The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1912-12-20
MoRGAN'S TESTIMONY

i"e testimony given before the House
committee Investigating the Mono,
rust by j. Pierpout Morgan. did no,
aud much to the general KNOWLEDGE a,
tno vast interests which that bio
iinancler controls; for VIC take i. that
ne IS fpe leading spirit in that croup
IoI fihanclcrS who have ot thoir dis
posai practically the whole of ,bc sur.
Plus and usable accumulations az
money IN New York. Tho anopn, of
'n'S locating money is variouslv stated
AT from one-hslf billion 10 q billion
doiiafs: and the great financial apcn.
cics which Mr. Morgan is assumed 10
control practically have this amount
OF moucy AT their disposal from timo 70
'ime as that money is called for by
spectators. investors, and business
men Of New York.
Aside from this surplus Of floa,ipc
money the immediate Morgan finan-
clal system is supposed to have control
CT tn'Tty-tour corporations having to.
tai resources or capitalization of SO.
o"o' o'9oO,0oO Adding eighteen other
corporations and individual firms
closely affiliated with the Morgan in.
terests. the total resources or capi.aI.
lzatIou of the combined oroun ia mn,
at P2o,52o,OOo,O00, And vet Mr. Nor
gan says there could be no money
trust To which all will respond. God
grant it,
ms is so vast sum of money that
II 's practically impossiblc for tho ordi.
nary mind to grasp the huge figures
and comprehend practically what the
accumulation means. And the cuc;aI
question IN it all is whether the coun-
try has reason 20 fear for its safety
and stability by reason of these vast
interests
FIRST OF all, it IS fair to saw, there
fore, and it is clear. that these inter.
ests require order, liability, and the
repression of fiuaDcial disorders or
panics. Whatever few sbrcwd spec.
ulators might be able TO make out of a
panic, it is certain that vast interests
like these would lose far more than
they could possibly gain by any general
financial disturbance. And vet there is in
the public mind an uneasy feeling tha.
1t is dangerous TO have so much avail
able money and Immediate resources
under the hands OF any group OF men.
and especially dangerous to have so
much practically at the disposal of Que
man. The public mind naturally re-
verts to the fact that tremendous in.
jury could be inflicted upon the pub.
lie by such enormous sccumulations. If
that injury TO the public could be made
to turn to tic advantage OF the
- money kings and this naturally |
apart from the personality of Mr.. Nor. (
gan, for il was demonstrated in the
panic Of five years ago that Mr.. Nor. |
gan did his best TO. stay the panic and |
restore confidence and business reg1.
larity, after he saw the ruin that bad
begun. That he made enormous sums
OF money in the combination whereby
the L. s. Steel Corporation was formed
has been repeatedly asserted. and is
probably true; but il is not true that
the panic was TO the interest OF Mr..
Morgan or any OF the financial enter.
prises that he had in hand. All the
testimony is TO the effect that when
be found the panic was on. he did
everything possible 20 quei IL.
However, IL has been Justly OBJ.
served that the personality of the indi.
'idusl having such tremendous power
$ not so much the question at issue as
.he possession of that power: for the
public must always reckon with the
likelihood of an individual having [:
enormous power like this being such
In individual az would put il TO bad.
elfish, or destructive use; just as in !
he case OF an absolute mouarcbv. ;
yhile n benevolent despot might rive
he best possible government among ;
nen, the chance Of getting 4 benevo,
ent despot is SO remote that mankind :
annot afford TO take the risk of let !
ing anybody DE n despot. And So IL !
$ in the financial affairs Of the conn. =
r.. II il be pleaded that Mr.. Nor. i
AN is benevolent financial despot. !;
ye have to look forward to the time :
Vhen the man who has all this enor- Z
ious wealth ar his disposal will not /
e benevolent despot, and the afflic-
ion which a selfish, arrogant. and un. r
crupulous financial despot might a