Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-15

IN by way of curiosity. Most OF them
looked as If they wouldn't know a pound
Of ferro manganese from a bag Of pea
nuts. but they were all interested in Mr..
Schwab. A man who started as a day
laborer and worked his way to the presi-
dency Of the biggest corporation that
ever saw the light Of day; who breaks
the bank at Monte Carlo by way of
amusement; who builds palace on 9Th
avenue, stocks it with art treasures and
then refuses to live in it because it's too
a lot of other things denied to the or
binary citizen, is a big attraction, whether
he appears on the vaudeville stage or be-
fore such solemn body as the ways and
means committee.
Memory Sometimes at Fault.
Incidentally before going into the SUBJ
Ject of the price of steel rails when Hec-
tor was a pup as COMPARED with the mar
ket figure today, following the benign rule
OF Andrew Carnegie and other iron and
water workers. it isn't too much to say
that Charles NJ. Schwab is one of the
si1ckest articles that ever stood in shoe
leather. He is as smooth as lycopodeum
and questions carom Off him like hail from
tin roof. Even Bourke Cochran, who is
a real probist became vexed and peev-
lsh today after he had questioned Mr.
Schwab for an hour or more and discover
ed that although that astute person re-
memoered to the quarter OF a cent the
duty on this and that and the other thing,
ne had, most unfortunately. forgotten the
details of the consolidation of the va
rious steel companies into that great
harmonious whole, the United States
Steel Corporation
Mr.. Schwab hasn't changed much since
he appeared here eight or so years ago
before the industrial commission. His
memory has failed somewhat however.
John kennedy. who was member of the
industrial commission, and who questioned
Mr.. Schwab on the occasion of his then
voluntary appearance in Washington, lis
tened with interest today to his testimony
before the ways and means committee
"here MS appearance was secured by
means of general subpoena. Mr. Ken
nedy says that if the ways and means
committee would forego the amusement
and educational advantages Of question
ing Mr.. Schwab at first hand and turn to
page something or other, volume some
thing else. in the reports of the industrial |
commissions reports it would save a lot
of time.
Cost Of Making Rails.
The most interesting and instructive
remark made by Mr.. Schwab this morning
was with reference to a letter he wrote to
one Frick, Mr.. Carnegie's long time part
IL
1899. mentioning that steel rails could be
made for $12 ton. the selling price then
being $2S ton. leaving neat little mar
gin of profit.
Mr.. Schwab frankly remarked, when
Chairman Payne pulled this letter on him
and read 1t. that when he had written IT
he was young and enthusiastic and opti-
mistlc and In a receptive mood for bust
ness preferment. He added that he had
written the letter at the instigation OF
Frick. who was then DESTROYS of unload
ing his steel holdings. Incidentally this
is supposed to be the letter that induced
or helped to induce ]. Pierpont Morgan to
put through the organization of the great
steel corporation soon thereafter
Only once Mr.. Schwab baked absolutely
at a question by member of the commit
tee. This was with reference to a COM
parison of the cost of making steel by
the open-hearth and Bessemer processes
He offered to give the cost of either proc
ess, but declined to put the figures side
by side-for trade reasons, he said The
committee didn't press the question.
Increased Cost of Manufacture.
Mr.. Schwab devoted most of the morn
inss hearing to an explanation of how
the cost of making steel rails had in
creased from $12 a ton in 189o-when he
wrote the optimistic and inspired letter
to Mr.. Frick-to about ST. 80 a ton in the
present year. The selling price had re-
manned constant at $2S a ton, he said,
except during the several years immedi-
ately preceding 1890. when the steel COM
panies had been at war on the rail ques-
ton and prices had been cut to the bone
During this war, Mr.. Schwab, said, he
thought most OF the concerns had made
rails at a loss. But, he added with
smile, that the Carnegie Steel Company
had continued to get along with a small
profit on rails
During this rate war he had said that
profits. even those made by the Carnegie
Steel Company. had been small.
oh" remarked Bourke Cochran some
what testify, Il don't imagine that Mr..
Carnegie was In want during that time"
No replied Mr.. Schwab, somewhat
grimly, The was not; but the rest of us
were" Whereupon the committee and
the spectators chuckled and Mr. Schwab
laughed out loud at his own remark.
Mr.. SchWab was suffering from a bad
cold, and about four times he asked Chair
man Payne If somebody wouldn't get him
a glass of water Mr.. Payne is hard of
hearing-he blames it on the acoustic
ings are being held--and it took four
members Of the committee five minutes to
explain what Mr.. Schwab wanted. So a
messenger was called. Mr.. SchWab's
rough throat was irrigated and the hear
ing proceeded.
Mr. ScQWaO'S ffaQkneSS.
Bourke Cochran did most of the
questioning. He went deeply into the
technical end of steel rail making
assisted at all points by Mr.. Schwab.
who talked with a charming frankness
that didn't reveal much information
that the committee wanted. After MI.
Cochran had discovered from Mr.
Schwab that the cost OF turning pig
which is the colloquial term for pig
| iron-had increased from 1915 in 1899
to $3.50 or whereabouts in 1908. he tried
to get some information out of the
interesting witness on the subject of
the consolidation of the Carnegie and
other plants into the United States
| Stee! Corporation. If Mr.. Schwab re-
vealed any facts not found in any an
nual report of the steel corporation, the
committee would feel grateful to him
| il he would be kind enOgh to point
them out.
| The main line OF Mr.. Cockran's question
| ing was intended to bring out that when
| the consolidation was made the discon-
| tinuance of the steel war and the con-
| solidation itself had been capitalized as
assets.
| MIR. Schwab replied with considera BILE
emphasis to questions of this nature eX-
| it-that the total capitalization of IA bill
! United States Steel Corporation didn't
| the term water. Most of the high iinan-
rin ic tod Il 1,