Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-15

lions, but billions Of dollars worth Of
property. Great industrial MERGERS NJ
what were formerly considered NAM
moth corporations have given reason-or
excuse, at least--for even more gigantic
bank mergers. The result is that ali
financial credit in America il nass;no
into few hands In the great cities of
the country.
t Financial credit is the Likelihood NJ
commerce. Nobody can picture the
tremendous power for good or IN to the
people as whole possessed by those who
control financial credit. we can get a
slight conception of what IL means
when We recall that there is 81. soc. 600. :
600 Of actual money In the United
States and $4,000, 600, 900 in bank de-
posts. Thus $4,500,oOO,OOO Is money
and $4,000, 600, 600 is credit. Those
who control the credit of the country
hold the very lives of the people within
their power.
Danger In Practices.
The mere fact that business Is or
ganized into big units does not neces-
sarily mean that 1t is bad. The danger
Is in certain practices in which these
enormous mergers indulge that would
be impossible were they not so organ
lied. Almost every time a merger Is
formed the new organization issues mil
lions OF dollars worth of watered stock
upon which dividends are to be paid
out OF profits from high charges to the
people.
Another dangerous practice is the
splitting of shares, issuing two shares
for one. or three for one, as stock div
idends and then repeating the process a
year or two later, after the long standing
reputation of the corporation, or merger,
has caused the public to bid the stock up
to par or above. The ultimate results
of these practices may not be so EVIL
dent while business is prosperous, but
when business depression comes they
will make crashes more certain and
more disastrous.
Mergers do things that trusts dare not
do, because of the Sherman antitrust
law. 1t is doubtful question whether
present laws can be applied to mergers.
In any case, the Attorney General is
as silent about them as an oyster and
apparently as helpless. If the laws do
not apply to mergers, he should so in
form Congress, and Congress should
pass legislation to control and regulate
these enormous organizations.
One of the worst practices of these
great organizations is the use they make
Of small stockholders to propaganda
Congress whenever legislation is pend
ing affecting them. We had practical
demonstration of it year ago when
the Walsh resolution to investigate the
power trust came before the Senate.
Widows, clerks, workingmen, school
teachers, in fact, every class of our
citizens who had their small savings
in q few shares of stock, either of some
local electric light and power company
or of some larger company, wrote or
wired their Senators urging them to
vote against the investigation, because
1t would endanger the value Of their
stocks. A majority Of the Senate dis
regarded these appeals, and what was
the result? The Federal Trade Com
mission has unearthed the most vicious,
gigantic and dangerous propaganda to
poison public opinion ever INDUCED in
by the financial interests Of this
country.
We live at the beginning of the cleo
trio age. Electricity is the manservant
and the maidservant Of all our people.
Next to air, water, food and clothing,
it is the greatest necessity of modern
life It is available to $4,000 900 Of our
rs 900 900 families. and yet the power
trust keeps electric rates so high that
in more than one-half of the homes
equipped with electricity, women rub
the clothes on the washboard and turn
the wringer by hand.
Cost Of Electricity.
In cities and communities where
municipal ownership keep down power
rates to actual cost of production and