The Kevin review. [volume] (Kevin, Mont.) 1922-1929, 1924-04-03
EXPOSES THREE
FINANCIAL FAKES
Politicians MisIead Public Re-
garding Corporations, Credit,
and Railroads, Says F.
N. Shepherd.
FALLhCIES MET WITH FACTS
Declares People Will Make Short
Shrift of Those Who Deceive
Them When Aroused to Truth
of Own interests.

Three great Misrepresentation, b.
which certain politicians have ad
vanced their own interests at the ex
pense Of public welfare. were recently
declared by F. N. Shepherd, Executive
Manager, American Bankers Assocfa
ton, in In address at Kansas City
Missouri. to be the o~ft-repeated state
ments that wall Street" owns the
corporations, that the Federal Reserve
Banks Disseminated against agricul
ture and debated the farmers, and that
there are seven billion dollars of IVA
ter in railroad capitalization and
rates should be reduced accordingly.
What Facts Tell
In regard to the alleged ownership
of the corporations by wall Street"
Mr.. Shepherd showed hat the securi-
ties of American corporations are very
widely held by the people. The Union
Pacific, he pointed out, has over $1,000
stockholders and the Pennsylvania
Railroad lat, 600 stockholders, $1,000
of whom are women, with an average
ownership of At shares each. The
American Telephone and Telegraph
| Company has 200, 1000 stockholders,
10000 of whom are employees, and
the United States Steel Corporation
has 174, 900 stockholders. According
to a recent report of the Interstate
Commerce Commission, he said, Class
| railroads have a total of 777,132
stockholders, there being, therefore.
practically as many owners of shares
as there are employees.
THE real capitalists of America"
continued Mr.. Shepherd, "are these
and the bo%ndholders whose funds are
invested in securities through their
thirty million savings accounts, and
through their ownership of owe II
million life and industrial Insurance
policies. Once arouse these people to
the fact that it is their interests which
are being attacked through these mis-
representations n they will make
short shrift of those who deceive them.
Truth About the Federal Reserve
"hs to the Federal Reserve System,
instead Of its discriminating against
the farmer, exactly the opposite is
During the period of greatest
in the value of agricultural
products, about which there has been
much loose talk, rediscounts with
tural districts actually decreased by
per cent. but in agricultural dis
rediscounts were actually in !
by Sc per cent. The Federal
Reserve Bankssof the big cities of Bos-
on, New York, Philadelphia and
Cleveland poured into other Federal
Reserve Banks in agricultural dis
literally hundreds of millions of
GAS to the alleged seven billions of
water in the railroads. a physical
valuation of the railroad properties
las been under way for the past ten
years, as a result of the La Toilette
Act, conducted by a body of unpreju-
Iced, non-political experts by whom
he valuation has been placed at $751;
100, 000, 600. Although it has been of
icially stated, and reiterated, that, in
at this figure, no c~onsidera-
ion whatever was given to capitaliza-
ion, politically-minded men are still
!eceiving the public, and particularly
farmers, about the water in the
ailroads. Railroad stock today is
watered. Any possible fair scheme
+ valuation today proves that our
ailroads are worth from one to two ]
illion dollars more than their CAPT
alization. !
No Railroad Income Guarantee :
Further, demagogues are telling :
eople that the railroad income is
uaranteed. The Esch-Cunmins Act
oes not guarantee any return to rail-
bad stockholders, as the d~emagogues
instantly assert. BY its terms the
ct simply provides a yard stick for
tie making, which is that a fair rail 5
ate is one which would show
return of 5A per cent upon the &C.
lal value of the property used in
ansportation in a given territory.
This provision bears no relation s
.
hatever to railroad capitalization s
i'd, moreover, no relation to- individ- s
=
IL railroads, some of which might s
Iow earnings under such a rate-mak- .
r. -
z provision in excess of six per cent, 8
ID some much less. No considera- .
IN whatever is given in the Act or E
the administration of the Interstate .
Commission to railroad s
~pitalization or any return upon It," s