The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1908-04-29
One Of the Significant Re
suits Of Defeat Of Four
Battleships.
STEEL TRUST AT WORK,
BUT HAD NO EFFECT
Senators Known as Most Friends
ly to the Great Corporations
Are Found Opposing the
Trusts Wishes-Hear-
ing Jamestown
Bill.
Times-Dispatch Bureau.
Munsey Building
Washington D. c. April *

4 \ TtneS.DtspatChi Bureau,
| Munsey Building,
Washington. D. c.. April 20.
-HE activity of the United Stated
Steel Corporation. vulgarly
4 known as. the steel trust, In
Il advocacy of President Roose-,
velt's four-battleship PROPOSE
ton, was one of the features OF the
fight which ended In the Senate yes
terday afternoon by that body adopt-s
| ing the provision OF the naval bill as
1t came from the House, providing for
but two battleships this year. The
steel people were we'll represented in
| Washington during the fight. It waa
q fact known very generally that one
of the shrewdest officials OF the COM
pany, though not one OF the highest.
was here. and had been here for sew
eral weeks helping direct the fight for
| four Dreadnoughts.
This trust representative was in fre,
quent conference with the advocates of
the four battleships proposition, and IL
is asserted that much OF the infor-
nation which speakers in the Senate
and House used In their arguments was
obtained from him. He occupied seat
in the Senate gallery while Senator
| BeveridSe was making his argument
for four battleships. Shortly before Mr.
| Beveridge began. the trust man was In
the marble room. supposedly for ths
purpose OF conversing with certain
Senator'S.
Corporation Senator's In New Role.
! 1t Is not charged for one moment
that any Senator or member OF the
House was unduly influenced by the
listeel trust in the matter of his po-
ts:tion on the battleship proposition. AZ
@ matter of fact. several Senator'S who
are generally charged with strong trust
lproclivities, to put 1t very mildly. voted
against authorizing four battleships.
Senator Aldrich, for instance, who
| has never been accused by anybody
with being unfriendly to corporations.
combinations and monopolies. opposed
authorizing more than two battleships.
and hisrsoppositio was even moro
vigorous than the Rhode Island SEN
ator usually displays when fighting a
proposition. Other Senators and House
members who have been regarded as
being rather friendly to trusts. voted
against the steel trusts battleship
| proposition.
The attitude of so many members of
| the two houses opposing the thing so
strongly urged by the greatest of all
corporations was deeply significant OF
the changed conditions in Washington.
Five years ago. certainly ten years
| ago. 1t would have been perfectly safe
to wager that the steel corporation
would have won such fight. It may
very we'll be that popular sentiment
against corporations as reflected in
the two houses of Congress unduly
influenced Senator'S and members to-
vote for two battleships because the
steel trust wanted four.
President Friendly to Steel.
The Roosevelt administration has
never displayed any hostility towards
the steel corporation. Although it has
q capitalization of s1,o00,00o, ,00O,ssa q
greater sum than that represented in
the stock OF any other corporation in
production OF steel as thoroughly as
the output of any article is controlled
by combination. there has never been.
a hint from the Department of Justice
or the White House that Its affairs
might be Investigated and prosecution
instituted against It.
Indeed. last fall the representatives
of the steel trust secured from the
White House permission to absorb the
Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, a.
great competing corporation. and took
over the property of this latter con-a
Germ. paying for 1t by an additional
issue of stock. "a AL
Naturally, the steel trust wanted
four battleships instead of two. Every
battleship constructed meant the con
sumption OF thousands Of tons OF Il
steel. furnished by the steel corpora y
ton, and every ton meant an enor-
nous profit, thanks to protective
tariff system which enables the trust 4
to sell to domestic consumers, lnclud- =
Ing the government at price from
one-fourth to one-third greater than
1t can obtain abroad. - I'M
Pushing Pulp Inquiry. ss
One of the Democratic members OF
the special committee appointed to in
Hestigate the prices OF wood pulp and
news paper, confessed to-day that he II
was "up in the air" &
II cannot understand what is going
on. lie said. THE way III which tho
work of tho investigating committee Is 4
being rushed by Chairman Mann &puz-
{zles me- 1t must mean something. We
are driving away with an energy aha
rapldity such as have not seen dis
played by any such committee of Cons
gress. / may only mean that the COM
mittee desires to get in a report before
adjournment. and it may mean that 1t
will report In favor OF legislation re-is
pealing the duty on wood pulp and
paper" III, Es5 al e # X
1t is generally reported that a quiet
efforti is making by several Republican
members of the House TO secure a cal-
Gus on the wood pulp measures. With -
view to passing hill at this session,
The results of this work have not
developed, II the majority of the
House should allow such a bill to ba I
enacted this year 1T would be a tri-
,imph such as the Democrats OF Con.
sress have not achieved in many long
years. Such action would undoubtedlyiS$ WI
he the direct result OF the obstructive
tactics of the minority, inausurated for
the specific purpose, among others. of 4
some action on bills TO re-
peal the duty on paper and pulp.
The Senate CoMmitIae on Naval .Atr93
fairs spant over an hour to-day IN
considering Senator Daniels blu, prss-
posing ia sell to the government thu
Site OF the Jamestown Exposition Ia sS
ba used for a naval training station IL
and coal, daaots The principal statss