The Washington times. (Washington [D.C.]) 1901-1902, 1901-08-21
KNOX MAKES SHARP REPLY
The Attorney General Answers the
Antitrust Leagues Letter.
He Specifically Denies All Knowl-
edge of steel Trust Affairs and
Sayr His Department Would BE
kent Busy If Ii Aided Litignnts.

Attorney General Knox late yesterday
afternoon addressed a lengthy letter to the
joint committee of the American Anti
Trust League and District Assembly No.
&C. knights of Labor. in reply to the COM
munication from those two organizations
last Monday. In that letter Mr.. Knox
was asked for information concerning the
agreement made between the various COM
panies which organized the United States
Steel Corporation, known as the Steel
Trust.
The reply OF the Attorney General is adj
dressed to II. b. Martin, Chairman Joint
Committee of American Antitrust
League, etc, and reads as follows:
Il have the honor TO acknowledge the
receipt of your letter of August 10, 1901,
in which you request me to obtain for you
certain information with reference to GER
tain alleged agreement or agreements
made between the constituent companies
and individuals who organized the United
States Steel Corporation You ask me to
afford you all the Information that l may
possess or can obtain and you specifi-
caliy refer to an alleged trust or syndi-
cate agreement which you state the
President OF the United States Steel Cor
poration. Mr.. c. NJ Schwab, refused to
furnish to 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 understood as covering any other con-
tracts of 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 information
or these contracts, was or were made
that l was in some way officially connect
ed with the Carnegie Steel Company and
you therefore assume that the inforrna-
tion which you request must be in my
possession or conveniently at hand I
am, therefore, requested to give you the
substance. or, if possible. copy thereof
Primarily, permit me to say that your
request is founded upon an erroneous as
sumption l do not know who the indi-
viduals are who organized the United
States Steel Corporation. If they are the
persons usually named in the newspapers
as the promoters of that organization
with the single exception of Mr. c. NJ
Schwab, l do not know. never saw and
was never in any way connected with any
one of them. ] never heard of any agree
ment between them and the constituent
members of the Steel Corporation
Neither at the time Of the formation of
the United States Steel Corporation, nor
at any time, was | officially connected
with the Carnegie Steel Company. | was
formerly one OF its legal advisers in the
conduct of its manufacturing business.
but was never consulted with reference
to the formation of the United States
Steel Company, nor in relation to the sale
to that company OF the shares of stock
held by the stockholders of the Carnegie
Company.
Il have never seen the papers or agree
ments to which you refer. nor have l been
informed of their contents. | have no
knowledge whatever of their existence.
terms. or scope. ] am thus specific. as |
desire 30 cover both the spirit and the
letter OF your enquiry.
y may say. moreover, that ! have no
access to the agreement or papers to
which you refer. / know nothing of the
one to which you especially refer. and do
not even know that such an agreement is
IN existence. The information which you
request. therefore. is not In my posses
sion or conveniently al hand as you as
sumo. and ii is. therefore, impossible for
me to comply with any of the requests
set forth in your letter All this informa-
ton you could at any time have acquired
through the usual method Of direct per-
sonal enquiry, thereby avoiding the doubt
ful propriety of addressing me through
the medium of an open letter which you
concurrently delivered to the press.
whether. if such papers were accessi-
BILE to me, it would be my duty to obtain
them and furnish them for use in legal
proceedings to which you are a party,
and the nature of which you do not ex-
plain, is a question which / do not care
at this time 10 discuss.
IF may regard the letter as addressed
TO me officially ! viii say:
IF this department is under obligations
to furnish information TO prospective ltti-
gants in undisclosed proceedings, its re-
sponsibilities and labors are necessarily
. fa., hoy hoy e.
fned from the time of its forma ton. In
deed, as there are generally two parties
10 every controversy. it would be difhcuit
to discharge such alleged duty to both
parties in view OF conflicting interests.
This department was not called into being
to fuSnish information TO private lit-
gants Its duty and it's object is to en-
force the Federal statutes as interpreted
by the courts wherever there is probable
cause for believing that they have been
violated. Very respectfully.
''P. c. KNOX.
Attorney General"