The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-08-05
Former President Of United
States Steel Corporation
Gives Inside History
of It's Organization.
TAKES CREDIT FOR
PART HE PLAYED
Says $28 a Ton Is Too Cheap
for Rails and Insists That
the Business Needs
Protection.

ATEW YORK, Aug. 4.-Charles NJ.
mi Schwab, now a competitor Of the
IL United States Steel corporation,
today revealed that corporation
before the house committee Of inquiry
as the child of his own brain, reared
by ]. Pierpont Morgan, with the ac-
quiescence, since regretted, of Andrew
Carnegie.
Mr.. Schwab pictured the steel cor
poration as a legal organization, not
formed to curtail output. restrict com.
petition or maintain prices, but to de-
velop the steel industry Of America.
Aside from reciting the inside history
of the origin of the steel corporation,
he gave the committee much informa-
tion relating to traffic matters, ore
properties and steel manufacturers.
The witness denied that the recent
Brussels conference of steel manufac-
turers Of the world had anything to
do with fixing prices.
~ want to assure you, he said,
" that at no time was the question of
price or division of business territory
ever mentioned We were there to tell
the exact truth, and, it seems to me, to
have good time. -
Question of Tariff.
Representative Sterling of Illinois
led Mr.. Schwab into general discus
sion of the tariff on steel, particularly
as to the relations of the business in
this country and Germany.
1.-The real purpose of the tariff on
steel" Mr.. Sterling suggested, "is to
protect you in the home market. You
say you can manufacture rails as
cheaply as Germany, and you still have
the advantage IN that they must trans
port to cur markets.
"Y Yes, but Germany can now trans
port to our Pacific coast for less than
we can ship from Pittsburg to the
coast" said Mr.. Schwab.
81 do not want to argue the tariff
he continued, 'but l cannot, for the
life of me, see any disadvantage to
America from liberal protection. 1t
seems to me to be mistake to have
the tariff so low that foreign com
petitor can even reach our Pacific
coast This is not the practice of Ger
many, France, Austria or Italy, or any
country except England
Price of Steel Rails.
''You could make rails for less than
$2S' ton and still make some profit,
couldn't you7' Mr., Beall asked.
ooh, yes,' was Mr. Schwab S re-
pIy- But j tnlnR SSS ton is Zoo
low AS a matter of fact, since ] have
been president Of the Bethlehem. Steel
company we have never sold rails for
less than $40, We have sold them as
high as $55 ton
Charles Stanley referred to the suit
brought by II. c. FrIck against the
Carnegie company in 1899 when, on
the basis of an agreement, he was To
have been paid his share on book
value of the property of about S75 ,000,-
000 Frick IN his suit placed the value
Mt $250,000000. 1t was finally settled
on an appraisal value Of about $780,,
600, 900.
"That was the same property, was it
not.'' asked Mr.. Stanley, "that was
sold few months afterward to the
United States Steel corporation for
$500, 900 ,000f'
Mr.. Schwab said it was, but ex-
planned that the book value estimate
was based on the actual dollars mem
bcrs of the company had put in the
concern. and that each member. in case
of death or retirement. had agreed. Mr.
Scbwab said, to sell his stock to other
members of the company on that basis.
Frick Won Point.
owe were trying TO make Mr. Frick
live up to his own agreement he
added. we finally rcorgauized and
agreed upon q $320,O00,000 valuation. -
He was questioned first about the IN.
corporation of the United States Steel
Continued on Page Two.