The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-25

| to the cold. hard bedrock, however. the | best tho steel trade really hopes for Is that enough of them can be induced 10
 stand together to prevent the utter oe- | moralzation of prices.
 | Buyers believe this will be impossible
 and they are holding off to take ad-
 vantage of the big cuts which they think they see ahead Really, if everything else is to come down, there is no req son why steel products should not drop too It is rather unreasonable for a manufacturing industry of that size to keep on making 35 to 45 per cent on the gross amount of business done and that is what the Steel trust and the in-
 dependents have been doing for several years past.
 This Is going to be bleak and dreary holiday season for Wall street as a com munity. The banks and trust companies have been making big money this year and are recognizing their employees In generous manner. Some of the big cor porations also are doing the grand. the | list starting off with Steel corporation and International Harvester and running down through where distribution could | be afforded.
 | Usually this takes the form of profit sharing distribution. The amount dis | bursed that way this year is estimated
 at close to 900. Not one stock ex- | change commission house or brokerage | firm in ten has paid expenses. AS rule | they have cut down their office forces and are making a great ado about hard times.
 Wall street Is concerning itself about | the future of MT. George w. Perkins, whose withdrawal from the firm of J. F. Morgan & Co., was announced couple | nlru "a am necessity
 for worry on MT Perkins account He quits the firm with fortune varlously
 estimated between $10,0oo. 600 and S20.0 ,Ooo, | which is a szable wad for a man of AS years to have accumulated. especially from a very humble start as was the case with Perkins.
 friend of the writer used to buy cigars and newspapers of him in little place in Cleveland not any bigger than a farmers smokehouse. MT. Perkins will | go to the head of the board of trustees of the Equitable Life Assurance company, | 1t is said. and as he already dominates the | New York Life Insurance company, he will have enough to occupy his odd time | In looking after the affairs Of those two
 stupendous establishments.
 He is also head of the finance commit tee of the Steel corporation and will rep resent Mir. Morgan in the directories of
 Harvester. the Erie and Southern Rail way companies. International Mercantile
 Marine and several other large corpors- tions His alliance with the Morgan
 house will be as close as when he was officially identified with 1t, although he will be relieved of many of the details he has heretofore looked after. MT. Morgan has had his house in shape
 for five years so that its affairs would go on uninterruptedly In the event of hs
 death. In that respect he Is like nlne out of ten other very rich men. His death would no doubt be a great shock and might be followed by a heavy de- cline in seourieies.
 It might take some time for the world 10 realize the strength of the trustee ship with which he has invested his af- fairs, Then matters would probably drift along smoothly. Mr. Morgan is generally rated at the third richest man sin Ameri- ca. Rockefeller stands first and Car negie second. There are several fortunes in excess of $100.0o0 600 besides those con trolled by the three men named. The Hartman fortune is very close to
 s2o0. 900, 900 and under the very careful and cautious management of Mrs. Hartman will probably never be less. Mrs. Hetty Green is worth a good deal more than $1O0. .000,0o0. Mfr. Schiff probably has in ex- cess of s10o.00o,ooo. There are literally
 scores of men in the business world
 whose fortunes are above the $5o,000 coo mark
 There are about dozen so-called part
 ners in the house of J. P Morgan.
 Actually there are no partners in the gen
 oral sense of the term. Like the late Mar
 shall Field, MT. Morgan has long made a
 practice of taking on partners on a profit
 sharing basis. leaving himself free to
 sever connections with them at days
 warning. The strength of the Morgan
 house Is the strength of J. P. Morgan
 personally-no more, no less.