The Washington times., 1908-11-28
ALFRED o. CRozIER.
Points Out Danger in With
drawing High Tariff
on SteelS.

NEW YORK. Nov. 2s.-WIth astonish-
ing directness and eircumspect attention
to specifications Alfred o. CrOzier, OF
Wilmington. Del. whose letter TO Presi-
dent Roosevelt scaled the doom OF T.
Coleman Dupont, chief OF the Repubh-
can national committees speakers bu-
reaU, has hung out danger signals along
Andrew Carnegie's line OF retreat from
his former position as an advocate Of a
prohibitive tariff on steel.
The letter which Is couched in the
mcst comprehensive language. recounta
the growth ~ the United States Steel
Cooperation ard polnts out B4ta definite
ness a logical reason for the reversal
of the steel magnate's policy.
That Andrew Carnegie. with eharae-
terisic foresight, has perfected an in
temational steel trust. removing all fear
Of difficulties from either friendly or
malicious tariff tinkering, Mr.. CrozIer
IS certain. The removal OF tariff from
steel would only enable the international
organization. which viii suppIant the
United States corporation. to dominate
the situation from an impregnabIe
stronghold which the independent manu-
facturers may never hope 10 assail.
Rips Of Veil.
Prefaelng the principal communIca-
ton to Serene f. Payne, chairman Of
the Committee on Ways and Means
who Is conducting the tarfff hes rings -
Washington, with the statement that he
viii be unable to attend the sessions Of
the committee. AIr. Crozier rips the ven
of an amazing situation IN the follow
ing words:
Andrew Carnegie s declaration in favor
OF complete abolition Of the protective
policy so far as iron and steel IS con-
cerned, substituting a mere revenue
tariff, is a TIN yst at the heart Of the
entire protectiY' system. For II his
position is true as 70 iron and steel il
is t-de as 20 a great many other in
dustries. 1t raises the most dangerous
and difficult situation in the historv Of
tarin legislation. It seems to nut Mr.
Carnegie on the side Of the people and
against the trusts, while those who on-
pose his proposition may be accused Of
fayoring trusts at the expense of the
people. But this is a superficial view"
Whether so intended by Mr.. Carnegie
or not, no more clever plan could be de-
vised to permanently intrench the Steel
trust IN absolute mastery and monOpoly
OF the entire iron and steel business
OF the United States. Incidentally every
one OF its nearly 10000 employees and
the 100000 or more wives and children
dependent upon them would forever and
be at the mercy OF the Wall
Street managers OF that trust
At Trusts Mercy.
They would be obliged to su'. NIT TO
any terms as TO wages and hours i'm
posed by the corporation with no pos
sible way Of escape.
Trusts are all over-capitalized. They
must charge high prices TO pay drvi-
dends on such excessive capitalization.
The one menace 10 trust supremacy is
the establishment Of the new competing
Industries.
1T is well known, that, other things
being equal, a corporation with actual
capital equal to one-third the total OF
the stocks and bonds OF the United
States Steel Corporation could easily
handle the same volume OF business
done by that trust When the trust
maintains high prices, that will WELD
q pfout Oh Us tOlai u securities capital
Is constantly tempted 10 start indeDa,-
dent plants. This can be done over and
over. forcing the trust 80 buy them onf
st high prices, except when, as NTitI,
the Tennessee Coal and Iron deal Prov
dence or other Wall Street controlled
agencies sends panic to the aid of the
trust in their process OF benevolent as
similatiOn of competition For IL Is
wholly impossible for q big trrst to cpf
prices on its entire output to crnsh
IN independent plant with a compare
lively small output
The rigid enforcement Of stringent
avs against rebates and special trans
9ortation advantages and combinations
GeRtinued On SECOND Rsgsa