Evening star., 1911-08-08
Schley Close to Failure.

Yes. 1ne question OF rendering assist
ance TO Mr.. Schley's firm had been under
discussion for several days. Saturday.
November ., through Mr.. Ledyard, the
matter was brought to Mr.. Morgans at
tertion in the library. Mr.. Schley was
there during the day. 1t was apparent
that the only thing that would save Mr..
Schey from failure on the following Mon
day was for some one TO render him
financial assistance. Several acute stages
of the panic had caused a strained situa-
ton. The national and private banks.
the trust companies. were strained TO the
utmost One difficulty with Moore and
Schev was that they had a large amount
of Tennessee Coal and Iron stock in their
loans some of them call and time loans,
that were just maturing.
.Schley told me that his time loans
could not be extended. that when they
matured the next week and were not
paid of course, the banks would sell the
securities on the loans. ard that TO throw
Tennessee Coal and Iron on the market
would so break the price that all these
loans would have to be called by the
banks and precipitate a crisis. They were
very large. S30,O0O.On. and that was the
reason he came to the steel corporation.
Any Port in Storm.
What indictment did Schley give you
to take over Tennessee Coal and Iron,'
HE didn't induce the United states
Steel Corporation to do anything. 1t was
any port in a storm with him. He didn't
care whether the steel corporation or the
banks came to his aid"
Yes. he had stock to sell?'
II beg your pardon He had loans to
meet. He wanted any way possible TO
meet his maturing obligations. and the
situation was such that the steel corpora
ton was his only available relief. There
were one hundred ways he might have
secured relief in normal times, but the
panic had narrowed down things so that
the steel corporation was the only one
left to meet such an emergency.
The chairman asked II MIR. Morgan was
not the chief actor in the event at that
time.
Mr. Morgan was the chief life saver in
that panic situation"
Mr.. Stanley asked the witness many
questions about Mr.. Morgan, his power
and his various occupations in life. and
asked if he had ever been a working man
in everyday affairs.
MIR. Morgan never was day laborer
in the sepse you suggest His knowledge
of the conditions under which such men
work, his sympathes with them. his read
mess to always stand for their rights
were common knowledge"
Steel Trusts Big Balance.
What was the average balance the
United States Steel Corporation had on
deposit with j. Pierpont Morgan & Co. ?"
81 could not tell from memory. The cor
poration usually had from forty to seven
ty millions in accounts all over the
world
As to the interest paid. Mr.. Stanley
asked if il was 2G. 10 pc cent The wit
ness did not remember, but thought that
was right.
Chairman Stanley then referred 10 rec
ords of a meeting of the United States
Steel finance committee April 10 1896.
when Mr.. Perkins presided. and read that
a request had been received for an ap-
preparation for contribution to meet the
expenses OF a leading politician. then a
candidate for reelection 10 Office. The
question was raised as 10 the legal right
of n corporation TO make such A contri-
button. and the recommendation was
made that the opinion of the ablest law
yers be secured.
DO you remember that. Mr.. Perkins,
Not especially.
Who was that leading politician"
II have no recollection
Had he ever held high executive Office
in New York or in the United States
government
1T is difficult for me to tell. not know
ing who IL was