New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1900-04-20
NAY MAKE GATES ANSWER
AMERICAN STEEL AND WIRE DIREC-
TORS TO MEET TODAY-VIEWS
OF JUDGE GARY AND EN-
MAYOR HEWITT.


dc ubt that at their meeting an explanation will
be demanded from John W. Gates Of the real
reason why twelve mills of the company were
shut down Monday without previous intima-
tion from any quarter that the company's condi'
| ton such as to make necessary step so
radical and that he will also be asked to contro-
vert, II possible, assertions heard everywhere in
! the financial district that group of his asso-
cates-for Mr.. Gates us not in the stock mar
! ket'-have been engineering tremendous raid
on the value of the company's stocks.
Mr.. Gates was not at his office yesterday and
| il said there that he had gone out of town
| for the day. report which found many be-
| levers yesterday afternoon was that Mr.. Gates
| would be requested by the directors to-day to
| resign the chairman ship of the Board and that
Henry c. Frick would be elected to succeed him;
| and it was added that President Lambert, of the
| Steel and Wire Company, who left Chicago for
| this city on Wednesday night had tarred at
| Pittsburg for few hours his journey for the
| purpose of comforting with Mr. Frick regarding
! this rumored move
Another report, which gained much credence
| but which it was thought in the Street could
! hardly be we'll founded if the rumor about Mr.
| FriCk true, was that syndicate COM
posed of Andrew Carnegie, Moore Brothers and
j. & w. Segman & Co had acquired control
| of the Steel and Wire Company, with the pri-
!
! AT the office of Moore Brothers the clerk said
| Selfgmans were equally reticent, and in
formation could be obtained at the office of the
| Carnegie company
There was noted the Stock Exchange all
| day yesterday, however, a steady and persistent
| buying of the Steel and Wire Company stocks
! on orders from some unknown sources all the
stock offered by the brokers for the Gates group
and for outside interests being promptly alb
! sorbed. This buying movement strengthened
! the belief that some such syndicate as the one
! mentioned was endeavoring to secure control of
! the company through purchases in the open
| market, theory which caused Steel and Wire
! common, which opened at Ala. to sell in the
! last hour high 45as. the close being at
| 43a4. net gain for the day of 2 per cent. The
! preferred also scored q net advance of per
| cent, closing at so.
1t may be said on the authority of leading
| officer of the Stock Exchange that no COM
| plant of official unofficial character has
been presented to the Exchange in regard TO the
| alleged improper manipulations of Steel and
! Wire stocks. Mr.. Gates. 1t is pointed out, Is
not a member of the Exchange. and therefore is
not amenable to its rules. Unless specific COM
! rlaint is made against some member of the
| Stock Exchange in connection with the Steel
and Wire Company sales or purchases, no notice
|
| by the Governing Committee of the Stock Ex-
change, the view of the Exchange mana cement
! being that the investigation of the scandal is
the concern only of the stockholders of the
company.
JUDGE GARY SATISFIED.
President Gary of the Federal Steel Com
| pany said yesterday in reference to the rumors
that the company was contemplating the closing
of some of its plants
have never suggested to any director, any
the mills of the constituent companies OF the Fed
| era! Steel Company. sufficient tonnage has been
six months from the present time. There has been
no material change in any of the lines of bus-
Whether not the action of the wire company
orally, do not undertake to predict The wire
company has been purchaser of steel hiIets and
! steel rouS from some of our companies and the
present time has contracts for about $500 or $4,000
tracts shall be postponed will 10 some extent in
teTfers With the running Of the rod mill Of the Hi
| paratively small part of our business.
concerning the business of the Wire ee1 eompany ii
seems to me the trouble arises from the fact that
product. which ordinarily at tins season Of the
sendon m a ns ro tho OF 5a Possibly this
| have believed prices were rather high. While do
ure, I have seen nothing in our lines of business
up to the present time that Is at all
| present time have been satisfactory and much
the of ron and ndusr fGue gem
| orally coincide with the pessimistic expressions
| company.
The question of cutting prices has not even been
Steel Company or its constituent companies.
EXMAYOR HEWITT's VIEWS.
| Ex-Mayor Abram S. Hewitt said of the Amer
! lean Steel and Wire Companys action in shut
ting down a dozen of its mills. as quoted;
Until Mr. g. Gates made his, statement and the
| twelve of its mills we had Indication that the
not know anything about the business of the Amer
tors Of ours and we baHe hf fS 16e
r rgnt ana honorable people to do business with. 1
as far as | know there is no JUSTIFICATION for Mr..
! Gatess statement. The demand for pig iron CON
dscerned indications Of the conditions suggested
AS to the other aspect Of the matter-that great
f0rP0gat ZIG should without notice. shut down
fifteen thousand or twenty thousand mem IS smpIv
outrageous. Such an action is unprecedented in the
in demand divide up their work and limit produc-
non gradually; They even operate their works at
| ty-hve years and has never been shut down. 1
have seen three years product piled up because
W Ton emR9yed and I'd got their regularly
loss. That takes capital OF course; it also re q.
| CURES conscience: As for the American Steel and
t WTe C. 4ae cb don't know What it was that
| capital; perhaps they lacked conscience.
The Iron Age" yesterday commented as fol-
lows on the action of the American Steel and
| Wire Company management:
Those who have been working to secure lower
prices for iron and steel have been ably reinforced
| from an unexpected quarter during the week 1t is
quite unusual for men representing large produc-
| trade is suffering from overproduction and that
| heavy reductions In prices are TO be expected
Ordinarily, such conditions are concealed long
| secretly