The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-05
SCHWAb MAKES GOOD
WITNESS FOR TRUST
Gives Inside History of Organ
ization of United States Steel
Corporation.
Continued From Page One.

corporation, just prior to that he said
he was president of the Carnegie oteel
company.
The chairman asked Mr.. Schwab TO
tell the whole story about Andrew Car
negie's desire to dispose OF his prop
erty, the preliminary conference with
]. p. Morgan & Co. and Morgan s part
in the plans which developed into the
formation of the United States Steel
corporation.
Glad to Tell Story.
.'I am very glad of the opportu..
nity," Mr.. Schwab began, ''once and
for all definitely to tell the story about
which there have been so many mis-
statements and so much misinformatlon.
In the fall of 1899 J. Edward Simmons,
a New York banker, and Charles Stew
art Smith rendered me dinner at the
University club. There were present
MI Morgan, Mr.. Carnegie and seventy
OF eighty prominent New York imam
clers.
'"rhere made an address and chose
as a subject for my remarks the future
development of manufacturing steel In
the United States. ] explained the great
advantage TO be gained by the organ
ization of such cornoratiop as the
United States Steel There ] outlined
what later became the steel corpora
tion.
''I gave my reasons in detail" Mr..
Schwab continued.
81 showed, first. how | thought that,
instead of many companies manufac-
turing the same line of goods, by or
ganization many companies could get
together and manufacture different
items. That would result in great econ
omy.
Exploited Idea at Brussels.
81 showed, secondly, how by such an
organization there would be great econ
ony in distribution, In my proposal
there was no thought Of limitation of
production or the maintenance OF
price. The possibility of ninety blast
furnaces coming together In that way,
in producing economy, proved so great
that recently at the Brussels confer
ence ! advocated the idea of all indie
pendent manufacturers exchanging
their cost sheets for the ultimate bene-
fit of the steel industry
F'Could they do that without injury
to each other2' asked Chairman Stan
ley
ooh. yes, they can and do
Mr.. Schwab then resumed his story
Of the organization of the United
States Steel corporation.
'fSome time after that dinner, / was
at Pittsburg and received a message
: from John w Gates, asking me to meet
| j. P. Morgan he said
GAS soon as | met Mr.. Morgan he
| asked me to 90 over again In detail
| the suggestion ! made at the Univer
sity club dinner. I talked with him on
! the subject for several hours, expand.
ing my ideas of forming the organiza-
| tion of the steel manufacturers. Mr..
! Morgan told me that he was convinced
| of the advantages of such an organi-
zation and he asked me if ! could get
price from Mr., Carnegie for his steel
ylants ] told him [ would see,
Gave Carnegie Advice,
"About a week later I spent the day
with Mr. Carnegie and when a favor
able opportunity presented itself,
told him what was in MY mind and
that Mr. Morgan had requested me to
get price for his steel plant.
advised Mr.. Carnegie that in view of
his advanced age and his rhilanthropic
ideas of life, that he ought to sell.
told him I thought he would be bene-
fted by such a sale. Mr.. Carnegie re-
ceived the proposition with n great
deal of reluctance, but finally he agreed
to sell. II is my private opinion that
shortly afterward he very much re-
grctted it.
81 got a price from Mr. Carnegie
and took i, to Mr.. Morgan
cat the time of the organization of
the steel trust Mr Stanley asked
"did You oppose the idea of restricting
competition
81 have said here was no such idea
in the steel organization, Mr. Schwab
replied,