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Show J. P. MORGAN & COMPANY RETIRE FROM SCORE OF CORPORATIONS Severance From Connection With Some of Greatest Organizations Organiza-tions in United States Announced Voluntary Dissolution Dissolu-tion Made in Response to Change in Public Sentiment Senti-ment and Adverse Criticism Against "Interlocking Directorates" j MORGAN MAKES A PUBLIC STATEMENT Resignations Place Company in Better Position to Serve Properties and Security Holders Other Withdrawals to Be Made in Future Strings Binding Country's Most Important Businesses Into Community of Interests Now Cut House Has Kept Within the Law Sweeping Change in Policy. New York, Jan 2. J. P. Morgan & Company today announced that they had severed their connection with some of the greatest corporations In the country with which they have long been connected. This step, the firm announced, was taken voluntarily voluntar-ily In response to "an apparent change in public sentiment," on account ac-count of "some of the problems and criticisms having to do with so-called ! interlocking directorates " Among the companies from which they retir- I ed are the New York Central and the New Haven railroads. J P. Morgan made this statement: "The necessity of attending many board meetings has been so serious a burden on our time that we have long wished to withdraw from the directorates of many corporations. Many of these directorships we have accepted with reluctance and only because be-cause we felt constrained to keep in touch with properties which we had reorganized, or whose securities wo had recommended to the public, both here and abroad. "An apparent change in public sentiment senti-ment in regard to directorships, seems now to warrant us in seeking to re-Sign re-Sign from some of these connections. "Indeed, it may' be, iu view of the change of sentiment on the subject, that we shall be in better position to serve such properties and their security se-curity holders if we are not directors, v. b have already resigned from the companies mentioned and we expect trom time to time to withdraw from other boards on which we feel there Is no special obligation to remain." Resignations Already Named. The companies to which Mr Morg-q Morg-q referred, from whose board mem-bers mem-bers of the firm have already submit fed their resignations as directors are: J. P Morgan New York Central and Hudson River railroad company. West Shore Railroad company. Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway Michigan Central Railroad company. com-pany. New York, Chicago and St. Louis railroad Cleveland. Cincinnati, Chicago and St Louis railway. New York, New Haven and Hartford Hart-ford railroad. Central New England Railway. New York, Westchester and Boston Railroad. Harlem River and Port Chester Railroad and Milbrook company. New England Navigation company. New England Steamship company, Rhode Island company. Rutland Railway company Hartford and Connecticut 'Western. New York, Ontario and Western railway. Western Union Telegraph company. Other members of the firm have retired from these companies: Charles Steele Jersey Central Railroad Rail-road company. United States Steel corporation. H. P. Davidson-American Davidson-American Telegraph ft Telephone com pa m ABtor Trust company. Guaranty Trust company of New York. Chemical National bank. W. P. Porter: Bankers' Trust company. Guaranty Trust company of New York. Thomas W Lament: Westingbouse Electric and Manufac turlng company. Utah Copper company. Astor Trust company. Bankers' Trust company. Cut Corporation Strings. By withdrawing from these corpora tioms, J P Morgan Sc. Co. have cut I the strings that have held together many of the country's most import ant corporations in a community ot interests which has been assailed within and without congress. The house of Morgan feels that it has kept within the law, in all its com plex operations, and that no lega' necessity or threatened complication? with tbe authorities at Washington has made it necessary to adopt a l. sweeping change in policy announced today. One of the members of the firm said i "fc Morgan & Co. had been scrupulously careful to observe the spirit, as wen as the letter of the law, and that the decision of the firm was primarily a matter of expediency. Conditions had so Bhaped themselves in the past, he said, that the firm had been compelled reluctantly to accept the burden ot management of various corporations and that it had long been seeking opportunity op-portunity to lessen this burden. The chief consideration. It was said, which has prevented the firm from taking some 6uch action before this t time was the nossible complications i which might follow such action. 0, For several days Wall street had heard rumors that Morgan & Co. had I decided on an important change of policy. In spite of the large number of resignations res-ignations announced today, MorgaD & Co. are still represented in the boards of a number of important cor porations J. P Morgan remains a director in the United States Steel corporation. Northern Pacific railway International Mercantile Marine com pany. National City bank, and Nation al Bank of Commerce, of New York. Mr. Steele is still on the boards ot the Atchison, Lehigh Valley, North ern Pacific, Erie, Southern, Chicago, Indianapolis & Louisville, Chicago Great Western, and Alabama Great Southern railroads, and the General Electric company, International Har vester company. International Mercantile Mer-cantile Marine, and Adams Express company. Mr. Davison is on the boards of the Erie, and Cincinnati, Hamilton fc Dayton, Cincinnati, Hamilton & Dayton railroads, tli Western Union Tele graph company, the First National bank, the National Bank of Commerce, Com-merce, the Liberty National bank of New York, the First Securities company com-pany and the Bankers' Trust company of New York. .Mr. Porter is represented repre-sented in five New York banks the United States Life Insurance company, com-pany, the Pere Marquette railroad, the Remington Typewriter company, the H. V. ,Iohns-Man ille company, the Fidelity and Casualty company, the Crulkshank company and the Associated Asso-ciated Land company. Mr Lamont is still rin the boards of the North-j ern Pacific railway, the International Internation-al Harvester company, the International Interna-tional -Vericultural corporation, the First National bank of New York, the Guaranty Trust company and various lesser concerns. Morgan fe Company have played a prominent part in the affairs of a number of corporations, whose slock is held under a trusteeship. No information in-formation could be obtained today whether the firm would withdraw its members who are among the trustees trus-tees of these corporations. Tn the list are the Southern Railway, the Chicago Great Western the International Interna-tional Mercantile Marine company, the California Petroleum company, the International Agricultural corporation cor-poration and tho Loose Wiles Biscuit Bis-cuit company. The on iv effect on the stock market of Morgan & Co.'s announcement was to bring trade virtually to a standstill When the news was flashed by telephone tele-phone and news tickers to the slocK exchange, brokers dropped their busl I DeSG ;md for some time the exchange was practically given over to discus sion of the announcement, which was B complete surprise to every man on the floor The announcement had no effect on the market. Een the stocks directly connected with the house of Morgan did not vary in price. |