The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1911-10-30
|STEtL TRUST QUIZ
WILL Be RESUMED
Eyes of Political and Finan-
cial World Centered on
Washington.
(National News Association)

(N0tional News Association
WASHINGTON, Oct 30.-The eyes
of the entire political and financial
world will be focused on Washington
this week, when the Stanley investi-
eating committee of the House re-
sumes its probe of the United States
Steel corporation, with a view to
! learning the methods of the monster
corporation and determining what
should be done to cure the defects in
the Sherman antitrust law.
Interest is accentuated by the Sep
TENDER panic on Wall street. the great
est since that of 1907 and caused en-
tirely by rumors that the steel corpo-
ration was preparing voluntarily to
dissolve to avoid danger of prosecu-
ton, and what is said to be a partial
confirmation of the rumors in the
story that the Finanantic concern is
to give up it's lease OF the Great
Northern ore properties, the largest
of the kind it holds.
The methods by which the corpora
ton was formed will be exhaustively
delved into by the committee through
the calling as witnesses of some OF the
most prominent men in the country.
To Call on Carnegie.
Andrew Carnegie is expected to be
one of the first called to the witness
stand j. Pierpont Morgan and Jas.
j. Hill will follow him. according to in
dications. Before they conclude their
testimony, it Is expected. financial
manipulation unequaled in magnitude
in the history Of the country will have
been related.
Samuel Gompers, president of the
American Federation of Labor, is ex-
pected to testify as to the alleged poll
cy OF the steel corporation to exclude
organized labor from the mills and fac
tories. 1t Is said that the corporation
forbids employees to organize for their
own protection and that they are dis
charged when an effort to organize be-
comes known.
Chairman Stanley, of the Investigate
ing committee, until recently, has been
busy with the gubernatorial campaign
in his home state, Kentucky, and 1t
is declared, the committee members
have not devoted much time, since
their adjournment last August, toward
planning the lines of the continuance
OF the probe. However. the inten-
ton Is to inquire into every phase of
the steel corporation and the investi-
CATION is expected to exhaust the sub
ject so that it's findings can be OF as
sistance to the Department of Justice
in event that the legal department de-
cides to take up the case.
Alarmed Directors.
The possibility of this, it is said,
alarmed the directors of the steel cor
poration and led to the drastic steps
on their part, which were rumored dur
ing September and which caused the
break in the steel stock, on September
% that threatened to precipitate re-
petition of the panic of 1907. 1t was
rumored that Ebert II. Gary. chair
man Of the direction fearing for the
future, sold short 10000 Of his shares
In Steel Common, that the corporation
was about to cut the wages of it's over
10000 employees! that the organization
was preparing to voluntarily dissolve
and reorganize SO as to be safe from
attack under the Sherman law and
with this end in view; Attorney Gen
eral Wickersham had been consulted
for advice as to what should be done
in order to bring the corporation into
such shape that it would conform en-.
tirely with the law, as interpreted In
the Standard OIL and Tobacco trust
cases. These rumors brought about
an almost unprecedented condition in
Wall street. On September %. halt
of the total securities dealt in were
those Of the United States Steel corpo'
ration. and the loss In them was de-
clared to have exceeded $55,0OO.O0O in
the one day.
The steel directors continued to de-
ny that there was any intention to
: change it's organization and asserted
that they were appraised the corpora
ton was not in violation Of the anti
trust law. However, on October 10
It was learned that the corporation
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