The Washington herald., 1909-03-07
MEN WHO FIGHT \
THE STEEL WAR
COntInued Don PaEe Two.

tute. Whenever friction arose. harmony
was always established through hts ef-
forts. Prices We're thus maintained until
the recent break Trust officers and inde-
pendents met In peace, and everybody
seemed satisfied.
Even after the panic Of 1907 the Opti-
mism of Gary prevailed until the steel
jobbers got rid Of their accumulated sup
plies In the first half OF 1908. II was well
for them that the prices were not cut al
that time. for they had paid the old prices
and wholesale cuts would have ruined
them. As soon. however. as the stock
on hand was gone, there began 10 be
muttersngs- Consumption OF steel de-
creased Dealers all the way up the line
wanted 10 buy at lower figures. Il re-
quired all OF Gary's diplomacy 10 avert
reductions.
CandOr HIS Strong Point.
Gary it was, in conjunction with Friek,
who convinced President Roosevelt that
the trust ought 70 absorb the Tennessee
Coal and Iron Company, in order 10 avert
I serious Wall street troubles A minority
I in Congress is now attempting 70 blame
the President therefor and 70 pass resOlu-
| tons condemning the absorption as nle-
gal.
! Federal officers that his trust was not a
subject for prosecution under the anti
trust laws. There was an investigation
Of the Steel Corporation. Exactly how
FAR 1t went may not have been disclosed.
but certainly the inquiry was started.
with view OF prosecution If the govern
ment lawyers saw fit But no suit was
\ begun. While the oil trust and the to-
( baccO trust were made defendants in
strenuous actions, Gary's trust appar-
entity got a clean bin Of health
The steel chairman Is among the few
/ Wall street men who has actively sup
ported Mr.. Roosevelts ideas. often he
/ has defended the President from the
charge Of precipitating the panic. The du-
! ties Of citizens in the line OF hOnOring
the nations head and standing behind
his reforms are a favorite topic OF the
steel man.
Mr.. Gary's impressiveness is IN inverse
ratio 10 his size. He Is a little man, OF
modest manners, but when he talks he
ienforces attention by his directness and
/ clearness. His training as lawyer. com
bined with an ability to get along" with
men. makes him a convincer Of the first
quality. and the stranger who meets him
is not surprised that President Roosevelt
or anybody else should heed his argu-
ments.
Born in Wheaton. Ill. on October S. 1876
the steel chairman was educated al the
public schools Of that village and at
Wheaton College Then he went to Chi
cagO University. where he was graduated
IN law AT the age Of twenty-one. In the
same year. 1865. he was admitted 10 the
bar, and eleven years later he became a
practitioner before the United States Su-
preme Court.
Finally. he found the field In which he
has grown famous. His first venture as
an organizer on a large scale was in
founding the American Steel and Wire
Company. an amalgamation OF concerns
! controlling - per cent of the American
J output OF steel rod and wire products.
, Next he formed the Federal Steel Com
! pany. With that success behind him. he
was ready 10 occupy a position in the
b forefront among the promoters OF the
steel trust
; Besides the Craftsmanship OF the steel
trust, he holds the corresponding position
n the Allis-Chalmers Company. and is
3 / president Of the Gary-WheatOn Bank. as
well as a director Of several hanks here
: and In Chicago. and a trustee OF the
Norwestern University Of Wheaton.
Corey, an Expert.
There arrives AZ the main Offices Of the
5 Steel Corporation every Monday morning
. a batch OF reports showing 81 minutes;
2 details what has been done by al the
branches OF the company in the preced-
ing week. The man who gets the re-
5 ports IS William f. Corey. president. He
IS the practical genius OF the trust
D Bred from boyhood IN the business. he
d knows II from bottom 70 top. II he does
] not read every line OF every report. he
certainly knows the outline Of each from
I carefully prepared summaries. and it has
: been said that he actually goes through
the lot In either case, his hnger Is or
every pulse that beats IN the gigantic
corporation, and no Monday can pass
D without his knowing where weakness OF
: strength has developed, and what needs
70 be done in the way OF curtailing and
bOlstering up II is his business, in short
70 see that all the cogs are running
smoothly. His salary IS somewhere II
the neighborhood Of $4,000 But that rep
s resents small portion Of the Interest
in the business. for he is one OF the
, thousand millionaires" whose fortune.
b were made when Andrew Carnegie let
= them in on the ground floor OF steel
He is classed in the inside group Of in.
] siders. known as Carnegie boys"
] The president is only fOrty-twO year.
e old He was born in Braddock. Pa, thu
< son OF n well-tO-dO steel merchant Tn
til he was sixteen he went 10 school: ther
he entered the steel business. It was no
a strange experience for him. this begin
ming since he had been reared within th'
sound OF the great mills whistles anC
q had known the technical language OF
4 steel from the time he learned 70 talk
e In the laboratory Of the Edgar ThOmp
2 son works he started as a messenger boy
: ordered around by everybody. At nigh
he studied IN a commercial school o.
Pittsburg- Gradually he became interest
: ed in chemistry, which he studied a
: I home. and IN the mill. while he held va
riOus jobs that gave him experience al
. fUrnaceman, puddler. and roller. anS
: I taught him all the duties OF the mechan
ics that go 70 make up a big steel fac
tory. In the course OF time he came un
: der Carregie's eye. and was made a su
perintendent at the age Of twenty-one.
He adhered especially 70 the scientih'
: : side OF the business, and more than on,
: important invention was the result. II,
was the creator Of Carnegie reforged ar
NOR" for one thing. BY his process
was made possible 10 equip war vessel
with a thinner and lighter armOr plat,
than had been used heretofore. A mum
= Der Of his other inventions are stin 10 b.
y improved upon in steel manufacture,
n Corey followed Charles NJ. Schwab a
\ superintendent OF the entire HOMESTEAD
/ plant Of the CarDeEie Steel COmpany Il