THE STEEL TRUST AND ITS HAKERS. 



BY CHARLES S. OLEED. 



[Charlos Sumnrr Glord, lawyer; born MorrLsvillo, Lainoillp Co., Vt., March 23, 1856; 

 educatod in the public schools of Lawrence, Kans., 186(3-70; student in the university 

 of Kansas Law school; admitted to the bar in 1884; was for twelve years trustee 

 Kansas University; in law or trafTic departments Kansas, Pacific, Union Pacific and 

 Atchison, Topeka it Santa Fe Railway companies, 1880-1; editor Denver Daily 

 Tribune 1884 ; proprietor Kans:is City Daily Journal. Author of many political, legal 

 and descriptive articles and addresses.] 



The United States Steel corporation, of New Jersey — 

 unlimited! How absurd the word limited would look at- 

 tached to the name of this company which began life with a 

 capital stock of one ])illion one hundred million dollars and a 

 bonded debt of three hundred and four million dollars. This 

 is the first billion dollar business corporation on earth. Three 

 tramps were playing poker in a box car, with corn for chips. 

 The first bet one thousand dollars ; the second raised it a mil- 

 lion ; the third made it a billion. ''Take the pot," said the first, 

 ''take it, you educated son of a gun; I don't know how much 

 it is!" No man knows how much it is — not even Mr. Morgan. 

 To know how much it is one would have to know familiarly 

 all the mines, mills, machinery, buildings, lands, and appur- 

 tenances in this vast property. No one head can hold so 

 much. The facts in this case are worth considering. 



In the organization of stock companies the prevailing idea 

 in the past has been to keep down the issue of shares to the 

 lowest possible figure consistent wdth convenience in certify- 

 ing the ownership. Thus banks like the Chemical, and insur- 

 ance companies like the Equitable, have small capitalizations 

 bearing no particular relation to the value of the assets. In 

 the case of banks vast sums of money have been paid in or 

 accumulated as surplus which might as well as not have been 

 represented by issues of stock. The present ruling fashion is 

 to capitalize companies on the basis of things hoped for, the 

 evidence of things unseen. Railway and mining companies 

 are said to have set the pace. The strictly private corpora- 

 tions have always done as they pleased in this respect without 



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