New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-15
THE IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRY.
INTERESTING TESTIMONY BY JOHN W.
GATES BEFORE THE INDUSTRIAL COM
MISSIONARIES NOT IN CONTROL.

Washington. Nov H-1n giving his testimony
before the Industrial Commission to-day John w.
Gates. managing director Of the American Steel
and Wire Company, gave an interesting account OF
his effort to effect a consolidation OF all the wire
producing countries. including all the European
nations He said he had visited Great Britain.
France. Germany. Belgium and other countries
for this purpose. Germany he found to be the
principal competitor. Engand's work in that
respect not being sufficient to deserve serious con-
sideration In Germany the one OF fear
In manufacturing centres was competition with
the United States. and bounties and subsidesfwere
given on every hand to hold UP the manufacturing
interests OF that country.
The German manufacturers first proposed that In
case Of an international consolidation the United
States should be content with 25 per cent OF the
product This he had declined. and they had after
ward increased the allowance 10 50 per cent. He
had run away from Berlin to avoid accepting this
allowance. He had himself represented the posi-
bty Of increasing prices to the extent of about $40
a ton in Of the proposed amalgamaton' Out
found that the Germans had IN view an increase
OF about $50 a ton. In this connection Mr.. Gates
commended In high terms the German method OF
encouraging the producing and exporting interests
saving that II the Government OF the United
States would adopt the plan there pursued they
would soon be doing 90 per cent Of the iron ana
steel business Of the world He advocated suosi-
dies 10 steamship lines and to National corpora
lions OF s0O0O0O in capitalization and over he
would have the corporations pay literally for such
charters In the beginning. and then have them pay
large sums annually for the continuance OF the
franchise increasing the amount as the capitaHZa-
ton increased until the annual fee should De 10
less than 100000 for a company capitalized at
sIoo mn 90 He advocated Government supervision
NJ all such corporations. He said the protective
tariff had had much to do with building up ''o
iron and steel industry. and that the continuance
Of the policy was necessary to the future pros
perty of the industry. .
He said that his consolidation had been erected
last January A number Of plants that couiu NO.
he operated had been shut down. The company
EMPLOYS thirty-six thousand men, ana wages I M
been increased on an average OF ~ per th trades
company did not. he said. recoeilIle I nj, ~
unions dealing with its men as mulVLuuaaiIs .i
So company Controlled all the barbed wire patents
and had a monopoly in this respect on THIS prog
ucts because of the monopoly Of the patents; This
was because Of the money spent IN acquisdd,,o,,
had oee9 Qny psipsrsI and of wages He consd-
pTed tb T a these advances had been due to de-
mand and supply ana not 10 me cnnpsn aid
not seek a monopoly OF the production OF unpat-
articles, seek 10 control the selllng prices
Of It's patrons on the contrary. the disposition was
to encourage other organizations. 1t was not true
people seemed TO believe that me Trusts t con
trolled the iron and steel business OF the country;
AS matter Of fact, they only controlled about 40
Mr. Gates deprecated the high prices Of iron and
steel products principally because OF the nign price
Of material. He, however expressed the
opinion that the present prices would continue for
the next two or three years predcating the opinion
upon mis- knowledge Of the demands OF the rail-
roads the shipyards and the building trades He
said that his company was exporting no less than
seven hundred tons OF wire day, supplying Eng
land for instance. with 60 per cent OF the wire
products purchased there He admitted that the
goods were sold at lower rates abroad than at
home but for the present this was necessary to
hold outside trade. He had found that In Germany
all lines of iron and steel industry syndcated.
He had procured copies of the agreements. but
he declined TO produce them. laughlngly saying
that he had had them stolen. He said the Ameri-
can company had earned dividend on its com
mon stock well its preferred, the direct
ors considering II wiser TO lay aside something for
a possible rainy day.
Other witnesses OF the day were Max Pam, coun-
sci for the American Steel and Wire Company;
James c. Pearson. organizer Of the National Shear
COMPANY and Frederick c. J. Wiss, vice president
of the last named company.