The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1914-01-08
PLAN OF CHANGE
LIKELY TO FAIL
Morgan Withdrawal From Corpora
lions Will Not Cause Congress
To Let Up On Further Action
DOES NOT DISSOLVE TRUST
Those In Power Must First Cause d.
rectorates To Dissociate Themselves
With Banks And Great Pools
By Robert F. Wilson

Washington, January S-If the re-
cent action of the Morgans and
other powers of Wall Street in re-
signing from various railroad and
other industrial directories was de-
signed as method for quieting the
popular cutlery against interlocking
directorates and thus blocking Iegis-
lation on the subject in Congress,
that action should, and probably
will, fail of it's purpose.
1t will take more than this to
make the people believe that the peo-
pie believe that the Money Trust is
to be broken by voluntary dissolu-
ton, but even if the powers Of Wall
Street voluntarily severed all bank
ing and commercial connections
against which the people complain,
still there would be given no excuse
for Congress not to proceed to enact
prohibitory legislation as it has plan
ned. The people cannot afford to
take the word of financiers that they
will not attempt to monopolize the
credit of the nation. The people
must do more. They must forbid
such a monopoly by specific legisla-
ton.
However, the severing of few in
dustrial connections by the big bank
ers Of New York does not by any
means dissolve the Money Trust. 1t
does not even shake its power. Grant
that these designations from the rail-
road directOrates are in good faith
that there will in actual fact be no
representations in persons or by
proxy of the Morgans and others on
the railroad boards Of directors The
bankers will still control the reser-
voirs of capital in New York. The
railroads must still come to them for
financial assistance. And this fact
leaves their power over the railroads
still supreme( although they have
no official representation in the
roads,
Let the Morgans and others be-
gin to surrender their control of the
insurance reserves Of the country.
Let them dissociate the great banks
which they have been linked by di-
rectorates composed Of or controlled
by the few Wall Street men who
constitute the Money Trust. Let
them surrender these great pools of
the peoples savings and commercial
deposits, and prepare for the future
to act as strictly as investment bank
ers. Then will the people begin to
believe that Wall Street has truly re-
formed. And it will remain only to
enact the laws preventing future
Money Trusts.
There is a shrewd suspicion, how
ever, that the Money Trust as ever,
in retiring from railroads, has it's
own end to serve. The railroads are
after five per cent increase in rates.
Recently the Interstate Commerce
Commission, in drawing up a set of
questions to be answered by the
roads, included a question asking in
formation on the subject Of inter-
locking directorates.
Evidently this question has alarm
ed Wall Street. Not only Congress but
the Interstate Commerce Commission
is becoming curious about these in
terlocking boards. There was the
possibility that the Commission
might not grant the increase if the
railroads are linked with banking
houses which in turn have their con-
nections with industries furnishing
supplies to the roads. The Commits
sion then might become still more
obnoxiously curious and inquire into
contracts made between roalroads
and these interlocked industries,
such as the Steel Trust, which makes
rails for the railroads, and the whole
affair might wind up with a refusal
to grant the increase in freight
rates,