The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-01-08
Peculiar Definition Given by
 Statesman Financier
coREY's RESIGNATION
the Week in the World of Indus- tries and Finance-Change
 in Control
By w. G. NICHOLAS


 great statesman fnancier in explanation of its frequent action In seeming contra diction of events and visible currents The state of mind just now Is that of rather more composure than has been ex- perienced for some time past And this, too, in the face of the fact that we are on the eve of very important events which have been looked forward to a long while. Ever since about a week be- fore the holidays the stock market has been firm and at times strong with q rising tendency in prices. That condition still prevails. Changes have generally been on the upside. and although the vol ume of transactions Is not large the tone may be said to show improvement
 The most important news event of the week was the resignation of President W. E. Corey Of the United States Steel Corporation. Not that 1t makes much diff ference what MT. Corey, the individual may do or what becomes of him. Per sonally he had not been one of the great hits of the decade, and his comings and goings under ordinary circumstances would make slight stir.
 It so happens, however, that on this occasion his retirement is construed as the beginning of the end of the control of the great corporation by the Carnegie crowd From the outset the Carnegie influence has been dominant in the prac- tical operation of the huge industrial It is recognized throughout the iron trade of the whole world that the Carnegie or ganization was the best ever created When the inside workings of the several constituent companies of the big trust were looked into by experts after the combination was formed, 1t was found that the Carnegie plants were and had been for years producing iron and steel products at a cost of from 8 to $6 per ton cheaper than the best of It's competi- tors.
 Every man in responsible position in the Carnegie organization was master in his speciality and as these chiefs and heads of departments and bureaus held daily conferences what one man knew became in a sense common knowledge of the entire group. Naturally these men took precedence in the larger organiza- ton by reason of their training and abili- ty. It had come to be recognized in the iron and steel industry that this suprem- acy of standing and ability would con- tinue indefinitely. The retirement of Mir Corey is construed by four out of five iron and steel men as meaning a new or der of things and the lodging of control in every department in the hands of Wall street. ;-g AeE =. 'A sA
 The clash between Corey and Gary has been several months brewing. The open rupture Is understood to have been caused by direct conflict of opinion between the Carnegie element and Gary element as to the best way to handle the present sit uation, Gary and his party standing for the theory that the wise thing to do was to stand pat and maintain prices at about the present levels and the Corey faction taking the opposite view. It was always MT Carnegie's way to make market in dull times by cutting prices of product until the public would begin to buy. He was never believer in nursing along depression. When things got stagnant the only way he knew to loosen them up was to cut prices until market was found. Tn that way he was always able to break deadlock and to start the wheels to turning. That was the known Carnegie policy. It was the same policy that was pursued unrelentingly by A. T. Stewart, who would never carry dead stock from one season over into another, not even if he had to give away his sur plus.
 On this point there was an open split and the Gary party has won out. It is now for him to make good. He begins his campaign by issuing still another one of those interviews of optimistic tenor, which interview Is to be followed during the coming week by series of conferences and banquets at the Waldorf-Astoria, to which every iron and steel maker in the country has been invited. The judge is careful to say that if the matter of prices should be discussed 1t will be in the most casual and incidental way.
 The iron and steel men do not come to New York for any such sordid purpose as that. They visit the metropolis to enjoy the hospitality of MT. Morgan and who have their habitat here and here abouts All of which is voted tommy rot' by everybody who hears the talk and reads the printed stuff. .s.
 It has come to pass that Wall street treats the Gary literary output these days with open irreverence, and Is wont to re- fer to the bulletins. announcements and interviews coarsely and disrespectfuly as more of the Gary bull con-" This treat
 
 tract from the influence of the recognized mouthpiece of the mighty industrial.
 What particularly gals the Carnegie constituency in connection with the war that has been declared upon that "schoor' is the Gary announcement that there will probably. be no election of a successor to MT. Corey and that his duties will be performed by other officials. that leaves him the self-announced central figure of the corporation, in his capacity as chair man of the executive and finance conn mittees.
 None the less, the change in the policy and dynasty of the steel corporation did not produce any unpleasant market effect that Is. 1t has not so far. On the day following the announcement of the Corey retirement everybody started in to sell stocks especially the steel issues. Very heavy buying orders were rushed in and the selling tendency was checked imme- diately Not only was 1t checked, but the buying was of such enormous volume that 1t turned the price up and for two or three days following 1t continued to rise. To bring that about continuous im- p-essive buying was necessary and the Morgan-Gary party was there with the orders.
 The strength in steel was so pronounced that 1t affected the whole market and practically everything on the list sympa- thized, to greater or less extent. Crow ing out of this demonstration there has resulted the improved tone which has heen a feature of the situation. No spe- cial reason has been advanced for the betterment except that big people are friendly and have allowed it to be known that they would like to see values marked up somewhat. rte !
 Whether or not this is merely to res- cue an imperiled situation or to give tonic