Evening star., 1911-06-02

must Dc oUne.
Calls Sherman Law Archaic.
.Tt is your conviction" Mr.. Littleton
inquired. that the Sherman antitrust
law is archaic and unable to deal with
the modern situation?
Yes"
..Do not the interpretations OF that law
practically order . continuance or the
old competitive system as opposed to CO.
operative modern methodsT
"T am afraid they do" Mr.. Gary re-
piled. I'VE do not want q condition OF
uncertainty in which we do not know just
what we have a right to do"
Representative Young OF Mtchisan
asked Mr.. Gary II he thought the ma
tional government had q right to nix
prices of commodities in interstate COM
merce.
"My opinion" said Mr. Gary. 'Is that
merce the federal government has that
right"
Mr.. Gary. asked II the United States
Steel Corporation was In a position to fix
methods. which had succeeded highly
competitive methods, had made 1t possi-
bic for the big corporation to influence
prices
I'VE cannot dominate Them" he said.
1t Is not the big corporations that
change prices so much rs the small COR
porations that cut prices and force the
big ones to come down."
The Gary Dinners Agreements.
Taking up the subject Of the reported
international trust and the Gary din
ners at which II had been intimated
prices were fixed. Mr.. Gary said:
''At the time Of the panic In 1907 there
was great decentralization temporarily In
rNl x1Ok
it would extend and become dangerous.
The iron and steel industry has been
recognised as one Of the leading barom-
eters of trade. 1t was believed highly
important. IL practicable. to prevent a
greater Decentralization in trade"
The situation. he explained, caused job
bers all over the country to appeal to
the corporation to do something to pre-
vent business chaos. Mr.. Gary called
the steel men of the country together In
ness conditions.
He said these dinners of consultation
had proved so beneficial in maintaining
the stability of reasonable prices that
representatives of the steel interests
would meet at Brussels July 8 and D
next to determine whether an fnterna-
tional steel institute similar to the Ameri-
can institute should be organized. He
said he would participate in the organiza-
ton of this institute unless he became
convinced that morally or legally it would
rot be we'll to form such an organiza-
ton.
dinners" the chief executive Of the steel
corporation explained that when the
panic came the jobbers held large guam
titles Of material for resale. and II prices
were reduced failures were certain, ana
a prolonged panic would ensue.
I'VE had no right to endeavor to pre-
vent q reduction in prices and maintain
the equilibrium Of business by means OF
an expressed or implied agreement, nor
had we a lawful right to agree with our
competitors to maintain prices.
ION the other hand We believed that
we had no moral or legal right to become
involved in q bitter and destructive COM
petition, such as follows any kind OF de-
I.ression in the iron and steel industry,
for the reason that II we did, 1t would
mean a war for survival Of the fttest,
and many persons engaged IN the bust-
ness would be forced into bankruptcy.
To Avoid Both Extremes.
least. that it was not for the best in
terest Of the manufacturers or the labor
ers or the people generally that prices
be reduced The question was how to
get between the two extremes, one Of Sc
curing a monopoly by driving out COM
petition in a bitter fight. the other Of
maintaining prices without making an
agreement expressed or implied
80 1 invited q large percentage OF the
steel interests OF the country TO meet me
at dinner, and preseentd to them these
views"
He said he told the exact situation. and
suggested q remedy. which was accepted
by the steel men as wise.
T suggested that the only way we
could lawfully prevent such demoral-
ization and maintain reasonable steadi-
ness in business was for the steel men
to come together occasionally and dis
close to each other all the circum-
change was done and continued and
prevented decentralization. We haven't
done more than that because we could
not do more"
Gary's attention to the question Of the
supply of iron ore. NThe latter denied
that his organization controlled the
ultimate supply of iron ore in the
United States. despite his statement in
1908 to the ways and means commit
tee Of the House. seemingly to that
effect. Independent manufacturers Of
steel. according to Judge Gary, have
large holdings
Rails Sold Cheaper Abroad.
After the discussion as to the supply,
Judge Gary's attention was directed to
the manufacture Of steel rails. He de-
MED that the steel corporation con-
troIled the prices Of rails. adding that
they could not be sold for less than
$26 ton.
I'm this country" interrupted Repre-
sentative Bartlett.
In reply Afr. Gary undertook an ex-
PLANTATION of why steel rails could be sold
abroad cheaper than at home. He said
that. like the merchant who clears his
shelves once year by selling his goods
Bt cost. so the steel manufacturer could
sch his surplus abroad at SIC or at cost.
The result was the mills were kept run
ming. reducing the cost OF production,
keeping together compact organization
and bringing to this country large sums
Of money. The ultimate effect. he added,
was to reduce the price to the domestic
consumer. All countries practice dump
ing" Mr.. Gary declared.
How long has IL been since any coun.
try dumped rails on to usr inquired
Chairman Stanley.
I'm about 1904 or 1906 or 1906" came
the response slowly. Last year some
rails were dumped on the Pacific coast"
ADMITS JUDGING WITH EYE
WEIGHT OF ICE DELIVERED