The Cairo bulletin. (Cairo, Ill.) 1???-1928, 1911-08-09
PERKINS ASKED WHAT HE AND
NEW YORK LIFE GAVE TO
REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN.
STEEL PROBE CONTINUED
Perkins Related How J. P. Margan
Raised Money To Avert Failure
Of New York Firms-Wanted
Clearing House

States Steel corporation and one OF
the men said to have aided in avert
ing financial disaster during the
panic Of 1907 Is facing tonight the
alternative of answering questions
to the house committee on inquiry in
to the steel corporation bearing on
personal campaign contributions and
suck contributions made by the New
York Life Insurance CO., or being cit
ed before the bar of the house Of rep
resentatiyes.
Should the house sustain the ma
jority OF the committee and order
Perkins to answer and should he still
refuse he may be, adjudged in con-
tempt of congress and imprisoned,
lie is believed however, that this
crisis will not be reached, Perkins
having expressed desire to reflect
upon his position.
Perkins, though personally willing
to talk about campaign contribut-
ions refuses on the advice of counsel
to answer interrogatives on that line
put to him by Chairman Stanley and
Representative Beall Of Texas.
Richard Lindabury, counsel for the
steel corporation and Edgar A. Ban
croft, who appeared for Mr.. Perkfns,
insisted the athority given the COM
mittee in this inquiry was made.
without any power to inquire into
the personal campaign contributions
by the witness or his relations with
corporations foreign to the steel
corporation.
Late today after the witness, his
counsellor and the committee had
wrangled long over the point and
the chairman's decision that the
point to answer had been sustained
after an appeal by Representative
Young of Michigan, Stanley warned
Perkins that he might be necessary
to sight him before the bar of the
house
When matters reached this state
Perkins said the situation so critical
that he wished time to consider.
This was granted and the investi-
cation proceeded along other lines.
Representative Bartletsa led the
witness into a description of the
panic of 1907 and the events that
led up to the absorption of the Ten
essee Steel and Iron Co., by the Steel
corporation.
The examination brought out
! that Treasurer George B. Cortelyou
about October 29 deposited in the
| New York bank about $25,000,0O0
vet during that week here were
heavy Withdrawals and the trust
companies were appealing for help
Perkins told how aa7 futile effort
had been made to organize a trust
company clearing house and how ].
\ U. Morgan had sought without sue
cess among the big trust companies
bankers a relief for the imperiled
companies.
On Thursday the 25th the stock
exchange, he said, had to be saved
and he related how Morgan just
before closing time raised $25,0O0,-
| 900 to save many failures.
Bartlett led the witness directly
| to the Tennessee transaction to save
Moore and Schley. and concerning
| his Perkins made the following
statement different in a measure
rom previous explanations:
"The net result or that deal was
% save Moore and Schley but as
,art of the condition Of that trans
4 ,ction 1t was provided that II the
,teel corporation took over Tennes-
zee to save Moore and Schley, the
bankers of New York, were bound
to raise money to prevent the
Trust Co. of America and the Lin
,oln Trust Co. for failure. This they
lid and announcement was made
Nov. 6, two days after the deal, that
Ill the firms had been saved.
Perkins insisted that the steel
corporation did not want the Ten
nessee corporation. He said he
knew all about the visit of Judge
Gary and Friek to Washington and
what they went for.
| ''If their answer had not reached
us from Washington by 10 o'clock,
Monday morning, Nov. s." he add
ed. Moore and Schley and the
trst company would have gone to
he wall and great disaster would
lave been on"