New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1904-04-19
No PROBING COMMITTEE.
STEEL TRUST MOVE FAILS.
Plan to Organise Small Stockholders
for Effective Protest.


At III. third annual meeting OF the United states
Steel CORPORATION. which was held yesterday AFTER
noon in the Office Of that company in the HUDSON
Trust Company Building, No 81 Ne"aTh-sI ~.
bolen n J. a movement was started py winch
Il IS hoped eventually TO organize the srnsh
stockholders as to make them capable OF pro'esF
Ing with effect should move be maze oy 'he
rnanagement Of the corporation that 10 not oeeiHeN
wise 10 their interests by the small stocknoloers
Tosanb r Alice as executor for the estate OF w
H Alice which includes 800 shares OF common
stock. offered a motion providing for the electi0n
OF e committee, be composed OF nI0eeh SNARE
holders other than officials OF the company to In
vestigate the business methods Of the present
r,sraserrent TO such en extent as may be deemed
advisable and TO take such measures as may Sc
cure adequate representation In the board OF oHeC
tors Of stockholders who may favor chanse IN Ine
policies OF the present management OF the corpora
tion. Thomas T. wlkerson, Of Jersey City' ho,o-
ing 100 shares OF common stock. seconoeo the
motion.
when the motion was handed 10 Chairman FL
bert H. Gary and read, Francis Lynoe sIe's'n'
general counsel arose and explained 10 those pres
ent at the meeting that he thought 1t unneces-
sary for such a committee TO be elected as tle
corporation had already been thoroughly inVesu-
gated and found be in every way IN accordance
with the law Nr. Alice explained that he thought
II was no more than right that the stockholders
should know why the conversion scheme was put
through two years ago. By IT. he SAID large com
missions were paid. and he oio not know whether
those who received the commissions deserved them
The motion was lost by a vots OF IA shares OF pre-
ferred and 2I0 shares OF common for. and 2c4SOo2
preferred and 2.7lI565 common against, the motion
Mr.. Alice in speaking 10 a Tribune reporter at
the conclusion Of the meeting. said that he did
not expect 10 have the motion carried when he
offered it. but he simply wished 10 start move
rnent for the organizing OF small Shareholders
so that IN time q strong organization could be
effected which would be able to speak with
voice loud enough to be heard. While the votes
were being recorded Mr.. Alice took the names Of
al voting. the amount Of shares each held and
their addresses, saying that he intended TO write
10 them -. ,-,r
Gary chairman Of the board OF directors. Other
officers present were Francis Lynde stetson. gen.
eral counsel: Richard Trimble, secretary and treas
urer and William J. Filbert, controller. After the
announcement had been made that the proxy com
uittee. consisting Of Robert Bacon Henry c. Frick.
Ebert Il. Gary, Francis H. Peabody and Norman
3. Ream. represented 2O23.49o shares Of preferred
and 2656.14 shares OF common stock, list was
taken OF all those present and the number OK shares
they represented and also who held proxies. II
was found that about 81 per Of the entire issue
Of both common and preferred stock was repre-
scented. 1t takes So per cent to make meeting
legal
The first vote was to ratify the construction of
the bylaws which had been made by the executive
committee. Several objected to a vote before an
explanation 10 what reconstruction had been
made and what the changes in the bylaws
Mr. Stetson explained that the only material change
was that the executive committee was TO be abol-
ished and the work Of that committee performed by
the officers and the finance committee A number
Of questions were put and Mr.. stetson finally said
that circular had been sent out month and
half ago and that any one who desired to find out
what changes had been made had had ample op-
portunity as the circular stated that all books req
ords and revised bylaws open for inspection
The motion was carried almost unanimously.
Mr. Alice was first heard from directly after the
inspectors Of the election had been sworn. He then
asked that all persons not shareholders furnish
ing an adequate reason for their presence be
cuded from the room. IN making this notion he
explained that he wanted 10 be that
having the right take part in the discussions
should co This motion lost. The following
ballots were distributed, and the voting OF them
constituted the remainder Of the business:
The undersigned votes the number Of shares
noted IN tbs subscription hereto as follows:
contracts. acts bylaws, proceedings elections and
appointments by the board Of directors OF ex-
TIE annual mesng 81 the ste fo5; g OF
ecuIive committee or Of the finance committee In
secouG-Ir favor o; ratifying the election OF w.
f Corey and John F. Dryden as directors Of the
the place and stead or Alfred Clifford. resigned,
and Abram :. Hewitt, deceased, respectively. and
tie election OF Henry Phipps as director OF the
third class for the three years ending in 1904, IN
TEiTd-For the following named persons d.
rectors OF the third years ending
in 1871: J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry II. Rogers,
Ebert Il. Gary. George W Perkins. Charles NJ.
Schwab. Henry Phipps. Edmund c. Converse and
James Gayley.
Fourth-F0r Price. waterhouse & Co., as inde-
pendent auditors, TO audit the books and accounts
of the corporation at the close OF the fiscal year
ending December 81 1s04.
Tie polls We're declared open at ! o'clock and
closed IT 2 There opposition to the names
on the ballots. but prior to the voting Mr.. Rooney
asked that explanation be given Of what con-
tracts had been made and executed by the board OF
directors. etc. Mr.. Stetson gave the same answer
to this request that he made to the request for in
formation in regard to the changes made In the
bylaws He said that the books had been open for
inspection for long time. and that question would
have been easily answered had the stockholder de-
firing the Information taken advantage Of the OPP
portunity TO inspect them
4 circumstance which was jokingly remarked on
by a number OF the stockholders the presence
OF FIVE Hoboken detectives and two policemen IN
plain clothes one shareholder remarked that they
certainly be there to protect the officers, as
the stockholders had nothing left for any one TO
get.
NEW BANKING LAW.