The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-15

u the street. US available capitalization has been traded in for probably 50 times the actual shares in public hands during the last year. More than a majority is locked up-4O per cent being in the treas uries of the Baltimore and Ohio and Union Pacific. Yet Reading has only lost 15 points from the extreme top. and is still It points above the low point of Janu- ary last. Sears Roebuck is about 55 points higher than it was eight months ago, al- though 1t has sold down 9 points from the October high. It will be seen, there lore, that in spite of all the turmoil and commotion that has convulsed the street, the actual decline in prices has not been excessive. There is still plenty of room for further shrinkage before real ex- euse can be found for outcry.
 Reason for Trouble
 The climax of the present trouble seems to have been reached in the harsh break that took place this week. slump of 10 points in two days in stock like Union Pacific is enough to stir things up for the time being, accompanied as it was by tremendous raid on Steel. variety of reasons were advanced for the down. ward activity in the premier Hartman stock, and some of the gossip which is going the rounds gives color to a sus- picion that big inside financiers and ma nipulators fear that ugly disclosures will attend the investigation incident to the dissolution of Union Pacific and Southern Pacific. The announcement two or three days ago that the real value of the Har- riman estate was S132, 2,o0O,000 instead of 100000 to S70,000,000. as previously ap- praised, calls attention anew to the sen sational exploits of Mir. Hartman during the last 10 years of his life.
 Practically all of that enormous fortune was amassed after his ascendency to the control of Union Pacific and was part and parcel of his astounding manipua- tions of railroads and railroad stocks and bonds. It was his habit to handle the countless millions of corporation stocks and bonds and cash under his control as though they were his own personal prop erty. It has always been a mystery just how he managed to accumulate the vast resources which went to make up his es- tate. He never took counsel of anybody, refused all advice and was actual dic- tator of the affairs under his control.
 He was also known to be the most amaz- ing speculator that ever took part in the game of speculation in Wall street. His campaigns on the exchange were of sur- passing scope. Nothing ever happened be- fore he came up on the scene of anything like the size-not even the plays of those 5idhtS ol Hldllpuldlloil, II. II. hOSefS, William Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller, H. c. Prick, the Reid-Moore combine or Jim keane in his prime. Their real mag nitude may be disclosed for the first time during the course of the separatios of the assets of Union Pacific and Southern Pa cific, which is now going on, and which will be submitted in full for the approval or disapproval of the supreme court of the United States.
 May Prove Sensation
 A foreknowledge of what these reve- lations may be has probably been enc of the background factors in the stock mar ket lately Indications point to hidden consciousness of a coming sensation of surpassing importance attendant upon the inquiry. There are other things that are of piece with this Hartman matter. The investigations which are in progress before congressional committees at the present writing are quite likely to bring into the limelight of publicity other trans actions by individuals and combina tions which will disclose the mammoth trans actions of questionable integrity and which will reveal to the world the inner workings of men of lofty positions who have not been over-Scrupulous in their speculative methods.
 The one crowning deal-that of the or ganization, promotion and Notation of the United States Steel corporation has yet to be given full official scrutiny and publicity. Investigating committees have been for some reason delicate about de- manding full details about this amazing operation-how, within a period of GO days eight or 10 of the greatest steel manu- featuring companies in the United States were merged into a gigantic corporation with a bond and share capitalization of nearly one Sl, 600, fully two-thirds of 1t wind and water-and how this great mass of inflated stuff was unloaded upon a sucker public" at fabulously artificial values. Just how much the insiders real ized has never yet been known, but the amount is quite likely some day to be shown to have been more than $500, 900, GOO Time one thing that is known in Wall street and vaguely to the outside world is that J. P. Morgan & Co.,, and practical ly all the big insiders in the iron and steel industry unloaded the bulk of their hold ings upon public deuded and ensnared by the romance of the great names and by the magnitude of the astounding achievement. The stock was sold by the insiders at B to 45 for the common and from around par down to 75 for the pre- ferreN. A year later, common was a drug on the market at 10 and the preferred sold below 50. Literally hundreds of thou- sands of sucker buyers were frozen out
 
 Why that stupendous operation ,hould be condoned and really glorified as an honorable transaction while the penitcn- tiaries are full of men who have put across get-rich-quick schemes of lesser magniture, but having much the same color, is one of the great mysteries of the age. To the disinterested spectator there is apparently very little diffexnre between them excepting in degree it is barely possible that fear of a mighty up- heaval which will involve all of this his- tory is at the bottom of the fear which has induced wholesale liquidation )f late.
 The street is fairly saturated with mys- terious innuendo and sinister prophecy of what the future has in store for what Mr. Roosevelt classifies as "malefactors of great wealth" If action is delayed much longer it will have a post-mortem flavor. for the principals in the .remen- dous drama are rapidly dying off. Several of the star performers have already gone to their last account and others are grow ing old Their feet are tottering on the edge of the grave. So far as known. none of those who passed away had pockets in their shrouds.
 Country Is Indifferent
 While the street is encouraging dreams and feeding the bogy-men and marvel ling over the gyrations of the tape the country is going along with apparent in difference to what happens on the Stock exchange. Railroads are doing more bus- ness than ever before. commerce and manufacturing proceed without interrup- tion, every man who wants to worK has Work and the nation as whole is anaz- lnSly prosperous. Money is still scarce,