The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-02-10
A GIGANTIC DEAL.

haSutoio Va VIC NuttOUui SCccl
Company Consolidation in Which
Local Companies arc snid to BIO In
terested-somo Interesting Com
ments.
or the National Steel Company, in
which 1t Is said three local concerns are
interested, the New York Times has the
following: 1.
The latest colossal steel consolidation
TO be effected-will be the National
Steel Company. It will be incorpora-
ted In New Jersey with capitalization
OF s50,0O0000. equally divided as to pre-
ferred and common stock. W. Z. Refs,
who Is president OF the Shenango VAL
ley Steel Company. Of New Castle. Pa,
will be the Nationals first president.
The merger will. II Is asserted. be In the
interest Of the American Tin Plate Com
pany Authority on steel and kindred
matters said that II the consolidation
does not presage n fusion OF all the
mammoth corporations OF steel and iron
companies It Is within the bounds Of
reason to look for the combination at
no distant day of such interests with d
financial comfy that will amount to
nearly s70O.oOO.OOO.
The National takes in the following
plants, which control the tin plate bar
supply and which were spoken OF by
one Of the contracting parties as "in
splendid condition, all money-makers"
Ohio Steel Company, OF Youngstown,
Ohio; King, Gilbert & Warner. Of COL
umbus Ohio: Aetna-S Standard Iron and
Steel Company, OF Mlngo Junction, O.:
Shenango Valley Steel Company, Of
New Castle. Pa: Buhl Steel Company,
OF Sharon, Pa; Wheeling Steel and Iron
Company. Of Wheeling. West Va. and
the Bellaire Steel Company, of Bellare,
Ohio.
All but minor details were settled
Among those engaged IN cffectlng the
consolidation were D. G. Reid, presi-
dent OF the American Tin Plate Com
pany; w. B. Leeds, chairman OF the eX-
ectuire committee of this company;
Henry Wick, president Of Ohio Steel;
President w. Z. REFS. of Shenango: w.
II. Moore. OF Chicago; John A. Gala
CHER. and James Wilson. of Bellaire. o.
and Earl W. ogleby. of Cleveland. 0.
Only partial knowledge Of the
transactions incidental to the formation
OF the National and It's plans and scope
leaked out In the Wall street district,
but this was enough to start score OF
rumors more or less wild. One of the
stories was that Andrew Carnegie had n
plan to begin a war" on the Federal
Steel Company by organizing four
million-dollar steel and iron
corporation TO be in rivalry with the
two-hunured- mill!on-d dollar New Jersey
corporation. OF which. Judge L. II. Gary
Is president. Authority on the subject
which has no superior said OF this story
last night:
This is an old story turned round.
There Is very little basis Ger 1t. 1t may
be founded on an offer to take into Fed
eral Steel all OF Andrew Carnegie's in
terests. Few outside OF the Regotiators
know the terms. They are substantially
these: For the entire plant and inter-
ests OF the Carnegie Steel Company and
the allied interests II controlled, includ-
ing the Pittsburgh, Bessemer and Lake
Erie railroad and other properties. adj
juncts to the Carnegie outfit. $50 900, 900
was offered. The money was guaran-
teed partly By John D. Rockefeller md
partly by ]. P!erpont Morgan. Andrew
Carnegie. who owns So per cent OF all
this system, has neither accepted nor
declined the offer. lie IS regarded as
yet having it under consideration. Those
who hold As per cent interest In the
plant are unhesitatiaGly in favor OF ac-
ceptlng the offer. At present Federal
Steel. Carnegie Steel. Cambria Steel,
and Colorado Fuel and Iron. with Am
erlcan Steel and Wire. are working In
harmony
What the future may bring forth Is
simply staggering. All sorts of in the
dir propositions have been made TO
unite the mammoth corporations which
have been recently organized. 1t is not
chimerical to believe that this may be
effected. Some. indeed, regard general
merger OF interests as unavoidable and
necessary before the year Is out. Sup
posing all the big concerns united, we
should have 4 corporation with 4 cap
ital of nearly 500. 600 600, and more than
that If some companies yet outside the
breastworks' were taken in. This Is
readily understood when sGSle OF The
details OF capitalization OF some of the
companies are considered. We have
Federal Steel with 100000, 900: Ameri-
can Steel and Wire with 100000, 600. and
the capitalization OF the Carnegie inter-
ests would be at $l5O.000.000 preferred
and Sl5O.CO0.G00 common stock Minor
concerns would amount to slOO0O0.0O0.
The possibilities OF the situation are
helped along by the increasing tendency
TO fusion among qreat and kindred In
terests. This gigantic consolidation Is
more than in the air; it is almost in
course OF development"