Arizona republican., 1911-08-06
THE TENNESSEE C.& l. DEAL
Was Authorized by Him to Avert Panic of 19O7-He Submits to Committee Observations on General Subject of Trusts.

New York. Aug. 5.-Theodore Roosevelt talked boldly before the house of representatives committee of inquiry into the United States Steel corporation here today and vol untarily told how his action in con- sentlnS to the absorption of the tennessee Coal and Iron company bv the Steel Corporation in 1907 averted a disastrous panic.
 Ihe former presidents action in submitting to congressional re- view of the acts of his own adminis- trdtlon was almost unprecedented. in the history of the United States. and was thoroughly Rooseveltian. He ap- peared unheralded at the city hall. vigorously shook hands with members or the committee, declared himself delighted to see everybody and got down to business
 First he placed upon himself the responsibility for approving the ab- sorption to avert financial distress Tn Wall street and he condemned any man who would be so weak as not to act he did in that crisis. Not to have done so, he said would have been criminal.
 Probably nothing in the vigorous lie history of Theodore Roosevelt was more dramatic than his public appearance today at the crisis of the investigation of the transaction which has been recorded in hundreds of pages of congressional inquiry.
 The chapter ne contributed not only dealt with his part of the events Of that threatening time but he gave the committee some interesting opin- Ions on the trust question. that loom- ed up in their import even more than his recital of the facts in the Tennessee Coal and Iron transactions
 After declaring that his object in approving the sale of the Tennessee company was to restore confidence the former president in response to inquiries by Representative Little ton, relating the case as presented to him by Judge Gary and H. c. Prick at the White House confer ence in November. 1907. said: The situation was SO critical that it was so critical thatJuuuu s. 'tiod urDa liable to break at any moment until the action was taken, and the in stant it was taken. an enormous inn prOvement for the better occurred. and. as said in the poem of Mir. Elm erson. with which all you are SO well acquainted:
 If the red slayer thinks he stays.
 Or if the slain thing he is slain. it
 matters not"
 Then Mir Roosevelt launched into a discussion with Chairman Stanley of the general trust question. saving that the United States has something to learn from Germany.
 MT Stanley" Mir Roosevelt broke in. switching the line of inquiry in progress, may l say, in connection with what has been said on the gen eral trust question and of thIs partic- ular corporation, the steel corporation. that I know you will not accept si- lence on my part as indicating any thing as to my attitude on the gener- al trust question. as you know it. "I have stated again and again. while I was president. in messages to congress. which were not always received with as much enthusiasm as they were written and since then in articles and speeches, just what I have felt the attitude of congress toward these great corporations sould he. and as you know. l be- | lieve in a far more drastic and far mare thorough going supervision by the government than we have vet achieved On another occasion shall have been very glad to have spoken with vou on trust remedies. l am sure YOU will not achieve your purpose | by splitting up the big corporations. as I have stated. again and again Tn messages to congress
 ! 'While something can he done along that line. in addition, and to my mind. mainly the work must be done bv our national government, acting as inc government of Germany has. | I think in the potash matter-by actuaIlv in the interest of all the people. interfering and exercising de- gree of control over a big corpora tion which would be wholly unnec- essarv to exercise over corporation that has no mOnOpolistic taint.'
 ..T wish to say" Mir. Stanley replied [ that I am not of the opinion that the dissolution of the United States Steel Corporation into its constituent parts is an adequate remedy.
 ssYou are quite right" caid Mir Roosevelt
 ~ believe" the chairman continued "tbot VIC must divorce absolutely the United states Steel corporation from