The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-12-19
BANKING TRUST
 FACING COUNTRY Move of J. P. Morgan Watched
 With Interest THE CEN TRAIL BANK IDEA National Peril May Lurk in Financial Schemes of Senator Aldrch and
 others-May Destroy Rep
 resentative Government.
BY JONATHAN WINFIELD.

sets which the company owns, estimated at more than $Es,ooo. 900, now vested in
 the great Morgan banking house, be- comes one of the main factors in the
 financial world, and will not be over
 looked as q factor in the situation by
 Secretary of the Treasury Macveagh.
 The control of the Equitable is not so
 important as the control of scores of
 subsidiary and inter-related corpora
 tons, which naturally follows The resources of the banking, industrial,
 railroad and other corporations in which
 MT Morgan is c dominant factor" says
 one publication which Is in friendly re-
 lations with the big financial interests,
 now aggregate something like three bil- lions Of dollars."
 This sum, properly placed, would con- troi l2 or 1b railroad systems as great
 sthe Pennsylvania. MT. Morgan Is
 now, in fact. almost the financial dic-
 tator of the country. He Is in a posi-
 ton to exercise a power which would be we'll nigh irresistible The govern
 ment of the United States may have to appeal to him, as 1t has, indeed, al- ready done. Political parties may well stand in awe of him. The greatest finan- cial institutions in the land, even if he did not own share of their stock, would scarcely venture to oppose his will
 Just how MT. Morgan will use his al- most unprecedented power Is a matter for speculation. That he will employ 1t to force the esta blishment of a central bank has been suggested in some quar- ters, but in view of the present state of public sentiment, this is considered un- likely Despite the visits of senator AL drfch, the middle western states are far from reconciled to the idea of central bank with headquarters in Wall street. If MT. Morgan and his associates should attempt to force the issue through their senatorial representatives at this time 1t would inflame public opinion to pitch where tho Legitimate business interests would be threatened. It h deemed safer to educate the public mind than to at tempt to defy 1t. Even with his gigantic financial power. MT. Morgan is not the | man to use 1t in a manner to antagon- 1 ize the responsible public.
 l It is said, indeed, that MT. Morgan Is safe and conservative man, that he Is n builder, not a wrscker that hs is patriotic and well disposed. It is claimed that in his control the money of the ] policy holders of the Equitable company is safer than ever before. The Thomas F. Ryan regime was not regarded with the greatest confidence by some policy holders.
 But granting all these things, is 1t right that the man. of 8 single group of men, should wield the enormous power now given to the Morgan interests? There are many reports of proposed consultations ana combines of banks and other financial institutions, which will grow out of the Morgan purchases. There are rumors of an arrangement between Morgan, the Rockefellers and the Standard oil interests to form a money trust such as the world has
 never before seen. This would include a long line of national banks, which issue a large part of the currency that Is em- ployed in the commerce and business of the country.
 Referring to the purchase of the life insurance stock, financial organ makes the following statement: 'The transaction in this way was even connected with the movement for the establishment of a central bank of issue, for it was argued that harmonious rela- tions among the bankers made more probable the success of this movement and agreement among them as to be the method of managing such an insti- tution.
 This is the current gossip of Wall street as repeated here and it is not likely to be without foundation. Should a central bank Of issue be established, as the monetary commission will un- doubtedly advocate, as Senator Aldrich is its guiding spirit of private interests. That a Morgan-Rockefsile combination would aim at such control is not doubt ed. It might do it in the spirit of be- ,nevolence, and not design il as a move against the financial independence of the interior. but nevertheless such control would simply be a confession of weak ness and impotence on the part of the federal government.
 In his special message to Congress re- latins to the railroad and interstate com- merce laws, President Taft will proba- bly, suggest that national banks should be restrained from extensive dealings in speculative securities. He will also It is declared, recommend federal control of the issue of stock by railroad and other corporations engaged in interstate 1 trade. Those suggestions should be suf- ! hcient to draw attention to subject which statesmen should study carefully, in order to save the country from what l may eventuate In a natural peril President Taft has never given ex- pression to his opinion on the central bank question, but 1t is unlikely that he will permit himself to fall under the in- l fiuence of Senator Aldrch again. He found the leadership of that statesman rather treacherous, so far as the tariff Is concerned. It Is probable that he will again commit the same mistake. When the President realizes that central bank would play right into the hands of the big financial interests, and do more to create financial interest, and all other agencies combined, he will | hesitate long before advocating meas ure of such far-reaching and sinister import
 The absorption of the Equitable As- surance company by Mr, Morgan may be regarded as the fore.runner Of a great concerf ration of financial interests. Legislative action may be necessary to curb ana harness such . formidable oc- topus before many years have passed May "insurgent' and democratic sena- tors and representatives are looking forward to this great struggle and pre- dict that the little sduabbies over Cnn- nonism and Aldriohism Of the present hour are merely preliminary to the great clash with vested interests and organized power which Is to follow. A central bank of issue will be one of the pswns in the fight and 1t Is freely stated that the middle western and 'rAcihc