Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1915-09-14

! This was in addition to he increase in
value OF more than 500 per cent to the
actual holders Of the stock.
The labor men point out that Mr.
schwab in addition to his big profits
on the war contracts, might have and
may have cleaned up other millions il
dealing in the stock on margins.
What the labor chiefs see is the sur
face indications OF enormous fortunes
rolling into the strong boxes Of
Schwab and his associates, with no
corresponding percentage increase in
the pay Of the men who make the stuff
the war contracts call for And that
is the big question. according to trad
ers and labor spokesman, that must he
adjusted if the United States is not to
see a capital and labor controversy
that may unsettled industrial and com
mercial conditions from one end Of
the country to the other
Cannot Even Guess Profits.
How much money Morgan is max
ing out of his Job as American minis
ter Of munitions 10 the court of St
James is the merest conjecture. Even
the traders on the stock exchanges
and the commercial and manufactur-
ing leaders hazard only a guess. Some
say the amount is SO stupendous as to
be almost inconceivahle
aAnd some Of them don't like the
way the market acts at times-and
some have laid it at the door of the
house OF Morgan.
Another story a reputable trader
tells is thar since Morgan took hold
the competition between bidders for
European beIligerents has been clint
mated, with the result that all sight
unseen and wild buying has ceased.
although the demand for war NUM-
tons is SO great that an the factories
getting war orders are in the midst Of
such a golden harvest that prices must
continue to rise under stress of the de-
mand alone.
This systematiHng Of the purchas-
ing hy the Morgan house and the
elimination of much OF the c0mpeti-
tton is ascribed as one cause Of the
slump in wheat prices. Before. the
s.
bid against one another in the omen
market Now Morgan does it all He
is reported to have negotiated the
handling of the Canadian crop aud
the Argentine supply and leaving the
United States to the last, with the re-
suit that the European demand has
fallen off here temporarily. The tax
ing of Constantin0ple by the allies and
the opening of the vast wheat fields Of
southern Russia to the allies is said
not to be affecting the situation as vet. /
since the forcing OF the DardanejIes .
still is considered q remote eventual /
itv.
His Profit an Endless Chain.
Another story is that Morgan gets !
a bonus for the work on the proving
grounds where the shrapneI and ex-
plosive shells are tried out One re- +
port is that this Zee is considerable. in +
lhe aggregate.
I'm trying to estimate his earnings /
as q result of the war, he is first given /
his commission direct from the gov. /
ernments OF The allies. Then, some of /
the traders believe. he gets another
commission in suhletGng the con
tracts and apportioHing them to the
various plants throughout the United
States. Then he gets the indirect pro
fit from transportation, both land ard
sea. and from q thousand other indus
tries, and if the house has been specu-
ating in war stocks the millions are
too biz. they say. to form any human
estimate that could be reliable.
on top OF this, TOO. the Morgan
house will be a big Garner in fees for
the enormous war loans
I'd England and the allied powers
probably many millions of dollars"