The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1911-07-30
CHARGES CRUEL
AND UNF0UNDED
st e ell Corporation Did
Not Seek to Force.
Merger.
DETAILS OF DEAL
TOLD BY LEDYARD
Absorption of Tennessee Com.
pany First Suggested by Oliver
II. Payne to Avert Financial
Disaster-Morgan and Gary
at First Reluctant to Take
Up Transaction.
Especial to The Times-p,.na,ch

|
New York, July 2o-Lewis Gas,
Ledyard, counsel for Colonel oliver "
Fayne, who is a Standard OIL maRnato
una director In a half dozen of ths
largest corporations In America. told
ior the hrst time to-day in full detail,
! before the Stanley committee in the
steel trust Investigation. the nara
tive OF MS connection with the drama
TIC events that led to the absorntior
of the Tennessee Coal and Iron Com
pany by the United States Steel Cor.
| poration.
| According to Mr.. Ledyard. the nrs,
suggestion that the steel trust should
buy Its great rival. came from Colonel
Payne. who then was one OF the IarE.
est holders of stock of the Tennessee
| company.
I'm all my forty-six years of expert.
encc with New York affairs. have
never known moro cruel. unfounded
or unjust accusation than that the
Morgan interests. whatever they are
conspired to force Tennessee Coal and
iron to merger with the steel cor
poration. or ruin It," declared Mr.. Led
| yard.
I'm the last week of October, 1907"
Mr. Lcdyard began, Colonel Payne
tcame to me and said that the stock
exchange Arm of Moore and SchJey
| :
| debted to him. and that he was much
concerned over the outcome.
| Only Way to Save It.
He said that after looking care.
fully into the condition he did not
| know of any way 1t could be saved
except by the United States Steel Cor
porat buying the Tennessee Coal
and Iron Company. in whose stock 1t
! wac largely interested. That stock had
been put up as collateral for loans ag-
gresating more than $6.o00.0Oo: the
| for other and better collateral and
were threatening to call the loans un-
less they We're taken up.
| "He said he thought could bring
this about through Mr.. Morgan. and 1
went to the uptown ONCE of Moore &
| Schley and spent several hours with
| Mr.. Schley and his head bookkeeper in
going over the FIRMS accounts.
| II found that they owed between
| New York. Chicago. Boston and Phil
| adelphia. Several millions were due
to Colonel Payne. My client had eX-
| changed with them current securities
| for inactive issues they held, upon
| which they could not realize. He had
! sent to them from his strong box
millions of securities to tide them
| over
Sunday morning called on Mr..
| Morgan in his library. When I de-
| scribed to him in detail Moore &
| Schley's condition he expressed sur
| prise and the most serious concern.
| He said that as Moore & Schley were
in the worst fix. attention ought to be
! given to that house.
| After I had talked with him an
hour or more. he telephoned for Judge
Gary land Mr.. Frick to come to his
| library.
| Gary Reluctant.
When | rejoined them at the con-
| clusion of their conference and laid
before them the proposition of Moore
| & Schley for the steel corporation to
| buy all the stock of Tennessee Coal
and Iron at par, Judge Gary was dis
| tinctly reluctant to do SO. He said
| the Tennessee stock was not worth
par: he doubted If 1t was worth more
than so to s. l told Judge Gary
! that the question was not SO much
what the exact commercial value a
! stock was at the moment. that 1t was
| either to save Moore e. Schiey or to
permit a situation to be brought
| about which meant the failure of
| other big banks and trust companies
| and an intensfication of panic condi-
| lions, the end or result of which no
| man could foretell
| II told him that If he should wait
until Tennessee Coal and Iron went
say to 20. the steel corporation would
not be in a condition. to buy any
| thing.
Messrs. Gary and Frick went to
Washington.
Before going away. Mr. Frick asked
me earnestly IL in my knowledge
Moore and Schley could be saved by
! the steel corporation exchanging Its
second mortgage per cent bonds
| for the entire issue of Tennessee stock
| on basis of 81 for the bonds and 113
for stocks or about par for the stock.
| ! told him thought II could.
Judge Gary offered to loan Moore
and Schley 100000 of the steel cor
| poration's money TO help tide them
over. Colonel Payne offered 81 900, 900 !,
George r. Baker, president of the
] First National Bank. and brotheri In
! law of Mr.. Schley, offered to loan the
| firm $1.000,000. One or two more mil
lions in loans were offered by indi-
| viduals. but Mfr. Schley would not C.
cept. He said they would not accom-
| plish the purpose. He must take up his
loans on about hundred thousand
shares OF Tennessee stock or his firm
would fail, he said.
| Remains All NiSht.
II remained with Mr.. Morgan In his
library that night until O'clock Mon
day morning, We were working every
minute of the time
I at O'clock he told me to go
home and get some sleep, but to be
! back in his library at $3.50 that morn
Ing. I went home. but could get no
sleep took a cold bath. had some
coffee, and In an hour returned to
Mr.. Morgan's house. When arrived
he was UP and as cheerful as IL he