The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-01-28
Information on Tennessee Com
 panys Absorption is Withheld
SENATt'S GAME IS BLOCKED
Roosevelt Sent to Commissioner Her bert Knox Smith and Got All the Papers and Now Has Them
 Securely Locked Up.
By PATTERSON sTEALEY.

Washington, January 27.-(5pecial.)- The President is reported to have taken possession of all information in the hands of the several departments in relation to the absorption of the Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad company by the steel trust in order that it cannot be given to Congress. Congress will not get the in- formation, at least not from the bureau of corporations, for the excellent reason that when the President found out that demand was to be made for it, he sent for all the papers in the matter and took personal possession of them.
 It had been discovered that a sub-com- mittee of the judiciary committee of the Senate was getting ready to issue pro- cess summoning Herbert Knox Smith. commissioner of corporations, to come and bring books and papers The President is one officer who isn't subject to pro- cesses. Nobody can come around with subpoenas or papers and make him pay any attention. Papers in his personal possession are immune.
 | So the President sent for the papers in possession of Commissioner Smith and now has them-it isn't any difference ex- actly where-but in a safe place where nobody with a summons or a search war rant is going to get away with them.
 It all grew out of the Culberson resolu- tion wanting to know about the Tennes- see company affair. Early in the session a good deal of protest was started on the democraticsside of the chamber with no insignificant echo on the republican side about the absorption of the Tennes- see company by the Steel corporation. At length Senator Cuberson introduced d resolution directing the committee of the judiciary to investigate and determine whether in it's opinion, there had been any violation of law In permitting the consolidation.
 i The charge had been freely made that the President consented to the deal. The Senate passed the resolution with com paratively little opposition and the judic-
 ary committee sat on the matter The result was that a subcommittee headed by Senator Clark of Wyoming was put on the matter to conduct the investga- tion. This subcommittee was reminded that the bureau of corporations conduct ed two or three years ago a very de- tailed investigation of the iron and steel business. Incident to that investigation 1t is well known the Steel corporation furnished the bureau a great amount of information concerning its business af- fairs and arrangements, inter-corporate arrangements, properties owned, etc. The Steel corporation provided this voluntari- ly, as did one other big trust-the liar Vester company. These concerns came forward with all the information asked of them. The government under the law creating the bureau of corporations, had no power to compel this information to be furnished. So in order to get 1t agree ment was made that these communica- tions should be regarded as confidential and should not be published or otherwise used to the business disadvantage of the Steel company.
 These conditions having been made the President proposes that they shall not be violated. When he heard that the judic- iary committee was considering the is suances oI a process which might bring the whole matter before it, he promptly took the step which has been described. He sent for the entire mass of these con f1dential and private reports and commun- lcations, and now has them stacked up somewhere with big stick lying handy for use in case of effort to dispossess him.