The Morris County chronicle. [volume] (Morristown, N.J.) 1877-1915, 1908-04-28

companying copy OF a report just sub.
mitted by Mr. Nathan Matthews
chairman of the finance commission
to the mayor and city council of Bos
ton, relating to certain evil practices OF
various corporations which have been
bidders for furnishing to the city iron
and steel. This report shows that
there have been extensive combina.
lions formed among the various cor.
porations which have business with
the city of Boston, including for in
stance, a carefully planned combina
ton embracing practically all the
firms and corporations engaged in
structural steel work in New England
This combination included substan.
tally all the local concerns and many
of the largest corporations in the
United States engaged in manufacture
ing or furnishing structural steel fol
use in any part of New England. II
affected the states, the cities and
towns, the railroads and street rail-
ways. and generally all persons having
occasion to use iron or steel for any
purpose in that section of the country
AS regards the city of Boston, the
combination resulted in parceling out
the work by collusive bids. plainly dis
honest and supported by false affirma-
tons. In its conclusion the commits
sion recommends as follows
The commission believes that an ex-
ample should be made of these men
and that the members of the Boston
agreement or at least all those who
in October and November, 1905, enter
ed in the fraudulent competitions for
the Cove street draw span and the
Brookline street bridge should be
brought before a federal grand jury
for violation of the act of congress Of
July ?, 1890. The three years limita-
ton for participation in these transac-
tons has not yet elapsed, and the evi-
dence obtained by the commission is so
complete that there should be no diff
Guilty in the governments securing
conviction in this case. To this end
have submitted this report to the de-
partment of justice for thorough inves-
tigation and for action, if action shall
prove practicable.
Surely such a state of affairs as that
above set forth emphasizes the need
of further federal legislation not mere
ly because of the material benefits
such legislation will secure, but, above
ALL because this federal action should
be part, and large part, of the cam
paign to waken our people as whole
to a lively and effective condemnation
of the low standard of morality i'm
piled in such conduct on the part of
great business concerns. The first
duty of every man is to provide a live
lihood for himself and for those de-
pendent upon him. 1t is from every
standpoint desirable that each of our
citizens should endeavor by hard work
and honorable methods to secure for
him and his such competence as will
carry with it the opportunity to enjoy
in reasonable fashion the comforts
and refinements of life, and further
more. the man of great business abili-
ty who obtains a fortune in upright
fashion inevitably in so doing confers
benefit upon the community as a
whole and is entitled to reward. to re-
spect and to admiration.
Moral Meaning of Methods.
Comment on the moral meaning of
these methods and transactions would
seem superfiuous, but as they were de-
Tended at the public hearings of the
commission and asserted to be common
and entirely proper incidents of bust
ness life, and as these practices have
been freely resorted to by some of the
largest industrial corporations that the
world has ever known, the commission
deems it proper to record it's own opin-
ion.
The Boston Agreement"
The commission dislikes to believe
that these practices are, as alleged, es-
tablished by the general custom of the
business community, and this defense
itself if unchallenged amounts to
grave accusation against the honesty
of present business methods. TO an
swer an invitation for public or pri-
waite work by sending in what purports
to be genuine bids, but what in reality
are collusive figures purposely made
higher than the bid which is known
will be submitted by one of the sup
posed competitors, is an act Of plain
dishonesty.
To support these Misrepresentation
/ by false affirmations in writing that
the bids are submitted in good faith
and without fraud, collision or con
! nection with any other bidder is a posi-
tive and deliberate fraud, the success
full bidder in~the competition is guilty
of obtaining money by false pretenses
and the others have made themselves
parties to conspiracy clearly unlaw-
full at the common law. Where, as in
the case of the Boston agreement
number of the most important manu-
facturers and dealers in structural steel
Ia this country, including the Amer
lean Bridge company, one of the con
stituent members of the United States
Steel corporation, have combined to-
/ gether for the purpose OF raising
prices BY means Of collusive bids and
| false representations, their conduct il