New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1911-02-01
Epidemic Of Reductions Strikes
American Financial World.
STEEL COMBINE SETS PACE.
Farrell Given $4,000 a. President a.
Against 100000 Received BY Corey.
Equitable Life to Shave Morton's
$4,000 to Prevailing Insurance sti-
! pend Of $4,000.


There appears to be an epidemic of
lowering the big salaries of the In
dustrial and financial world these days.
The steel trust showed its symptoms,
and now comes further evidence in
the Equitable Life Assurance sOciety's
intention to pay its president $4,000
instead Of $4,000.
The death of Paul Morton, president
of the Equitable, has furnished op-
portunity for the reduction. 1t was
said the trustees probably will insist
on the lower salary when electing his
successor on the theory that $4,000
would be sufficient to command the
services of the ablest man in the life
insurance business. Those who took
this view pointed to the fact that
Charles A. Peabody, president of the
Mutual Life Insurance company, was
drawing only $4,000 year.
corsy's Pay Cut In Half.
This followed the news that the sal
ary Of James A. Farrell, new president
of the United States Steel corporation,
would be $4,000 year instead of
100000, which had been paid to w. E.
Corey, the retiring president. Those
who know say that $4,000 hereafter
,..r,yill be about the maximum pay OF
corporation officers in the United
States.
When Morton assumed the presiden-
cy Of the Equitable in 1905 the salary
of the president was 100000 a year.
That amount had been paid for years
to James w. Alexander, and it was
supposed that Morton would receive
the same amount. Because of the pub
lie agitation respecting the high cost
of insurance management in the Unit
ed States and the unpleasant disclo-
sures attending the Armstrong investi-
CATION in 1905, however, he asked that
his salary be cut 20 per cent, in order
that he might ask other officers in the
Equitable to accept similar reductions.
With the possible exception Of the
presidents of one or two banks and
trust companies, there is not finan-
cial institution in Wall street which
reimburses its president at higher
salary than $4,000 year. One trust
company, in addition to paying $780,
600 salary, gives the president hand
some bonus at the year end.
Investig CATION Shaved Salaries.
y There has been an extraordinary
change in corporation management
since the days of the insurance investi-
CATION in 1905, when Richard A. Nc
Curdy, testifying before. the Armstrong
committee, told how he had been pleas
antly surprised one day on hearing
that the salaries committee Of the Mu-
tual Life had, without any suggestion
from him, raised his salary from $780,
900 a year to $15OoOO. McCurdy adj
mitted that he was pleased at this &C
ton, but that he had received the In
formation as matter of course and
only felt honored because he would re-
ceive the highest salary paid to- the
president of any life insurance COM
pany in the United States.
The salary Of McCurdy probably will
stand out for all time as the maximum
paid to any insurance president in the
world.
Outside of New York city $4,000
salary, in the words of Wall street
man discussing the subject, "looks as
big as house." With the exception
Of one or two bank presidents in Chi
cago, no bank officer in the west re-
ceives more than $35,O00 a year.