Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1911-08-13
ONE MILL CLOSED BY AGREEMENT
It's PrOprietOrs Paid 81 600 Month
to Keep it Idle.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TRUST
Morgan Turns Down Hundred and
Sixty Million Dollar Option.
CARNEGIE PLANTS PROFITABLE
witness Says More Than Half the
Earnings of Combine Come from
Them-MelviIIe e. stone
Asks 60 he Heard.

WASHINGTON. Aug. 12.-After dis-
cussing a structural steel agreement for
Rpportioning products throughout the coun-
try an arrangement said to have been dis
couraged by E H. Gary of the United
States Steel corporation and a discussion
Of trust methods generally, the house steel
trust investigating committee today ad-
journed until October 16.
AT the outset of today's session Chair
man Stanley OF the committee read tele-
gram from Melville h Stone, general man
ager OF the Associated Press, requesting q
hearing He will be heard when the COM
mittee resumes after the recess MIR,
Stones telegram to Mr.. Stanley read:
ALBANY, n. V, Aug. u.-Hon. A. o.
Stanley Washington, ID. c.: Have just
learned that personal letter of mine to
0akleigh Thorne was introdueed In IN ,It evit
this letter was written under what now
proves to have been a misrepresentation OF
the facts and its use before your commit
tee without explanation is unjust: /, there
fore, request a hearing at your hands;
(Signed) MELVILLE Z. STONE.
All the members of the committee ex-
pressed the opinion that Mr.. Stone should
be given opportunity to appear r. c.
Boiling, one Of the counsel for the United
States steel corporation, declared that "on
behalf OF Mr.. Perkins I would suggest to
the committee that Mr.. Stone be sub
poenaed."
Mr.. Littleton moved that when the COM
mlttee resumed after recess Mr.. Stone
be heard This was agreed to.
w. G, Temples Testimony.
W. c. Temple of Plttsburg, who was COM
missioner of the Steel Plate association
formed in 1900, was called as the first wit
ness.
Mr.. Temple said that before the forma-
ton of the United States Steel corporation,
IL. G. Frick had visited ]. p. Morgan with
an option on the Carnegie Steel company
for $3.50 O0O,O ,O00 that Morgan said the price
was too high; but six months later he
paid $500 100000 for the same property"
Mr.. Temple explained they were prepar-
ing TO give magnificent play down in
Wall street"
Everything was in hand" added MIR.
Temple, "the most accomplished actors,
most expensive scenery and the most fan
tastic costumes were ready. but they had
to have a Hamlet. A magnificent plan had
been prepared to bake a great plum-pud-
ding. but Carnegie had all the plums"
Did Carnegie interfere In the baking"
the chairman asked.
"Oh no, he merely held on to the plums."
This caused a laugh
In the place of the crazy Dane" said
Representative LIttleton. they had to deal
In the play with very sane ScotchmRn."
Mr.. Temple declared that half the profits
OF the steel corporation were produced by
the Carnegie steel plant and that II this
property had been secured by the steel
corporation Andrew Carnegie would today
dominate the steel business OF the country.
The witness said he never heard Of Judge
Gary ever attending a meeting of one OF
the steel pools, and he knew that he de-
manded their cessation.
Another Gentlemen's Agreement.
When these agreements were ordered
stopped" Mr. Temple said, there was an
other gentlemen's agreement. the kind We
have heard so much about, was not en-
tered into providing that every scrap OF
paper bearing directly indirectly on
these pools or agreements be destroyed.
Your record here of the agreements OF
the steel plate association and structural
gentlemen's agreement was kept, but you
did not get any Of my records"
We'll We have picked up some OF those
matters" said Chairman Stanley, hut
admit we did not get any Of them from
you"
Mr.. Temple declared that since the
abrogation of the pOola, the steel mznu-
facturers of the country have dweit to-
gether Just harmoniOuafy-
How have they done thatT asked
Representative Gardner OF Massachusetts,
by each fellow looking into the ether
fellows statistics and knowing what he
u doing and no one starting out 70 make
a big cut IN prices without his eyes wide
open 20 the consequences"
Mr.. Temple delivered a lengthy trust
talk TO the committee describing good and
bad truatS he clAssed ths United States
Steel corporation as q COED trust He
said its affairs had always been public
and that It had reduced prices TO tina con
sumer and had -'hsId Shs umbrella ever
its cOmpetitors.- rather than attsmpt To
crush them
Asked by Mr. L1ttIeton what legislation
he could suggest ss substitute Tar the
Sherman law. he said he could MT HuK-
gest law, but he believed thsFs sh0uld
be some sort OF government supervision