Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1914-03-12


through cupidity, but through stupid
lily, J. p Morgan q co. seek to con-
vey by their ingenious public letter.
fThe statement that they did not
make any money out OF IL removes
the last excuse Morgan x Co. could
have had for the running Of New Ha-
ven" a heavyweight fnancier re-
marked to me with significant ia
cial expression. ITO have done it for
profit would have been bad enough;
to have done it without even that ex-
cuse is-well let's just cali It worse"
When J. p. Morgan died, one of his
close associates said to me: "Mr
Morgan was NOT a great banker
Three times in five his own Judgment
was wrong The secret of his power
lay in the confidence of others in his
honesty. That's why every banker
was willing to accept his leadership
during the panic"
The Morgan letter confirms this
view.
When P Morgan & 60. issue an
official statement giving extracts from
their ledgers | for one am prepared to
accept its accuracy without question
nobody Is foolish enough to imagine
that the firm stole the New Haven
millions that were lost But before
analyzing the figures and criticising
the convenient fiscal agency" arr
Tangement made with the New Haven
by the bankers. believe l can throw
valuable light on the whole New Ha-
ven tragedy and its motif
For several years before his death
j. p Morgan was obsessed by
mania for buying things. for monop-
oily. Latterly it became so pro-
nounced in respect to art objects that
his associates were genuinely
alarmed
Next to Heaven, Mr. Morgan be-
lleved most in the New Haven Rail-
road. OF all earthly things it was
his chief joy and pride He made of
II his own child. And, as a special
mark Of affection, he lavished upon il
his peculiar manufacturing was too
big or too dear for it to buy He set
his heart upon making New Haven
the greatest the most complete trans
portation monopoly history had ever
known. Steam railroads, electric
railroads, traction systems, trolleys
steamship lines. wharfs. piers
everything and anything that fitted
into his monopoly scheme was ac-
quired, no matter how eXorbitant the
price. That all this was in violation
of the law did not bother Mr. Nor
gan. His eyes were on one goal and
he would let nothing stay his prog
ress toward it.
When this ruinOus policy began to
show defects. when the New Haven's
credit began to weaken, Mir Morgan
thought the public must be mad to
harbor the most shadowy doubt about
the stability Of the system He took
Il as personal affront when advised
that unlimited millions of new Sc
curities should not be snapped up
eagerly by investors What Cues
ton the credit Of the New Haven, the
pride of his heart2 The thing was
preposterous. But the public did
question the strength OF New Haven.
Then Mr.. Morgan died.
Mr. Morgan. you viii see. was not
in New Haven to wiring from IL I'M
counted dollars His dominating mo-
tive was not money making-at least
not immediate money making It was
monopoly-monopoly at any cost OF
cash or laWlessness. OF course, mo-
nopoly once firmly established, would
Yield unrestricted profits, But the
main thing the force that impelled
him forward, was MONOPOLY.
That Morgan and his co-directors
followed Grassy mistaken policy
everybody realizes Some OF the
things done were not only absurdly
foolish, not only economically UNI
sound. but markedly criminal, in ma
grant violation of the law.
The fruits have been carnage I'M
parallel over half hundred
deaths and nearly half thousand
maimings-n three years the be-
smrching of many regulations. ia
calculable graft among those who
Ted Mr.. Morgan's monopoly mania
ne sellers of traction and steamship
lines and. not the least. the inflic-
ton of heart breaking losses upon
thousands and thousands OF smou.
trustiul investors among them more
than ten thousand women.
The Morgan letter detailing It's
commissions Is a poor, uncomforting
answer for an that has ben done.
II meets none of the basic charges
hat the system was saddled WITH
properties OF unuuestiunahle value aud
charged therefor staggering sums
which somebody must have pocketed
and which were hlched from the
slender purses OF New England's
trustful inhabitants
Taking the letter bv Itself. 80
presents record that calls for plain
spoken criticism and furnishes 4
pointed reason for demanding reform
in the relations between bankers
and railroad chiefs