The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-05-02
COLLISION & AGENTS SHOWN More Evidence Against
 Paper Trust. NORRIS STILL ON STAND Charges Bonaparte With Negligence
 of Duty. says All the Evidence Furnished Ccm- mittee So Far, Had Long Ago
 Been in Hands of Attor-
 ney-General.

Committee of the American Newspaper ] Publishers Association. today contin- I ued his testimony before the select committee of the House on pulp and paper investigation.
 l He informed the committee regarding | steps taken to acquaint the Attorney l General with the existence of paper | manufactures pool and submitted for l the private information of the commit | tee a copy of the allegations made by the publishers embodying the names of l thirty-six persons who had knowledge
 of the matters complained of. These | persons, he declared. were not willing l witnesses, Mir Norris said further l that practically all the evidence he had furnished the committee had long ago been placed in the hands of the Attor- ney General
 T doubt" he said. If 1t was even read"
 MedilI Mccormick, publisher of The Chicago Tribpne disclosed to the com l mittee that under a five year contract ] with the International Paper Company he is now paying $2.20 per hundred for | paper. The contract still has one year | Go run. although the price during the | time of it's existence has been gradu- | ally increased from $1.s5. His pur- l chases. he said, amount to $l4.0o0 or
 
 approached him regarding his paper supply for next year.
 | Repiying to a query by Mfr. Stafford Mir. Mccormick said that so far as his knowledge went. The Chicago Record
 Herald and The News are paying the 1 same price as The Tribune. The Hearst napers were getting paper at some thine less than S2. The Journal was paving something over $2.s0. With I the exception of the last named pub- lIication, he said, the paper was all
 supplied by the international Com pany.
 After rigid crcss-examination oy MT. Miller. MT. MeCormfck testified
 that shortly before making ms last contract with the international Com
 nanv he had bought paper from Wa
 fertown. N. r., mill. Subsequently through travelling representative, the
 watertown Company asked to be re- lieved of its contract and on the same day. within an hour. an agent Of the International Company appeared Tn ms office and asked for the contract. | He said he journeyed to New York 1 in company of both gentlemen and the contract with the watertown Company
 was cancelled as requested. He could
 not explain how 1t happened that the
 two agents were in Chicago at the
 same time. ~
 "pid you suspect any colusion?" Mir.
 Mann asked ,,,
 The witness answered that he did
 rot susnect the watertown company's
 agent but" he said, "I made up my
 mind that the watertown people had
 baen badly frightened by the Interna.
 tioral neople aand I remember l had
 a rather angry interview in which
 fold him he had 'ditched' me-"
 At this point the committee entered
 into an informal discussion as to the
 probable effect on the House or its
 report. z. .,.
 racommendations of the. committed
 wouId be followed by the public. Continuing his testimony, MT. Me
 cormick declared. in answer to ques'
 tion by MT Sims, that the passage oi
 the Stevens bill removing the duty or
 wood pulp and print paper would CT feet the relief sought.
 Sneaking of the increased price o
 naner. Mir. Mccormick said 1t mean an additional outlay by him of $1Oo'OO'
 Tn the opinion of Mir. Mccormick thu , emergency of the case fully justine' } immediate action by Congress withou ! going into a general revision of th' tariff.
 r. 1 Again taking the stand MT. Norri . nlaced in evidence a number of clip 5 pings from paper trade journals show
 ing that writing paper manufacturers ? hau agreed on a scale of increased . nrices, as the result of combinations | understandings and arrangements "Weu." said MT. Mann, at this poin l when a call of the House was oroereo 3 "vour ally demands our presence I l o'r taken. 1 The afternoon session was opened
 with the reading by Mir. Norris of 5 letter dated November 13, 1907. iron
 Attorney General Bonaparte statinl ,. that the evidence presented to min s falls far short of establishing th B fact of a combination in restraint O 8 trada' hut that he would be glad C
 Ss,,a onv data which would assist hin B in nncovering the facts in the case . ..you claim" MT. Mann said. resum
 irg his questioning of Mir. Norris B which had been interrupted by the re 3 cass that the advance is in part caus t ed bv an artificial combination; tha s there is an artificial price. that 1t |
 fostered by the uarir, and you thinl we ought to recommend a rem"Hal . inc tariff. But suppose it should ap
 near that the enhancement in price | 1 ceused bv the actual increase in cos e of material or labor and not by req . son of A combination, do you thinl
 then We ought to recommend remov 8 al of the tsriff?"
 Mr. Norris answered that that wa D such an impossible hypothesis that h
 could not give an answer that woul
 clearly state his mind. He said tn
 nuhIishers would substantially res , their whole proposition upon the fac A that there not only was combination
 hut that prices which were being chsrG & cd were absolutely without justihcs e ton. The statements of the manufaC d turers. he said. as to the cost of pro
 ductIon were absolutely untrue. n "As understand it," Chairman Man
 remarked. you don't think we woul q be Justified in recommending a remov' of tha tariff if we should believe in tn end that there was no commission ? artihcially advance the price, but tha 2 the price was due solely to normal an natural conditions
 Mfr. Norris insisted that they ha