The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-05-12
VIEWS OF MIR. SCHWAB
TESTIFIES BEFORE THE INDUS
 TRIAL COMMISSION.
President of the Steel Corporation Says Organized Labor Does Not Give Individuals Chance
 in Life.

OS~Ne Soh PoA otiOA, W Ao pClOIC tuc III dustrial Commission today. He sai,
 that the United States Company con.
 trols eight companies by owning theil stocks, and that while steps are taker
 to assure the good will and co-opera tion of all these companies, each one generally is left to conduct business fir its own way. The rule had been tc take in only companies which were no, competitors, but it was true that there were cases in which two institution. of the same line were brought together and in such cases the managers were expected to get together in making their plans for sales.
 Enumeratfng the advantages of con- solidatfon, MT. Schwab said they were found especially in transportation and management and in the utilization of all the ores owned. In this connection MT. Schwab said that the United States Steel Corporation owns 80 per cent of the iron ore of the northwest and he expressed the opinion that these ore deposits must constantly grow in value because limited. The company makes from 65 to 75 per cent of the steel products of the country. He also said there had been no increase in the price Of products since the organiza- ton of the United States Steel Com- pany and that the tendency is towards lower prices.
 Discussing the .tariff MT. Schwab ex- pressed the opinion that in articles of manufacture in which labor does not enter as an important factor the tariff might be removed. but that in pro- ducts into which labor enters largely, such, for instance, as tin elate, it would be necessary either tc reduce wages or lose trade if the tai if were removed. He thought that except on the Pacific the removal of the tariff would not interfere with the steel rails and billets. MT. Schwab took a posi- ton against organized labor, saying that 1t did not give individuals a chance in life.
 Asked in detail for the plan of man. agement of the various companies combined in the steel company Mr. Schwab said it Is the purpose of the parent company to control the subsidi- ary organizations in harmony but this Is to be done by indicating the officers Of the various concerns. There may not be so many names of influence on the boards" said he. but the man. agement will be efficient"
 iMr. schwab excused himself from speaking concerning the details of or- sanitation of his company, once or twice, saying that questions concern ing the capitalization, premiums. etc, should be asked of Mir. Morgan.
 don't know the steel trust" he said when some one so designated his company. In a general way he would say that the company is organized up- on the same plan as the Federal Steel Company, but he did not consider the company over-capitalized. He said the assets of each of the subsidiary com panies had increased in value since their organization and that the popu- lar estimate did not place a sufficient value upon, the mines owned by the company. He also stated in this con- nection that the company owns 60, 900 acres of Connellsville coke and coal lands and that in its iron mines there are 00,000. 900 tons of ore in sight. He thought reasonable profit on this iron ore would be g ton. Asked how long he thought these mines would be able to meet the demand, MT. Schwab placed the limit on the iron ore at thirty years and on the coal at sixty.
 Each of the constituents companies, he said, makes its own purchases and its own sales. Tn a word" he said. ''the United States Steel corporation is a clearing house to which its con- stituent companies go for information. D
 He admitted that the company sells many of it's products at lower price in foreign markets than at home, say ing the practice is followed to hold the markets. The witness discussed the relation of the tariff to the steel industry at length but he said that 1n rAA14 14 have the tariff changed in any respect, considering it entirely satisfactory as at present arranged. Asked for his opinion as to the effect of the enact ment of the Babcock bill, the taking duty off trust produced articles, Mir. Schwab expressed opposition to 1t. He did not consider as possible an inter- national iron and steel combinatio regardless of all tariff restrictions.
 Discussing the relation of capital to labor, he said that while he would not undertake to outline the future policy of the steel corporation he did not en- dorse the policy of the labor organiza- tion as in the interest of the laboring man himself. He did hope, however. to arrange matters that operators could share in the profit of the enter prise. Instead of being a detriment he considered the big corporations as affording the best openings for labor and enterprise.
 There were never such opportunities for brains as today" he said. If were labor1ng man as I once was. I should not want to belong to labor organization if employed by a properly managed corporation like the steel company, for I would not want to be put on level with the poorer work man in the. establishment. The ten dency is to give the highest possible price for proper services, and no mem Der of labor organization is in a ques- tion to avail himself of such disposi- tion."
 He said that the average of wages paid now by the steel companies IS higher than previous to 1892, The ques- tion was not one of wages, but the of business with which the labor union wanted to interfere
 MT. Schwab expressed himself as Op- posed to the publicity of the accounts of the corporations, and said he had no to suggest for the regula- tion of corporations.
 In conclusion, MT. Schwab said he could see nothing but good to result from business combinations. He con- sidered them of value. both to the in- vestor and to labor. and thought they were calculated to extend business.
 MT. Isaac L. Rice, President of the Rubber Tire Company, was heard at the afternoon session concerning the methods of the organization of that and other companies with which he is con connected. Mir. Rice deals largely with patented articles, and said that when he found an acceptable invention he fioated it by bringing it to the attention