The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-29
HANNA DEFENDS ABSORPTION OF
 T.C.L. COMPANY Declares no Ulteri0r Motive Lurked Behind the
 Merger
DEAL WAS NECESSARY
 TO AVERT BAD PANIC
Representative Beal Questioned For mer Partial Owner of Tennes- see Company on How Mer-
 ger Prevented Panic

New York, July 2s.-- No ulteIior mo- lives 1nrked behind the taking over ot the Tennessee Coal and Iron company by the United States Steel corporatien during the financial panic osyfah3.4{n the opinion of L. C. Hanna of CSves-- land, one of the syndicate owners of the Tennessee concern before the merger, and who spent the day on the witness stand before the steel trust in- vestigating committee of the House ef Representatives
 That sGrreptitious motives had beelt suggested. Mir. Hanna; who is brother of the late Senator Mark Hama, ad- mitted, but he never had credited fae reports. He believed the transactiaH was necessary to avert the failure of the New York banking and brokerage firm of Moore & Schley, who held too much Tennessee Coal and Iron stock as collateral for loans. ana to avert widespread threatening bushes disas- ter. In as swer to a series of questions by Rept entative Beal of Texas, Mir Hanna said he thought the congress- 7 man believed plot had been framedj whereby the Tennessee Coal and Iron
  steel interests, but he had no inowl- edge of such plot and did not credit such an idea.
 Before the threatened failure of Moore & Schley.n asked Represe ntatiye Beal, had not the United States treas ury poured s5O.000.0 900 into New Yorh to stop the panic?n
 q think so" Mir Hanna replied
 Also before that time" MT Beall continued, had not J. Pierpont Morgan and his associates advanced s60,0oo,- 900 to relieve the financial situation?"
 T heard it so stated said MT. Hanna,
 After all that, the panic was not averted,' MT, Beall resumed. And can you tell nc why tas taking up of only ss,ooa,OOo 70 loans on .the TrDnns-ee Coal and lscn collateral of Moore & Schleg affected that restoration of con fidenee in the business world which the United States treasury and the Morgan millions had been unable to do9' Only Expanation ''1'he only explanati tion.' MT. Hanna re- piled after some hesitation, lis that the panic up to that time had not affected that character of business houses which were involved in this transaction. l rhlhk from vour line of questions that you be- lieve the sale of the Tennessee coal ana Iron company was plot. never thought so still wish l could have held on to my stock but it seemed absolutely neees- gary to sell it to avert serious troube.''
 Representative Gardner of Massachu- setts also questioned the witness.
 srrbs rapnrt has been current, Safo Mir Gardner, that an attempt vas made by persons desirous of acquiring the Ten nessee Coal company to discredit that concerns stock in the banking world, and to induce banks to make imperative calls on loans secured by that stock for tha purpose of hammering down the Ten nessee price so 1t might be acquired ny the United States Steel corporation.
 Did you ever hear that the deal was deliberate drive?
 "Tve heard gossip about it. MT Hanna said. ''I think I heard MT Gates discusi 1t and probably others talked about ths ruuors afterward. l never felt that way myself and did not believe anyone would have been so foolish or so dishonorahe as to attempt such thing
 Tomorrow Lewis Cass Ledyagd. counsel for Oliver Payne, Grant B. Schley and the Tennessee interests in the 1907 transaction. win testify, as will E. W. Oglesby. an- other member of the Tennessee syndicate, who was present today.
 When Mir Hanna took the stand 'e was questioned first as to his expert --------------------~>--
 CONTINUED ON PAGE p