The Cairo bulletin., 1911-08-18
COMPLAINS STEEL TRUST In
vSETlGATORs DOUBTED WIS
DOM OF HIS ACTION.
TO save COMMON PEOPLE
From Suffering Was His Motive In
Permitting Trust To Abolish
Tennessee Plant-No
Other Motive,

New 1Ork, aug. lf---EX-Fre4ident
Roosevelt has an article on The
eSteel Corporation and the Fued of
/ f907" In the Outlook appearing to-
Iday. Mr. Roosevelt discusses his re-
cent appearance before the Congress
sional committee investigating the
Steel Corporation, repeating the
written statement he then presented
and dealing with some of the lines
of the inquiry and his responses.
III made TO the Committee the
statement which follows: Several
questions were then asked by differ
ent members of the Committee.
Most of these questions dealt with
matters not of sufficient moment to
warrant allusion to them here. Many
of them were as to what my belief
was concerning the motive OF the
Steel Corporation people In acquir-
ing the Tennessee Coal and Iron Com
pany's property; to which of course.
my answer was that it was not my
business, and neither was 1t In my
power, to search the hidden domain
Of motive, and that my action was
conditioned, not upon what be-
| lieved TO be the motives actuateding
| the Steel Cooperation, but upon my
Belief that the action which they
| proposed taking would be enormous
Iy to the benefit Of the community at
large at that particular moment.
Whether the chief motive for their
action was a desire to absorb the
Tennessee Coal and Iren Company, or
| Whether their chief motive was TO
save the threatened New York firm
| from failure, and thereby stop the
panic, was of no concern to me.
That both motives were In their
minds | though possible, and now
thing possible What was the pre-
dominant motive was of course OF no
consequence. My concern was that
| the action should be taken and the
i situation saved in the interests of the
people Of the United States. Most
individuals have short memories and
the events in question took place
nearly four years ago; but If any one
will look back and think the matter
over seriously and In good faith, he
will understand that it was not a
question of saving any bank or trust
company from failure; the question
was of saving the plain people, the
commond people, in all parts Of the
United States from dreadful misery
, and suffering; and this was what my
action did
"One of the questions put to me
indicated disbelief or, to be more ac~
curate. perhaps should say that It
was meant to be understood as indi-
eating disbelief, that the action
taken as really efficient in stopping
< the panic. At the time, and for some
| months after the panic had been
] stopped, no man would venture to ex-
S press such disbelief unless prepared
| to be greeted with derision by every
. human being who knew anything
whatever of the actual facts. The
question is not TO be treated serious
4 | ly, for IL cannot be so treated. The
!, action taken was, In my judgment,
1.-THE only action that could stop the
lpanie. and 1t most certainly was of
: enormous, and in all human proba-
B bility of decisive influence In actual
~ stopping 1t.
Certain other questions related to
3 the alleged fact that during the past
g four years the ore lands formerly
!, owned by the Tennessee Coal and
0 Iron Company have been developed
1 until they are OF such enormous i'm
!. portance as to give to the Steel Cor
poration nearly complete control OF
2 the steel business. through control
2 | of the sources OF the raw material.
| Whether or not this is so has no
d bearing upon the action taken four
d years ago. The purchase as made
did not by itself, one way or the
other. affect the status of the Steel
Corporation so far as the Sherman
Law was concerned and this stste-
el ment is not affected by consideration
oIof what may not be a totally diff
y efent state Of affairs four years later.
l. dealt with facts as they were, not
,rIwith facts as they might or might not
RI -fafterwards become. / believe that
81 this covers every point Of any conses
ID quefce raised in the questions put
is to me after had made my state.
ment-" 49, r TvHsHW lrV ~