Evening star., 1943-03-13
J.P. Morgan, Is, Dies
In Secluded Island
Resort in Florida
Banker Failed to RoIIy
From Three-Doy Coma;
Son, Daughter at Side
Continued From First Page

ST HdRP.l
British kings, whose financial aic
was given credit for helping the Al
lied stand during the World War
were two of his children.
His younger son, Henry Sturgis
Morgan, a lieutenant commander in
the Naval Reserve, rushed Friday
by airplane and speedboat to join
his sister, Mrs. Paul G. Pennoyer,
who had stayed on the scene. An
other daughter, Mrs. George Mich
OILS. had left for New York Wednes-
day when her fathers condition
showed much improvement, and
could not return here in time.
Eldest Son on Navy Duty.
The flnanciers eldest son, Junius
Spencer Morgan, is on duty abroad
as a commander in the Naval Re-
serve.
In New York, associates of Mr..
Morgan issued this statement:
The directors of J. P. Morgan &
Co. Inc, announce with deepest re-
greet the death of Mr. J. P. Morgan
at $40 o'clock today at Boca
Grande, Fla"
Leader in Three Eras.
Mr.. Morgan headed the bank that
bore his name in three great periods
IN American history: The first World
War, the world depression and +-en
the second World War.
The house of Morgan did not re-
main untouched or unchanged
through those great dislocations.
A Senate investigation in 1888
threw open for the first time the
banks records and the vast rami-
f1cations of its enterprises. 1t re-
vealed the firm as the worlds lead
ing underwater and fiscal agent,
whose clients included industry and
banking in America and national
exchequers in Europe.
AS the years passed the name
OF the bank was slightly changed
from that created by the first John
Plermont Morgan in the early 1905
when he called it j. P. Morgan and
Company" It's original activities
were limited.
Name Changed in 1910.
Under the direction of his Son
who always called himself j. P. Nor
gan-the name was changed to J.
p. Morgan & Co., Inc, on April !
l940. He then became chairman of
the board of directors instead of
senior partner.
Those three letters INC"
spelled out vividly spart of the
change that had occurred in Amer
lea during the overlapping life
times of the two Morgans, father
and son-increased Government
control of finances and taxation of
the rich.
1t marked some of that change
from the rugged individualistic hey
days of the private banker at the
beginning of the century to those
days near mid-century when it
might be more practical for the
bank to have the individual sub
merged in the corporation.
The elder Morgan, gruff, sharp
and blunt, carefully kept his bank
an unincorporated partnership with
himself in control, but at the same
time set the pattern for gigantic
corporations by bringing
forth at the turn of the century the
billion dollar United States Steel
Corp, largest ever formed in this
country I'm tn that time
Liked To Play Solitaire.
The founder of the banking house,
who liked to play solitaire because
1t enabled him to bring order out of
confusion, had set up the steel cor
poration as an orderly money-mak-
ing plan in the midst of financial
jungle dense with cut-throat, COM
petitive money-masters.
Money-saving and not money
making, however, was the sons
reason for tacking Inc" on the
name of the firm which, from its
inception until the moment of in
corporation, had operated As part
nership with father and son success
sively in control.
One of the sons associates later
frankly explained that the partner
ship had been changed to corpor-
ate status because inheritance taxes
raised difficulties of keeping the
banks capital intact as partners
died or withdrew. Corporations
could sell shares to avoid dispersion
of capital and retain surplus and
earnings for reinvestm"lt.
At the time of incorporation the
firm was the greatest remaining
fortress of unlimited liability in the
Nation, with deposits of more than
$500, 100000 The partners pledged
their fortunes and regulations be-
hind those obligations.
BY the end of l941 the deposits
had climbed to S689 000,O00-a high
step above the last month of the
black depression year Of 1882, when
the deposits were S340,00000
Name Perpetuated.
But through the legal entity
known as corporation" the name
of j. P. Morgan may be perpetuated,
even if Morgan blood becomes eX-
tinct. The old partnership rules
would have necessitated dropping
the j. P. Morgan title after IS years
If Morgan had ceased 10 have a
hand in the business.
The Senate investigation Of 1888
showed that the 20 partners IN the
firm held l67 drectorships in 80
corporations which had total assets
OF $4,000 100000
The list included IS banks and
trust companies, miscellaneous
holding companies. 10 railroads. S
public utility holding corporations.
public utility operating companies,
80 individual concerns and 6 in
surance companies
Morgan associates. later seeking
TO minimize the extent OF these in
terests, said that many of the cor
porations in which the partners held
directorships were merely subsid
iaries Of one another.
The Senate investigation also
brought out that in the years 1927
1881 the firm participated in more
than SO syndicates and joint ac-
counts in the stock market. In that