The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-07-30

from them he could have saved each
year considerable sums OF money.
But the order of his intellect and
temperament led him into kindred:
! although somewhat advanced, field OF
operation. He had become known 70
| tho great merchants, TO the bankers
and 70 the manufacturers of st, LOUIS,
who regarded him with considerable
curious interest, because Of his great
capacity as n salesman In Texas and
| the southwest.
| Undoubtedly Mr.. Gatcs's attention
was centered upon barbed wire at first
because this newly invented fencing
apparatus had been brought TO his at
tention while running his little store
at Turner Junction. it was one of
the great inventions Of the time, at
least so far as service TO the agricul-
tural industry of the west was CON
cerned A very large mandatory Of
| barbed wire had been established al
| Worcester, Mass. but this was not the
concern with which Mr.. Gates was
| identified
He introduced into Texas barbed
wire invented for and manufactured by
| Ellwood of Illinois. His roamlngs
| through Texas satisfied him that there
was a greuter field for himself in the
manufacture of barbed wire than in
the sale of the commodity through his
| personal exertion. When he made his
proposition to capitalists of st. Louis,
| to establish barbed wire establish
daily welcomed.
II is an interesting fact in the ca
reer of Mr. Gates that as he was un-
doubtedly the first to suggest the germ
Of the idea out of which the United
States Steel corporation grew, he was
| also one of the first, some say actually
the first, to Introduce the modern meth
cd of combination into manufacturing
circles of the west. He was less than
30 years of age when he organized the
Southern Wire company, and later con
solidated that with two other compan-
les, naming the combination the Con.
solidated Steel Wire company.
That was long before the organlza
ton of the United States Steel cor
poration had been dreamed of; it was
at time when the Carnegie Steel
company was gaining pre.omlnence
among American steel and iron manu-
facturers. The underlying principle OF
the consolidation of these steel and
wire manufacturing companies does moi
differ greatly from the principle adopt
ed in all the later combinations OF
other manufacturing corporations.
| i mere IS uo ILhI
in the mind of John W. Gates, the
principle of combination of what hac
been competing companies, and late,
the selling Of the stock of the com
bination at profit TO some other com
pany, was first conceived, at least il
the west To do this successfully Il
of itself incontestible proof Of grea
business ability.
Mr., Gates went somewhat furthe
than wise business policy would hav
suggested, for he seems to have beer
tempted to overcapitalize the stock o
the combination. He had, however, al
ways insisted that he never really over
capitalized; but that there was lurking
or inherent value, or at least futur
value in all the stock issued by combi
nations which he had organized.
At all events these transaction
caused Mr.. Gates, when only O littl
past 80 years of age, to be numbere'
among the socallcd high financiers, no
using the term in the sense of reproac
which was afterward applied to it.
is certainly one Of the achievements o
!, Mr.. Gates that he was among the frs
to recognize the business policy, eco
nomic and wise, which lay behind tn
principle Of combination, which, from
one point of view, is no more than th
principle of cooperation.
He must have made money yer,