White Pine news weekly mining review. [volume] (East Ely, Nev.) 1910-1920, 1913-08-17
BIG BUSINESS"
Is UNIVERSAL
. 6. FORBES SHOWS THE INDI-
vmrAL TO BE A POWER IN
u.I>TaINING THE COUNTRYS
FINANCIAL STABILITY.

What Is bls puaihSSa : wi pold-
.,ors And who own the corpora
lion? A handful of soulless million
aires? Not at all.
The New York American has gath
orsd official figures showing that
$4,000. 600. 000-ten billion-rail-
soad and industrial stock is in the
hands of one million stockholders.
Tho average amount held is thus only
one hundred shares. If we take all
tho capital stock of American cor
norations-say, 2R billions-and We
use the actual returns of stockhold-
ers as a basis. We will arrive at an
aggregate of some 100000 stock
holders.
Add to this the number of bond
holders, say, 100000. and we have
! grand total Of 1000. 900 security
holders.
Regarding each security holder as
The head of a household. and allow
inc the usual five 10 a family. we
nave %. 000. 900 people directly in
terested in he securities Of American
corporations
That means that one in every ave
Of our whole population Is interested
IN incorporate securities.
Nor does the story end there.
Every savings bank depositor draws
his interest. not from the Golfers Of
the banks-bank vaults do not grow
money-but largely from the profits
Of corporations. the savings banks
Of; FIVE eastern states are carrying, it
has been brought out. 81, goo. 000.-
600 railroad securities alone. The
savings banks are thus part OF Bis
business"
You doubtless are insured. Then
YOU are part of Big Business
for insurance companies invest mil
Ions upon millions In securities OF
corporations and must depend upon
the income therefrom 10 meet death.
accident and other claims. Perhaps
some member of your family has had
or is having the benefit of a uniyersi-
ty education. There also you are In
twined with big Business for the
universities likewise depend partly
for Income upon dividends on cor
porate stocks and interest on corpo-
rate bonds.
Maybe you have been brought from
sickness 10 health through the skill
and the care bestowed upon you in
one Of our great hospitals? II 90. the
chances are that YOU have been sue
cored by Big Business" for hos
piials have been generously endowed
with securities or have invested
large sums In them and draw in
come from the profits of corpora
tons. And so II Is with other
charitable and benevolent insti-
tutions.
Then. what of wage earners?
How many men and women are In the
employment of corporations? The
United States Steel corporation alone
has over 200 900 employes-it has
had 5000 in really good times. II
remember correctly. The railroads
have 100000 on their payrolls. In
short, corporations are by far the
greatest employers of labor In the
country. II corporations are pros
pering the demand for labor is very
Keen and wages tend to rise; II cor
porations are suffering from depres-
sion the demand for labor is poor and
wages tend to fall.
When. therefore. the Big Stick Is
nourished over the head of big
7 Business" when corporations are at
tackled angrily and Unfortunately,
when business men are berated and
stigmatized as SO many thieves and
robbers. when industry is thrown In
10 panicky state. the worst sufferers