The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-08-21
KNOX MAKES REPLY
ATTORNEY GENERAL ANSWERS s
THE PETITION OF THE ANTI
TRUST LEAGUE
IN REGARD TO STEEL TRUST
Head of Uncle Sans Law Depart
ment Says He Does Not Know
Anything About Any
Steel Trust.

WASHINGTON, Aug. 2O.-Attorney
/ General Knox today sent the following
| letter to the joint committee of the Amer
lean Antitrust League and District AS
| sembly 66, Knights of Labor, in reply to
one from the committee requesting in
formation from Mr.. Knox regarding the
United States steel corporation:
Washington, Aug 20-H. B. Martin.
Chairman Joint Committee of American
Antitrust League-Sir: | have the honor
to acknowledge the receipts of your let
ter OF Aug. 10, 1901, in which you request
rue to obtain for you informa ton relative
10 certain agreement or agreements be-.
tween constituent companies and individ-
uals who organized the United States
Steel corporation" You ask me to afford
you all the information that 81 may pos
sess or can obtain" and you specifically
refer to an alleged trust or svndicate
agreement, which you state 'the presi-
dent of the United States Steel corpora
tion, Mr. c. NJ. Schwab, refused to fur
nish the United States industrial commits
sion when on the witness stand when
before that body" and you further state
that your request for information is 70
be understood 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 information
and belief that at the time this contract
or these contracts was or were made"
that l was lin some way officially con-
nected with the Carnegie company" and
you therefore. assume that the informa-
ton which you request must be in my
DossessiOn or conveniently at hand" I
am, therefore, requested to give you the
substance, or if possible, a copy thereof.
KNOX PLEADS IGNORANCE.
Primarily, permit me to say that your
request is founded upon an erroneous as
sumption. / do not know who the indi-
yiduals are who organized the United
States Steel corporation If they are the
persons usually referred to in the news
papers as the promoters of that organiza-
ton, with the single exception of Mr.. c.
M. Schwab 1 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 cOnstit.
uent members of the steel corporation.
Neither at the time of the formation
of the United States Steel corporation,
or at any time, was | officially connected
with the Carnegie Steel company. l 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. l have never seen the
papers or agreements to which you re-
fer, nor have l been informed of their
contents. ] have no knowledge whatever
Of their existence, the terms or scope. 1
am thus specific, as I desire to cover
beth. the spirit and the letter Of your
inquiry.
1 may say, moreover, that I have no
access to the agreement Or papers to
which you refer. 1 know nothing of the
one to which you especially refer. and
do not even know that such an agree
ment is in existence. The information
Which you request is not in my possession
or conveniently at hand" as you as
sumo, and it is, therefore, impossible for
me to comply with any of the requests
set forth in your letter All this inforrna
ton you could at any time have acquired
through the usual method of direct per
sonal inquiry, thereby avoiding the
doubtful propriety of addressing me
through the medium Of an open letter
Whlch you concurrently delivered to this
office. Whether, if such papers were ac-
cesstble to me, it would be my duty to
obtain them and furnish them for use
in legal proceedings to which you are
party, and the nature of which you 90
not explain, is a question which 1 do not
care at this time to discuss
If / may regard the letter as addressed
to me officially ! will say: If this de-
partment is under obligations to furnish
information TO prospective ltigants in
undisclosed proceedings, its responsible
than they nave ever been imagined from
the time of its establishment. Indeed, as
there are generally two parties to every
controversy, it would be difficult to dis
charge such alleged duty 10 both parties
i'll view of conflicting interests. This de-
1urnlsh information to private ltlgants.
Its duty and its object is to enforoe the
federal statutes as Interpreted By the
courts wherever there IS probable cause
for believing that they nave been VIC
lated. Very respectfully,
p. c. Knox, Attorney General.
L. S. s. Alabama at Hampton iIosds.