The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1909-12-19

cate composed of Mcssrs. Jay Gould
William H. Vanderbilt and others the
entire postotiicc business of the coun-
try. No other compensation is provid-
cd for Than the right for the syndicate
to charge any rate for postage deemed
advisable The main argument urged
for the change by the syndicate is that
il would he for the public good. We
arc unable TO trace the abovo rnmor 10
any authoritative source, but il fur
nishcs keynote to the prevailing sem
timent at the close of the week, ard
the public mind has been gradually led
up 10 the subject by the consultations
and stock .waterings Of the last twelve
months
To effect the F'tclegraph dcal'' the
Western Union Telegraph company in
creased its capital stock $3S ,926 $50,
aud proposed to exchange now Western
Union stock as follows; For each 100
of new Western Union; for each 100
shares OF old Western Union, 1881
shares of new Western Union; for
each 800 shares Of Atlantic end Pa
ciGc Telegraph, 300 shares of new West-
crn Union. 1t was q comprehensive
and retroactive scheme of profits Tho
American Union got par IN new West
ern Union. Old Western Union stock
holders got more Western Union.
The old Atlantic and Pacific. which was
the heritage Of a previous fight, and 4
majority Of which was already IN the
Western Union trensury-ic got new
Western Union, too.
There was great turore AZ once
All the financial press denounced il as
an outrageous stock watering operation,
and there was much litigation. The is
suing of the new Western Union stock
was enloined. But it was finally issued
Control at Last.
In the outcome Jay Gould actually
owned nearly 30 per cent of the com
pany's capital stock. which. with the
rest scattered gave him uudisputed con
troll The Gould interest thereafter
never changed appreciably, and 1t was
stock that George Gould sold TO the
American Telephone aud Telegraph
company. Ii was, however, a larger
amount, various increases and stock
dividends having been declared in the
intervening years.
Though for nearly thirty wears the
Goulds controlled Western Union, the
represented a wide distribution OF other
interests. The last published Official
list of directors was as follows: Oliver
Ames, John Jacob Astor. George w L.
Atkins. Henry a. Bishop, William l..
Bull. Thomas r. Clark, Robert G..
Clowrv, Chauncey NJ. Depew. Thomas
Eckcrt III. G. Fahpestock, Henry N.
Gould, Frank j. Gould, George j: Gould.
Howard Gould, Z. H. Hartman, Thomas
II Hubbard James II. Hyde. Charles
Lanier. John !. Mitchell. !, 2, Nor
gan. Paul Morton, J5cob n, SchiG,
c. Sidney Shepard. Joseph j. Slocunl.
James Stillman. John 7. Terry, !. +.
Van Every, Henry Walters.
There was never Il list of corpora
tiop directors containing such number
Of distinguished names. Hardly more
than onc-Ealf OF them ever attended
directors meeting, and, IN fact, the
Goulds control was so little questioned
that directors meetings were as 4 rule
perfunctory affairs.
\ year ago Wall street would have
said that, next TO Missouri Pacific,
control Of Western Union was the one
thing inc Gould family would never
part with. There was believed 10 he
more family pride IN Western Union
than in any other of the Could posses
sions, save Missouri Pacific. But com
petition ut last prevailed over the West
crn Union. the concern which for more
than half n century had been buying
out compotition--not so much IN later
years rs in the first thirty of It's cx-
iStence. hut always more or less so
long as il could afford 20 do il at all.
The suspension Of cash dividends in
zoos was Il confession Of weakness not
unexpected 10 Wall street, where unfa-
vorablc Tendencies in the annual re.
suits had heen noted for a long time,
but IL was d shock 10 hundreds Of small
investors holding Western Union stock
as one of the solid things 10 have IN
one box MANY of these holders had
Inherited the stock ana were attached 10
il.