WHAT THE MORGAN INTERESTS CONTROL
By S. E. Moffet
In September, 1902, the Morgan interests controlled fifty-five thousand, five hundred and fifty-five miles of American railways, or more than the mileage of Germany, Great Britain, and Ireland combined. These lines have a capitalization of $3,002,949,571, which is more than three times the total9interest-bearing debt of the United States. In addition, the Morgan influence is powerful in almost all the other important railroad systems of the country. The direct Morgan interests include eighteen railroad systems, one monster steamship company, thirteen industrial combinations, seven banks, three telegraph and cable companies, seven great insurance companies, and innumerable smaller corporations of divers kinds. The total capitalization of these various combinations is $6,448,500,000,—an amount greater than the national debt of any country in the world, and twice the debt of Great Britain. The capital of a single one of the Morgan companies—the United States Steel Corporation—is equal to about twice the cost of the Boer War, and its net profits for the current year are estimated at one hundred and forty million dollars, a sum about equal to the annual cost of the British navy, and but little short of the total revenues of Spain. The aggregate net income of all the Morgan incorporations is probably nearly or quite equal to the public revenues of any of the great powers of Europe, and the taxes on those companies pay the entire cost of maintaining the executive departments of New Jersey. But Mr. Morgan does not depend on the dividends of his stocks for the bulk of his income. His chief business, at present, is promoting on a gigantic scale. When he organized the underwriting syndicate that launched the United States Steel Corporation, the subscribers were pledged, if called upon, to pay in two hundred million dollars. They actually advanced only twenty-five million dollars, and that was returned in the final settlement. Their profit on this investment was fifty-six million dollars, or over two hundred per cent. The share of J. P. Morgan and Company was about eleven million dollars. Every company Mr. Morgan floats—and the number is large—yields profits proportionally. Often he has no need to advance money. The mere magic of his name floats a company, and his clients gladly pay him half a million, or a million, or five million dollars for the service. He has the knack of inspiring confidence. The people who trust him with their money—and he operates chiefly with other people's money, not with his own—do not try to tie his hands with contracts. They let him alone to use his brain in their behalf, satisfied that, in due time, checks for the profits will be forthcoming.—S. E. Moffet, in February "Success."