater than MT. Harri- man had ten years ago, and he has fully ten years the best of the leader in point Of age.
 One of MT. Hawley's associates in the Chesapeake and Ohio deal is MT. Robert Fleming, an Englishman of international fame as a financier and promoter He is closely allied with the big men of Cana dian Pacific. MT. Horace G. Burt, form erly president of the Union Pacific. but too gnarly for MT. Hartman to handle, is working in with the Hawley- Fleming party. He has been for some time past making a careful physical examination of the Chicago-Great Western system, which is in process of reorganization and bank ruptcy. The old Stickney system runs it's lines through Illinois, Iowa. Minnesota and Missouri. Mir. Burt has not yet made his report to his principals, but it is plainly evident that they would like to ac quire possession of the system if it can be gotten hold of on terms to suit. It has not yet developed just what the Hawley people would be willing to pay. A glance at the map suggests very plainly how the Stickney system might be used to advantage as an extension of Canadian Pacific or in the rounding out of a Flaw ley system in the upper Mississippi states or in a purchase for joint account by MT Hawley and the English-Canadian capitalists for Canadian railroad exten- sion. It would not be a very difficult matter for Mir. Hawley to connect with the Chesapeake and Ohio at two or three points on or near the Ohio river. between Wheeling and Louisville. This is be- lieved to be part of the general grand scheme. which Mir. Hawley is working out. It is well known that millions Of tons of West Virginia coal might easily be added to the annual tonnage which now goes out of that section, The min ing capacity of West Virginia has hardly been touched yet The output of the state might easily be doubled in five years if an outlet for the coal could be made in the middle west and northwest. For some unex plained reason Chesapeake and Ohio has not encouraged development in this direction. MT Hawley is known to feel differently towards the West Vir- ginia field. A northern market can easily be found for all the coal that can be mined in West Virginia. It is only matter of transportation and rates can be made which will give the West Vir- ginia product better than an even chance with Ohio, Indiana and Illinois coal, It is believed that West Virginia is on the eve of very important development as an out come of MT. Hawleys invasion of that territory.
 The self-interest of corporations leads to their general acquiescence in the ur- gency of MT. Herbert Knox Smith, fed eral commissioner of corporations, for wider and more explicit publicity in com pany finances. The public has been edu- cated to demand more definite informa- tion as to what is going on in the cor porations, whose stocks they buy and sell. One after another, the stubborn people in Wall street who have been de- nying stockholders and the public details of management, are coming into line. It Is hardly necessary for the government to take further steps in the matter, as the homogeneous themselves are recognizing the futility of standing in their own light It is observed that spectators and in vestors have adopted the policy of keep ing away from issues involved in mys- tery They are giving preference to things which they know about or think they do. The United States Steel Corporal tion has been doing great missionary work in this respect. There are many i'm side facts about the big corporation that the public is not let Into fully but there is bland willingness on the part of the management to present an open sheet and to invite inspection which Is very fetching. The Sugar trust management is one of the latest to take steps with the Steel Corporation and announce a change of heart on publicity Hereafter, sugar stockholders and the trading people will be taken into family council and told all about it. Amalgamated Couuer still holds out separately, but may be expected to open its books before long, and then will come Standard Oil and Tobacco perhaps. On the theory that everything helps, the aid of the commissioner of corporations will not be rejected But after all the matter of self interest gov erns.
 There Is where the uplift gets in its work. Self-interest has really been be- hind the march of events in this direc- tion-more than Congress or the President
 
 fact that commercial and financial forces lead legislation and executive initiative in nearly all the practical reforms which have been going on of late years. It was the railroads themselves that were in strumental in abolishing free passes and l reducing the rebate evil to a minimum i The great majority of commercial laws | follow commercial practice instead of i leading, as most people imagine. Public | ity in connection with corporation man
 agement is becoming more the custom | because the corpora tons find 1t to their | advantage to be reasonably frank in | dealings with the public if public favor | is expected.
 Money continues to be abundant and | brings only low rate. Corporations are | taking advantage of this situation to
 supply themselves with capital for re- | funding operations and they are prepar-
 ing to dip In deeper when the business
 situation improves little more. For | the present there is disposition to hold | on. By this plan those who will be in | the field later on as big borrowers, feel ] that they are not hurting their cause. If
 they were to rush in now and scramble
 Tor the capital on tap they might flush
 the game. By going slow, owners of l money will not get swelled up with the
 idea that they own the earth and can
 command their own terms from borrow
 CTS. Meantime stocks of every kind on l the shelves and in the warehouses are | pelng introduced by the demands of 85-
 o00,e0o of our own people and the exigen-
 cies Of large foreign population. which
 relies on the United States for supplies.
 The balance of International trade Is run
 ming in our favor at the average rate of