The new era., 1909-12-02

~ er staples has been heralded ~
62yGH far and wide. But there Is W/
another harvest that has Ml
been growing and ripening all unno- IgH
ticed by government statisticians and LF
by everybody else. and that Is the IdM
bumper crop of new millionaires and nlNW
multi-millionaires. Never before were 1lTJ
there so many in New York as there hlIN
are to-day. Millionaires were made In VM{
a night by the great wave OF consoli- @'
dation and the merging of hundreds ~
of industrial enterprises that was the F/
feature of the opening years of the -
twentieth century, just after the close =
of the Spanish-American war. There .
were steel kings, steamship kings ~
pump kings, kings of springs and ~
of air brakes and of all sorts OF ~
things. They blossomed forth between ~
the sunset Of one day and the dawn F
of the next The select circle of plu II
tocracy widened so swiftly that 1t Ia
broke all barriers and created new Z
9ristocracy of wealth In America. e
ew York was invaded by horde OF II
westerners whose manners In some II
cases shocked even the imperturbable IN
servitors at the expensive hotels Y
where they monopolized the royal
suites. Pittsburg, from being simply
a great mill town, a city of grimy
workmen, jumped into worldwide
prominence because 1t was discovered
suddenly that it had more millionaires
to the square inch than any other
spot on earth. In New York all sorts
of people achieved fortunes, paper or
actual, almost before they were
aware; jockeys, walters, bartenders
and other humble folk glanced with
amaze at the balances with their
brokers and began making plans for
yachts and country houses The his -
tory of this period was one of the a
wonders of America. Gs
Then, two years ago. the panic
came and put dampener the
financial hopes and aspirations of those who
survived the various ills that followed in the
of industrial overexpansion. But since the
clouds have cleared away there has come an,
and even more wonderful appreciation in va
the most remarkable advance in the prices {
commodities and securities that this country
ever known. Probably more millionaires have
made in the last IL months by the steadily r
tide of tremendous prosperity than history
has recorded In a similar period of time.
number of those who have grown rich quick
greater, probably than 1t was in the time of
ger and consolidation, nearly decade ago.
fore the panic of 1907 there were, perhaps,
hillionaires in New York. Now there are
kxhere between 5000 and 10000.
SThe advances in the value of securities II
last two years have been almost Incredible. I
probably are more than 100000 persons who
stockholders of United States Steel. In Oct
1907 Steel Common was 21B; in February,
1t was 41A this October 1t has been well a
80. The shares of the Pennsylvania railroad
more widely distributed than any other tran
tation line, more than 10000 people being l
on its books of shareholders. Two years al
was 1903: lately 1t has been above $50. Un1oI
ciflc is next to Pennsylvania in the length G
stockholders list 1t is not only one of the
popular investment securities, but also one tn
speculated in most largely. Union Pacific
mon was 100 in 1907; this year it has been a
219. an increase of more than 100 per cent.
York Central, Southern Pacific Baltimore &
Atlantic Coast Line, Illinois Central. Great
thern, Standard Oil-practically all the stocl
the long list Of railways and fndustrfals hav'
,'vanced from SO to 100 or more per cent. in ,
since October, 1907.
Thousands of people who not specult
and who are intolerant of speculation have p
ed enormously by this wonderful rise in pr
They are the ones who bought for investl
when the prices were low and who are now
ing the harvest. During the panic enorI
blocks of glt-edge shares were thrown on
markets when great spectators like Heinze
Morse, and some others who were not so spe
ular daring, had to sacrifice anything anc
erythfng for ready money. Their holdings no"
scattered throughout the country and have
tucked away in tens of thousands of safes
strong boxes.
While some of the new millionaires come
the ranks of those who were bargain hunter
the days of panic, most of the new plutocrats
pm the army OF spectators.
There are SO many OF these new million'
that 1T ws.nld be impossible to list them all