Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-07-03
RY I. A. FLEMING.

/
Moore, whom we left few weeks ago
in the aftermath of a $4,000, 900 fail
ure resulting from an attempt that
| proved ili.advised to make millions
I on bull movement in Diamond Match
Co. shares and the stock Of the New
York Biscuit Co.
They were not in the pit of despair
by any means.
Men. who are down under the weight
of q Colossal failure, and Is millions
was so considered in 1895. might nat
uraliy be considered also as out. Not
so the Moore brothers,
They had played a big game on too
small a checker board. The Chicago
| Stock Exchange was not large enough
| for such stupendous operations.
They continued In business at the
old stand as corporation lawyers, but
all of the time, say for three or four
years, they must have been putting
| in full days work, because they
achieved plans that put all their pre-
vious efforts into the shade and they
carried them to a successful conclu.
sion. from their Offices in the Ameri-
can Express Building on Monroe
street. Chicago. making their 1896
balloon ascension look like the pro-
verbal thirty cents.
w. III. Moore Given Credit.
William III. Moore was given the
greater share of the credit for the
speedy rehabilitation of the brothers.
Both have gone on into the beyond,
so it matters little now. but between
them they conceived the idea of or
ganizing trusts---not trust companies
nor trusts backed by mortgages, but
great combinations Of industrial cor.
porations, capitalized for millions of
dollars and these In turn joined with
others, becoming gigantic in size and
capitalization.
They Put 1t Across.
It would have been utterly impos.
sible for any two men to put over such
stupendous combinations as did the
Moore brothers without the assist
ance and the full confidence of many
men of large means.
It Is to the credit Of the bankrupts
of 1895 that they held this confidence
In large degree. They moved very
quietly in their great endeayor TAX.
ing few people into their confidence,
among others being Dan Reid, the
American tin plate king. Marshall
Field, Chicago millionaire: Norman
Ream, a former trader In short ribs,
who had turned many an honest dol
lar into millions, probably John j.
Mitchell, then head Of the Illinois
Trust & Savings Bank, and probably
a number of others, but their publicity
developed only when the combinations
were completed, not before.
They Led, Steel Corporation After.
First came the Moores' combina.
tons and after they had paved the
way j. Pierpont Morgan and his
crowd put over the United States
Steel Corporation and the Moore boys
were instrumental in turning their in
terests bodily over to the blilion-dollar
corporation.
They later on entered the Chicago,
Rock Island and Pacific system. with
varying success and then retired, vii.
liam III. to drive four-in hands at horse
shows, where he won many yards Of
ribbons. some here in this city, and to
act as judge frequently. He acquired
the title Of Judge" from his great
store Of legal lore and close association
for years with the profession.
James III. Moore retired to a beau
tiful home on the shore of Geneva
Lake, Wis. joined the Geneva Lake
Golf Club, and passed his years in
association with his family and friends
and other Chicago men of money.
Facts and Figures.
1t Is a fact that the Moore boys or.
ganized the American Sheet Steel Co..
The American Tin Plate Co.. The Ma.
tional Steel Co., and the American
Steel Hoop Co., with perhaps one or
two other companies that memory
does not recall.
capital OF $40,151 900 common stock
and $685., 900 preferred, American
Sheet steel, $24,50o,00o common and
like amount of preferred. Steel
Hoop, $14,000,000 common and $14,.
900, 900 preferred, and National Steel,
$32,000,000 common and S27,000,000
preferred.
This required matter of exchang.
ing stock and raising new money to
a total amount of $1a0,476. 900, prac.
tically equivalent to the formation Of
a billion'dollar trust at this time, for
the Moores did 1t in 1S99-1900, years
before the establishment of the Fed
erai Reserve act and while the coun-
try was still suffering from periodical
money panics.
England Introduced Preferred"
Perhaps the first introduction of
the descriptive, preferred" in con-
nection with stock came to this
country from England. Memory re-
calls the first promotions of brewery
shares in Chicago as common and
preference shares" in which English
capital was dominant, also presenting
at the same time promoters shares"
All to Steel Corporation.
When the j. p. Morgan Co. and
other men of great names We're ready
few months later, to organize the
United States Steel Corporation, they
absorbed the Moore trusts" bag and
baggage. Into the then billion dollar
corporation, now worth much more,
they incorporated the compa MES
named above, the big Carnegie Steel 4,
Co, American Steel & Wire Co., Ma
tional Tube, Frisk's concern, and other |
steel. iron, ore, steamship and other |
corporations.
Increased Capitalization.
The house of Morgan quietly worked |
this great enterprise without requiring |
much money save for some few stick |
lers who could not see the United |
States Steel shares reaching par.plus |
many dollars, in the not distant future. |
Exchange of stock for stock, either |
"even Stephen" or on an gareed basis, |
liquidated most of the obligations con-
neeted Herewith.
American Tin Plate was inflated, |
the common stock being increased to |
$a9,970,527 and the preferred $60.445,' |
sos, Sheet Steel common was in |
creased to $24,560.00O. Steel Hoop |
rolled along with the same capitaliza. |