Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1909-02-04
SENATORS PROBE
STEEL MERGER
MONEY KINGS SAY ABSORPTION
OF TENNESSEE CONCERN
WAS NECESSARY.
SEEM TO UPHOLD PRESIDENT
Thorne and Perkins, Morgan'3 Part
ner, Are Called Before Sen
ate Committee on the
Judiciary.


of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Co. and
the United States Steel Corporation
was investigated by the senate com
mittee on the Judiciary Saturday.
The witnesses were Oakleigh Thorne
president of the Trust Company of
America, and George W. Perkins of ].
Pierpont Morgan & Co, who also is
a member of the finance board of the
steel corporation.
The testimony of Mr.. Perkins seemed
to uphold President Roosevelt's con
tention that the absorption Of the Ten
nessee concern was necessary to re-
lieve the panicky condition of securi-
ties in November, 1907.
Mr.. Thorne denied that the Trust
Company of America was interested
in the deal in Tennessee Coal and Iron
stocks, and declared that the merger
was not necessary to a V his insti-
tuition.
No decision has been reached by the
committee to subpoena Judge E. H.
Gary and Henry G. Prick.
Senator Culberson inquired of Mr.,
Thorne whether he had knowledge of
a syndicate which owned the control
ling interest in the Tennessee Coal
and Iron Co. in the fall of 1907. He
replied that he had and that he was
a member of that syndicate and that
he had bought his stock and with
drawn it from the syndicate and there,
fore was not familiar with the syndi.
Gates operations.
The names of the original syndicate
managers were given as Grant B.
Schley and Charles Guthrie. Leonard
Hanna of Cleveland took the place
of Mr.. Guthrie after his death. This
syndicate, declared Mr.. Thorne, owned
a majority of the stock of the Tennes.
see Coal and Iron Co.
In addition to naming Schley, Guth'
RE and Hanna as being interested in
the syndicate, Mr.. Thorne mentioned
JOLl W. 1dIC6s II. d. bCl M l. ~
Black. When asked if he had any per
sonal knowledge of the actual sale Of
a majority of the stock Of the Tennes
see company in November, 1907, Mr.
Thorne replied:
"All that | know is that | delivered
my stock to j. P. Morgan & Co. and
got a receipt for it."
When Mr.. Perkins took the stand he
was asked to state any knowledge he
had of the absorption of the TENNESSEE
company by the United States Stee
Corporation, and he said:
THE question of the acquisition o.
the Tennessee Coal and Iron Co. by
the steel corporation was never brought
up or preached in any way, so fal
as my knowledge goes, until perhaps
the second or third acute stage of the
panic. Then it came up very sudden
ly, because of the panic and very seri
Gus disturbances that existed in New
York as a result of the great deprecia
ton in the market value of things anC
the unmarketability of o great man.
securities"
Mr.. Perkins said there was a genera
feeling, which it would be difficult TO
anyone to express in a concrete state
ment, that if the Tennessee Coal AM
Iron stock was taken out of various
loans some way 1t would prevent
great many failures and avert a fur
Their spread Of the panic. Continuing
he said:
Finally someone made a sugges
ton, which afterwards worked Out
that the corporation might furnisl
its 5 per cent second mortgage bond
in lieu of cash, and in this way pu
In lieu of these loans securities tina
were marketable"