The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1901-08-21
KNOWS NOTHING OF
THE STEEL TRUST
Positive Denial is Made by At
tOrney General Knox.
NEVER SAW BUT SCHWAB
HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH FOR
NATION OF CORPORATION.

Washington, Aug. 20.-Attorney Gen
eral Knox today sent the following let
ter to the joint committee of the
American Antitrust league and dis
trict assembly 66. Knights of Labor,
in reply to one from the committee re-
questing information from Knox re-
garding the United States Steel corpo-
ration:
Washington, Aug. 20.
II. b. Martin. Chairman Joint Com
mittee American Anti Trust League:
Sir have the honor to acknowl-
edge the receipt of your letter of Aug.
IS. 1901. in which you request to obtain
certain information with reference to
certain alleged agreement or agree
ments between the constituent COM
panies and individuals who organized
the United States Steel corporation
formation that I may possess or can
obtain, and you specifically refer to
an alleged trust or syndicate agree
ment' which you state the president of
the United States Steel corporation, G.
NJ. Schwab, refused to furnish the
United States industrial commission
when on the witness stand before that
body and you further state that your
request for information is to be I'M
derstOod as covering any other con-
tracts of a similar kind with which
you are acquainted or which you can
obtain for us
You also state that your request
for information is founded upon in
formation and belief that at the time
this contract. or contracts was or were
made that I was in some way official
~ connected with the Carnegie COM
pany, and you therefore assume that
the information which you request
must be in my possession or convent
emily at hand I am therefore re-
quested to give you substantial facts.
or, If possible, copy thereof.
All Erroneous Assumption.
Primarily, permit me TO say that
your request is founded upon an erro-
neous assumption. 1 do not know who
the individuals are who organized the
United States Steel corporation. If they
are the persons referred to usually in
the newspa pers as the promoters of
that organization, with the single ex-
ception of 9. NJ. Schwab, I do not know,
never saw, and never was in any way
connected with any of them. ! never
heard of any agreement between them,
and the constituent members of the
Steel corporation.
Neither q the time of the forma-
ton of the United States Steel cOrpO-
tdltol nor DIT any AillSs was L olliCldiiy
connected with the Carnegie Steel com
pany. 1 was formerly one of its legal
advisers in the conduct of its manufac-
turing business. but was never con-
suited with reference to the formation
of the United States Steel company,
nor in relation of the sale to that COM
pany of the shares of stock held by the
stockholders Of the Carnegie company.
I have never seen the papers or
agreements to which you refer, nor
have I been informed Of their con-
tents. I have no knowledge whatever
OF their existence. the terms or scope.
1 am thus specific, as I desire to cover
both the spirit and the I-tter of your
inquiry.
In Blissful Ignorance.
4 may say. however, that have 70
access to the agreements or papers %
which you refer. I know nothing Of
the one to which you especially refer.
and do not even know that such an
agreement is in existence. The infor-
nation you request is not in my pos
session or conveniently ct hand as
you assume, and it is. therefore i'm
possible for me to comply with any of
the requests set forth in your letter.
All this information you could at
any time have acquired through The
usual method of direct personal in
quiry. thereby avoiding the doubtful
prOpT1ety OF addressing me through the
medium Of an open letter which you
ccncurrently delivered to this office.
Whether. II such papers were accessi-
bic to me, il would be my duty TO OBJ
tain them and furnish them for use IN
/ legal proceedings to which you are a
party, and the nature of which you do
not explain, is a question which I do
not care 1T this time to discuss.
II / Inlay regard the letter as ad-
dressed to me, ordinarily I would say:
If this department is under obligations
to furnish information to prospective
litigants in undisclOsed proceedings, its
responsibilities and labors are neces-
sarily greater than they have ever been
imagined from the time Of its forma-
ton. Indeed, as there are generally
two parties to every controversy, it
would be difficult to discharge such al
legged duty to both parties in view of
conflicting interests. This department
was not called into being TO furnish in
/ f9rmation to private litigants. It's duty
~ its object is TO enforce the federal
y = tes as interpreted by the courts
wherever there is probable cause for
believing that they have violated. Very
respectfully,
(Signed-) ''P- c KNOX
Attorney General