The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1903-11-27
IMPROBABLE STORY
Several Stories Regarding Steel
Corporation I'm probable.

Corporation Improbable.
A Pittsburg paper published story
few days ago that it was proposed to
abolish the subsidiary companies of
the United Stated Steel corporation,
that the latter would cease to be a
holding company as at present and
become ian operating .company-in
other words. that the Carnegie Steel
company, the Illinois Steel company,
the Fe 1eral Iron company, the Du-
luth & Iron Range railroad, the Du-
luth, Missabe & Northern railroad,
the Oliver Mining company, the Pitts
burg Steamship company and all the
other subsidiary companies embraced
in the Steel corporation would pass
out OF existence-and their officers be
abolished while the steel manufac-
turing, the mining and the shipping
would be handled as departments of
the Steel corporation. In this way,
it was claimed, there would be re-
duction in the number of high-salari-
ed officials and of the clerical forces.
and considerable savingin operating
expenses would be effected. This
story was published almost stimuli
taneously with the Iumor that John
D. Rockefeller had secured possess
ion of majority of the Steel corpora
TONS stock and would hereafter be
the controlling spirit in that great in
dustrial combination, and this plan
of concentration and retrenchment
was ascribed to him.
The story was republished and re-
told, and finally a Minneapolis paper
added to it the the further statement
that, as part of this new policy. the
offices of the United States Steel cor
poration were to be withdrawn from
Duluth, and that all the Offices were
to be concentrated at Pittsburg. and
every branch of the corporations i'm
mense business was to- be managed
direct from that point. 1t is hardly
probable that there is any foundation
for this story. Evidently it is the
crea ion of some imaginative writer.
who jumped at the conclusion that, if
the subsidiary companieswere abolish
ed. the offices now focdfetS. wee4a-
be removed with the others TO Pitts
burg. II the author of tiiis story had
possessed a thorough knowledge OF
the business of the United States
Steel corporation that it handled from
Duluth, he would not have perpetrat
ed such IL blunder. The Duluth Of
fees deal with the handling of the
iron ore-the mining of the ore, its
shipment by rail to the docks at Du-
luth and Two Harbors and its trans
shipment to the vessels that carry it
to the lower lake ports. The manage
ment of the mining properties is much
more efficiently conducted from Du-
luth than it possibly could be from
such distant point as Pittsburg.
The same may be said of the manage
ment of the two railroads.&c. Du-
luth & Iron Range and the Duluth,
Mssabe & Northern-and of the
handling of the vessels which carry
the ore. Duluth is so favorably situat-
ed for its management Of these de-
partments of the Steel corporations
business, and it would be so incon-
venient and additionally expensive to
manage them from Pittsburg that the
more the idea is considered the more
absurd it becomes. The Herald finds
itself unable to place any credence in
this story.
The strongest feature of the Steel
corporations commanding position in
the iron and steel trade is the immense
amount of iron ore that 1T controls.
The value of the raw material-the
basis of iron and steel manufacturing
which it possesses. can hardly be es-
timated with any degree Of accuracy.
Mr.. Schwab once valued the ore pro-
perties at 500, 200, 900, and in view of
the fact that the Steel corporation
owns practically all of the large de-
posits Of high-grade ore in the Lake
Superior district, this may not be too
high an estimate. The greater por-
tion of this ore lies in st. Louis
county within a comparatively short
distance of Duluth. This ore is as
sessed for taxation:purposes by the
Officials of st. Louis county, and the
state OF Minnesota. Therei;was. dur
ing number of years previous to the
organization of the United States
Steel corporation considerable friction
between the people and the iron COM
panles, and there was a disposition,
when Mr.. Rockefeller controlled the
Consolidated Iron Mines, to increase
the taxation OF the ore owned by that
corporation to the highest possible
figures. With Che location Of the
offices of the United States Steel cor
poration In Duluth and the good feel
ing created by the attitude of its lead
! ing officials residing here, there was