The Washington times., 1911-06-09
GAYLEY CONFIRMS
Gates TESTIMONY
ON CARNEGIE DEAL
Former Vice President of
4 Steel Corporation on
- Stand Today.
Continued from First Page.)

that Andrew CarnegIe vas planning
uonal Tube Company.
Judge Gary testified yesterday that
he had never heard Of Mr.. Carnegie's
threat to erect a tube mill at Con-
neautt thereby worrying Morgan,
whose tube mills were at AshtabuIa,
Ohio.
THE Carnegie company had not &C.
tually started on the plant" said Mr..
Gayley, but l think that the ground
had been bought. Mr.. Carnegie had
not decided whether we would go into
use our surplus raw materials
1t Is true that the National Tube
Company, who had been purcha sing its
raw materials Of us, erected furnaces of
It's own. They left US, we did not leave
them. Mr.. Carnegie thought of branch
rial"
Stanley when the Morgan company
ceased to purchase of the Carnegie
mills you planned to branch out so as
yourselves"
That is about it" replied Mr.. Gay
he had never heard that Carnegie had
threatened to build a railroad from
Plttsourg to New York, and that this
plan of the ironmaster had prompted
the Morgan group to buy out Carnegie
at figure double the amount Carnegie
had asked for his properties in the lat
ter nineties.
Carnegie Willing
Was Carnegie willing to sell his
steel plants at that timer" asked Rep
resentative Young.
Well, 1 should say that he was will
ing" responded the former Carnegie
partner.
Mr.. Gayley said that he was not &C.
81 Ns1rs g.,
chase of the Carnegie holdings by the
United States Steel Corporation, but
that he had approved the trade as made
by Mr.. Carnegie.
night, Judge Gary took a final thrust
at the Sherman law, declaring that it
hindered business because of It's uncer-
tainty. AS an alternative for direct
governmental supervision of large COR
porations and their prices, Judge Gary
frankly suggested a Federal license, the
Government reserving the right to re-
woke licenses Of corporations for cause.
Gary Dinners.
The Gary dinners" at which the steel
men-sometimes 90 per cent of those in
the NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. gather, were
criticised by members of the committee
1t was intimated that the sleel men |
were endeavoring in this way, by |
Rentlemans agreement, to get around |
the Sherman law, that these dinner con- |
ferences were as good as written con- |
tracts. Judge Gary emphauCally de- |
MED the accusation.
The dinners. he said were to promote |
friendly intercourse. The steel men dis
cussed their plans with one another. 1t |
was intended to keep prices up to a
reasonable figure, but monopoly was
not fostered.
Now. if you. as national legislators
want TO change this order of things"
said Judge Gary, why go ahead. We
shall not interpose. II you think the
old era or ruinous competition Is bet
ter, that steel men ought not to have
anything to do with one another, that
we ought to return to the survival of |
sponsibility, and we will not stand in
your way for one moment"
Representative Beall, reading from
the speeches made at the last Gary
dinner, insisted that the spirit of CO.
operation referred to. meant an agree
ment to maintain prices.
The question is simply this, Mr..
Beall," answered Judge Gary, lis 1t
good law and good morals to endeavor
been described by me, to maintain to a
reasonable extent the equilibrium of
business and prevent destructive COM
petition. I have said all along that 1
believe the frank interchange Of bust
ness conditions among steel men
brought about such an equilibrium and
prevented competition"
Before leaving the stand Judge Gary
agreed with the suggestion that Con-
gress ought to appoint a joint commit
tee to revise the Sherman law after
hearing both reports of capital and la
Dor, and so-called restrained and unre-
strained trade.