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Show MORGAN AHEAD OF LEGISLATION I Five Important Recommend. ; tions of Federal Committee fe Put in Effect. SURPRISING RETIREMENT 1' Criticism and Change in Public M Attitude Deeply Impresses ' I Great Financier. H New York, Jan. 3 The announce-ment announce-ment of the retirement of J. P. Mor-gan Mor-gan and four of his partners from thirty directorships in twenty-gren corporations and Mr, Morgan's refer-ence refer-ence to the change In public sentl-ment sentl-ment In regard to directorships, kts I called attention to the fact that Ave important recommendations of the Pujo committee already were being put into effect in advance of leglila-tion leglila-tion requiring them. They Include the abandonment of fiscal agency agreements, such uex-Isted uex-Isted between the New Haven and Morgan & company; the abolition of interlocking directorates, the tboli-tion tboli-tion of voting trusts, reforms in, the clearing house. Whether Mr. Morgan will decide to withdraw from the directorate otAjjM United States Steel comgfl il the subject a zre;irB The mfT" lll that as the so-Pnled fl the greatest of the MorganH fl and was considered by ll Morgan the crowning aehleYeaBfJB his financial career, his son will con- I sider It his duty to remain Identified with It in an active capacity, especi-ally especi-ally until the government suit has been decided one way or the other. JM However, the Morgan firm wai no less actively identified with tho fin-anclai fin-anclai development of the New York Central lines for which Mr. Morgan was the banking sponsor throughout the greater part of his career. Surprising Retirement, His connection with it dated" from - H the time of Commodore YanderblS, fl and during the time of William 'JL fl Vanderbilt it -was through Mr. MoT gan'6 Influence that English Invert- H or6 applied enormous sums of monef in the securities of the road. Tbi resignation of the present J. P. Mor gan from the New York Central dire torate was one of the most surprising. fl features of his announcement yestef day. flB J. P. Morgan s friends say that ha fl has been not only deeply impressedJIH by the change in pub lit tentiroeaFH during the last few years, but that he has been deeply grieved over tha criticism of the firm in connection w ith the affairs of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad com-pany. com-pany. H Herbert S. Lovett, chairman of thf Union Pacific Railroad company, (1 commenting today on the Morgan afr-tion, afr-tion, said: Hi I think strong bankers on railroad boards are very desirable but it D ' uepends on who represents the rail-roads rail-roads on the board. A Barton Hepburn, chairman of th Chase National Hank, expressed tha opinion that interlocking directorate! were a good tiling so long as they did not reach nn unlawful monopoly. "I have found in my personal tst perience," he added, "that by being-on being-on the boards of certain corporation I am able to get a much better know I ledge of their financial standlngi Used for such a purpose, being a & etor on or more corporation H Is by no means injurious or unlawM "Of course, where the knowlepfe J acquired through interlocking dlrecv I torates is used for selfish profits, the ,. custom is to be decried." dl |