The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-12-08
BY Associated Press.


Washington, Dec. Judge E. H
Gary, head of the United States Steel
corporation, testified before the senate
committee on interstate commerce to-
day that he always believed that Il
was entirely legal for competitors to
come together and mutually disclose
their business conditions to steady and
balance trade without making any
agreement on prices.
He urged a federal commission au-
thorized to consider management,
character and extent of corporations
and to permit certain pooling arrange
ments when conditions warranted.
No corporation can reach a perma-
nent success in this country unless it
is willing to recognize at all times the
public interest and welfare said Mr..
Gary.
WANTS INFORMATION.
He reiterated that business firms
must be given some means of knowing
what is an unreasonable restraint OF
trade before they take any steps that
might make them liable to federal
prosecution. ..
ST would have the law explicit said
he, "and permit the corporation COM
mission to say what agreements
would be permitted. Such agNeements,
approved by the commission and made
with full publicity, would be in the
public interest, preventing business
Decentralization.
mo corporation has the rigth to OBJ
ject to the Sherman daw if it means,
as l think it does, that no combina-
tion shall be created with the purpose
of creating a monopoly or the neces-
sary result of which shall be. the
creation of monopoly; or which shall
be carried on for the purpose or with
the result of unduly restraining trade.
If corporations are prevented from
creating monopolies or unduly re-
straining trade, then the public is
protected.
1.-The sherman law leaves every one
in that position, but the trouble is
that no one, not even the courts,
knows what will be an undue re-
straint of trade
I'm the daily management of our
business we are uncertain what is op-
posed to the public interest in the
meaning of the Sherman law.
IF the United States Steel corpora
tion has not done business in a fair
way, if it is not doing business fairly
now, am willing to concede that there
ought to be a law to compel it to do
so," said Mr.. Gary.
Senator Pomerone asked if the
United States Steel corporation had
not been greatly over capitalized
when formed in 1901.
DOUBTLESS so.
"On the basis of original cost of the
properties involved, it was undoubted-
Iy over capitalized" said Judge Gary.
But on the basis of the actual values
of these properties when the United
States Steel corporation was formed
and the amount it would have cost to
reproduce them, it was not over
capitalized
Seantor Pomerone. asked whether
the steel trust had been formed as the
result of a financial combination or to
meet the necessities of the trade
TT was not a Wall street explota-
tion,'" emphatically replied Mr.. Gary.
THE leading and controlling motive
was to form a corporation for business
purposes of real and substantial bene-
fit to the country's business not
inirnical to any one. l don't deny that
the syndicate that financed the COM
bination realized a large profit for
their work and risk involved; l do
not deny that ther We're those in
terested in it for financial benefit; but
it is not right nor fair, nor con-
sistent with the truth, to say that it
was in any way Wall street ex-
ploitation."