The Sentinel=record., 1911-06-08
GARY TELLS
 OF COMBINE
HEAD OF STEEL CORPORATION DENIES TESTIMONY REGENT
 " GIVEN BY GATES
Says Threats of Andrew Carnegie Had Nothing to Do With the Big Mer- ger of All Steel interests
 of the Country.

Washington, Jne 7.-Jndge Elberi II. Gary, executive head of the United states Steel Corporation, told the house committee of inquiry today a version of the formation of the en- 'terprise, which contradcted testimony of John w. Gates, that the threats of Andrew Carnegie to build rival rail and tube works had induced J.. Pier pont Morgan to institute negotiations eliminating in the gigantic steel com bination. MT. Gary also declared that if former President Roosevelt had not approved of the absorption of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Company, by the United States Steel Corpora ton, he, MT. Gary, never would have voted to consumate the deal.
 MT. Gary discussed the financial panic of 1907, when the Tennessee company was taken over in a claimed effort to avert the failure of the New York brokerage firm of Moore and Schey, and consequent disastrous re- suits in the banking world.
 You have no idea" he said, "of
 he financial frenzy which possessed New York in the panic. It would have been very easy for that panic to have gone beyond all bounds and ef- sac.-' i-e entire country. Every night during that time, forty or fifty leading bankers of New York were gathered in MT. Morgans library dis cussing the grievors situation, striving as best they could to give support to 'he weaker banks and - mt spread of the panic. From day to day these men did not know what bank would next get attacked by run of deposi- tors.
 Any man interested in the banks of New York at that time would no more think of doing anything to injure any other bank than one of us would thing of throwing a lighted match into a powder magazine near us. He could not injure another bank with out injuring himself, and any man with sense enough to protect his own interests would not Intentionally do anything to injure another.
 This declaration was made after Gary had been asked for more de- tails relating to his conference with MT. Roosevelt regarding the Tennes- see deal.
 Former President Robert c. Hall of the Pittsburg Stock Exchange submit- ted to the committee a letter charg- ing that the steel corporation throtties competition through banking connec- tions; that 1t earns extraordinarily on Tits heavy tonnage through collusion Of Tits controlled railroads with other railroads that the corporation keeps tab on the independents through a spying system, later using banking and freight restrictions and moral suasion as cudgels if necessary. MT. Hall testified before the committee, protesting that the corporation Is en- gagged in the purchase of 17,oeo acres of Pittsburg and Connellsville coal lands now owned by the Pittsburg Coal and Coke company, with a view of shipping coal to Gary. Ind. The
 etter said this was an effort to save their investment at Gary, which MT. Hall characterized as an economic mistake to further their own inter ests.
 Mir. Gary will be the witness again tomorrow.
 | He said he wanted to state just what per centage of the steel busi- ness of the country his corporation controlled upon it's organization, now that per centage had since decreased iustead of increased; what steel com. panies taken in by the steel corporat- tion were in competition with eacf other before the almalmagation anC what companies were not competit ors.
 Accounting the incidents whici lied np to the formation of the unite' States Steel Corporation, Mir. Gar!
 said in 1900 when he was presiden
 of the Federal Steel company, MT
 Prick came to him and said he De llieveN the Carnegie interests were 10
 sale. Mir. Gary spoke to MT. Morgal
 about it but nothing came Of them at
 ter.
 Soon Afterwards Charles "
 schwab $uggested the same th'n'