The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1901-09-24
English View OF the steel Trust.

In the current number OF the Con-
temporary RerieV appears the first Of
series OF articles on &" The Bnlion-Dollar
Trust by HENRY W. MAcBosTY and
b. q. HoBsoS. They undertake to
answer the questions which now, we are
told, are mooted continually in Great
Britain. 10 wit: What Is the Steel Trust.
how will IL affect the consumer and the
workman, what will be its influence on
outside markets. and. especially, on
British trade? The writers exhibit a
thorough knowledge Of the subject,
and they arrive at conclusions which.
for the most part. are favorable TO the
United States Steel Corporation.
II seems that a notion obtained for a
time in England that the Steel Trust was
a mushroom concern made in Wall Street
TO facilitate the shesring OF financial
lambs. That is not by any means the
view Of the matter set forth in the article
under our eve. Tho Coptcm pordrv
Rerieu sees in the Steel Trust the inevi-
table outcome OF the whole history Of
the American iron industry. 1t reoog-
nizes in the trust the climax Of repeated
efforts made by American mGnfact-
IIrers TO find some form of combina-
ton that would establish an economic
parity between demand and production.
The great merger Of many previously
existing trusts in the United States Steel
Corporation was primarily due to tho
same fear Of competition and low profits
which had brought about the earlier
amalgamations. As early as Deccm-
Der, iSas, the Iron Age had pointed out
that the conviction has been growing
among manufacturers that nothing
short Of a consolidation of interests
as comprehensive as possible will bring
relief from disastrous rivalry. the un-
avoidable results of which were ex-
t~inction Of profits and o~verproduction.
The United States Steel Corporation of
1900 simply represents a consolidation
n intensiication Of the efforts 20 avert
overproduction and the extinction ~
profits, which had been made by the
smaller trusts absorbed in the new com
bination.
The second purpose OF the union was
20 Utilize 20 the best advantage he va
fious ore fields owned by the combining
corporations. The mention Of ores suc-
Hests a capital feature Of tho new Steel
Trust, II is "a self-con'ained organiza-
ton. controlling the whole process Of
Iron and steel making and distributing.
from the extraction Of the raw materials
10 the sale Of the finished article. This
wa the aim which the earlier COMPANIES.
now embraced in the new combination,
had set before themselves. but which
they had imperfcctly attained. The
strength of the new trust largely depends
upon its possession Of ore fields of vast
extent and varicd quality. which are
o placed at the disposal Of all tho
constituent companies. Tho trust has
five hundred million tons Of iron ore in
sight, and own sixty thousand acres 81
Connellsville coal. tho best coal in
the United States for manufacturing
purposes. The Importance Of the
acquisition Of the sources Of raw
material j. no now discovery on the
part Of the ORGANIZERS OF ihr Steel
Trust; II is the scale on which the ar-
QUESTION has boon made which renders
their action unique. In tho matter
Of transportation the corporation ocpu-
pies an equally strong position Not
only does It own lie ore feet on
the Lakes and it, ore railways for the
service of H. mines. bat. from it, hnan-
cial Affiliations. u has az ~ disposal
many gr~st ra.lwar sysicms. snd need
fear no trouble about rates and frcigl's
The la-i link m the Industrial chain
was Cpmpl,t0i p" rho purchase az the
lryllnd t~uu>r' tH, hr" 90 80. ucra.
by m-an, - wfrh thc SOD Trust VIII
b. enabled 6" III It, surplus products
IN Eurore
The GortcuPorgW Rc1,r j. C1n-