The Wisconsin tobacco reporter. (Edgerton, Wis.) 1877-1950, 1911-08-11
ROOSEVELT SAYS He
STOPPED 1907 PANIC
Appears Before House Com
mittee Probing Steel.
Former President Tells of Tennessee
Coal and iron Deal, Declaring
He Pursued Course He Die
for Public Good.

New York, Aug. 7.-Colonel Theo-
dore Roosevelt took the witness stand
in the congressional inquiry int the
Steel corporation to tell what he knew
regarding the absorption of the Ten
nessee Coal and Iron Company by the
Steel corporation during the panic of
1907.
The former president Appeared IN
exceedingly good humOr and g.ce,ed
Chairman Stanl,y and other members
of the committee ewi-h enthus ASIA
He at once took the witness stand
and began to read a Statement wnic..
he had prepared, irt.oIucing his SUB
ject with a description OF. the fin&n-
cial panic conditions in the fall OF
1907.
1T was the utmost duty of the al
minist! alton, he read, ito pr vent
by all Means the So. cad Of the pal-.'
before it became disaster"
The seer etary OF the treasury al
he, IT. Roosevelt said, were con taGt
ly in touch with the situation. Our
ing that time he learned that tT'5
members CT the United States Stee.
corporation wished to see him III the
morning At breakfast the next day
he was informed that E. H. Cay and
H. G. Fiic; were waiting to see him.
Mr.. BOnaparte, then attorney-ge eral
he continued had rot yet arrived fem
Baltimore.
Il sent a note to Secre airy Root to
come over" the former pres dent
read, land he arrived at the White
House
The conference Was brief, Mr..
Roosevelt explained, and later he
wrote note to Mr. Bonaparte sta
ing all the facts of the conference.
Mr.. Roosevelt then read to the COM
mittee the letter, afterward pub i5hed
in the senate records CT the hearing
on the Tennessee Coal and Iron case
in 1909. The letter Sc forth how Mr.
Frick and Mr. Gary had submitted
the proposition for the sale CT the
Tennessee company ind how he had
expressed the opinion that he die not
wish to stand in the way of prevent
ing a financial panic. The firm that
was in trouble, Mr.. Roosevelt said,
had not been mentioned.
Mr.. Roosevelt went on, going into
details about the serious financial con-
ditions in New York, and told how he
had taken the responsibility to permit
the transfer of the steel company and
did it Oil his own initiative.
ut was matter Of general kno'
ledge" he said, referring to banks and
trust companies in New York, that
they held securities of the Tennessee
Coal and Iron company which had no
market. value"
The proposition of Messrs. Gary
and Prick was, he con- -nued, that
the United States Steel corporation
should take over the Tennessee Coal
and Iron company Immediately.
1T was necessary for me to act at
once" said the former president, "be-
fore the stock exchange opened, or the
transaction might prove useless"
He said he was convinced that &C
"uirement by the steel corporation of
thee Tennessee Coal and Iron company
did not change the legal status of the
corporation.
Furthermore, believed it would be
for the public good continued Mr..
Roosevelt. 81 answered Messrs. Gary
and Prick that if matters were in such
a state | did not want to stand in the
way, and the results proved that the
act was good one, because the pa-ic
was stopped"
Mr.. Roosevelt further said he had
learned that the action was Of great
benefit to the people of the Birming-
ham district.
Il should have proved an unworthy
public officer if l had not done as I
did"