New-York tribune., 1903-06-16
NEW OFFER BY SCHWAB.
REPLY TO BLUFF CH4RGE.
No account Taken of Bethlehem
Betterments, HO7UeUer.

Untermyer, of counsel for the security noloeIS
who have applied for the appointment OF re-
ceiver for the United States Shipbuilding Com
pany a letter in which he offered to surrender
all the bonds and stock of the Shipbuiding Com
pany received by him and j. p. Morgan & Co
on account of the stock of the Bethlehem Steel
Company if Mr. Untermyer would cause the
steel company's stock to be returned to him.
Mr. Untermyer came out in long iptervleW,
dictated before the receipt of the Schwab letter.
proposing for Mr.. Schwab's consideration sub
stitute for the plan of the reorganization COM
mittee. Mr.. Schwab's letter. which was made
public last night, is follows:
Dear Sir: In the statement given by me to the
press Saturday afternoon, L stated, among
other things, that / heretofore insisted and am
now willing to surrender all the bonds ana
stocks received by me and j. P. Morgan d Co
for and on account of the capital stock of the
Bethlehem Steel Company upon delivery to me
of the shares of stock of the Bethlehem Steel
Company.
in this mornings press / find a statement
from you to the effect that you doubted the sin
cerity of my position and offer and were ser1-
Gus in that respect and willing to make surreh,
der of all the bonds and stocks so received and
cancel the mortage, that | could be accommo-
da ted, no doubt, without delay
From your statement l assume. of course, that
you in q position to obtain the absolute ana
unconditional release and delivery to of the
ca pital stock of the Bethlehem Steel Company
That being so, and that there may be no DOUBT
about my position and the sincerity OF my
absolute and unconditional delivery to me OF the
three hundred thousand shares of the capital
stock of the Bethlehem Steel Company now de-
posted with the New-York Security and Trust
Company under the mortgage, will have MADE
an absolute and unconditional surrender OF the
S10,GA000 of bonds and S1O,poo,OcS or eacn
kind of stock of the United states Shipbuildins
Company which were received by me and j. P.
Morgan & Co. on account of the capital STOCK
OF the Bethlehem Steel Company.
I hope you will be able to accomplish this ex-
pedtiously and enable the holders of the first
rIr5 mod nIlo
of the Shipbuilding plants to promptly and sue
cessfuy adjust their affairs. Respectfully
yours, =. M SCh" AID.
WHAT BANKER SAYS.
well known banker in commenting last
night upon Mr. Schwab's offer, called attention
to the following sentences in section p Of the
complaint in the receivership application;
within very short time after the acquisition
of said plant BethIehem Steel Company the de-
fendant (the United States Shipbuilding Com
pany was required to and did furnish the sum OF
about S100O 900 for the Bethlehem Steel Company,
and subsequently resolution was proposed and
passed by the directors of the defendant, by
the votes of the nominees of said Schwab in
the board to provide said steel company with
the sum of s., 100000 for betterments. but your
orators are not informed to what extent said
resolution carried into effect
THAT resolution was carried against the pro-
test of Lewis Nixon and other director.
declared the banker, and L know that the
money was applied to the purposes contem-
plated in the resolution. Mr. Untermyer, L
imagine will answer the Schwab offer by say
ing: Let the Bethlehem Steel Company pay
back the 81, 100000 which it received from
the United States ShipbuiIding Company. and
then when the two companies shall have been
restored to the positions which they occupied
relatively to each other at the outset. the ex-
change of securities suggested by Mr.. Schwab
may be effected upon fair and equitable basis
Then it will be Mr.. Schwab's turn again.
1t is understood from excellent sources that,
contrary to the general impression in the Street,
the reorganization committee has not yet ma
jority of the outstanding first mortgage bonds
of the United States ShipbuiIding Company, and
is making earnest efforts to secure the CO.
operation of the holders of enough of the bonds
to give it control. Gustave Loeb and the men
associated with him. according to Mr. Loeb's
recent statement, have about 100000 of the
bonds and the Trust Company of the Republic,
special meeting of the stockholders of which
is to be held on June 10, to consider the COM
pany's attitude toward the shipbuilding COM
panv is said also to own about S10OOO0O of
these bonds.
The statement was made yesterday on high
authority that all except one of the constituent
shipbuiiding plants of the United states Snip
building Company were earning before the con-
solidation at least or 1 per cent upon their
respective capitalizatons-an assertion of in
terest, in view of the estimates made of the
earning power of the shipyards and the Beth
Iebem Steel Company, respectively, in the reor
ganiZation plan.
MIR. SCHWAB'S METHOD CRITICISED.
Mr.. Untermyer's statement is as follows:
The endeavor of the bondhoders this juncture
is to save the property. That can best be accom-
The final reckoning with the people who are re-
sponsible for this wreck within year OF the
case is in the courts and it Gdght to he tried there
IF Mr. Schwab is earnest in his assertion that he
is willing to take back his steel plant and will put
his offer in form in which it can be enforced |
have no doubt his connection with this controversy
will very promptly come to an end
glance will explain to any one familiar with
the situation why the Shipbuding bondholders are
scepticai as to his willingness to make that sacri-
flee for their beneht What is he to do with the
with the United States Steel Corporation. of which
he is president: That would hardly be permitted
Unload it, with its $l0-0o0Go0 OF underlying mort
cages. on the steel company: Messrs j. Morgan
and Mr. Schwabs associate directors Wo4o PROB PROD
ably have something 10 say on that SUBJECT; There
is nothing for him TO Go except to corral the Snip
works a customer for its product without coming
into competition with the United States Steel Cor
Mr, Schwab tells us that he became a subscriber
to the sllpyards bonds in order TO secure large
that he had idea at the time OF putting IN ms
Bethlehem plant Yet he promptly "a deprived n the
toner by selling his own plant to it. Mr.; Schwab
has only second mortgage on the snlpyaTds. d
mortgage and TO give the nrst mortgage % %Pond-
hoider should listen to any suggestion. unless
he has other interests TO serve for which ne IS
Wiling to sacrifice his bonds surpasses undertand-
Under the proposed plan there will be s2 dS@ 0o9 @
of stock, making over S5sOJVoo or annual