The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-05-04
To Probe Steel Corporation and Alleged Sugar and
 Wool Trusts
SHOE INDUSTRY AND
 LORIMER UNDER FIRE
Committee Approves Resolution to Probe Steel orporation--Senate Finance Committee After
 Shoe Manufacture

Washington, May s.-The investigate ing trend of Congress took wide
 range today for inquiries into the af- | fairs of the United States Steel corpor- ation. the American Sugar Refining | company and the American Woolen | company were placed on the programme
 of the democratic House. The shoe in-
 dustry interests were under fire, and
 e Senate committee on expenses open
 ed the way for decision as to a re-
 investigation of the charges against
 Senator Lorimer.
 1 Resolutions, directing that special
 committees probe the records to de-
 termne whether any of the first three
 named big corporations mentioned arc
 operating in violation of the antitrust.
 interstate commerce or national bank
 ing laws have been started on the leg
 islatlve ways.
 The steel trust resolution. the crea-
 ton of Representative Stanley of Ken
 lucky, was approved today by the
 House committee on rules and will be
 reported to the House tomorrow.
 Representative Hardwick of Georgia
 Is author of the resolution providing | for inquiry into the American Sugar Refining company and this will be con-
 sidered by the rules committee tomor-
 row. In the meantime it may con- slider also a similar resolution, sub
 mltted by Representative Francis of Ohio, directing that special committee of five be named. to inquire into the American Woolen company. Whether there Is a trust in wool fn~this couh- | try. is information desired by men in terested in the wooden schedule, soon 1 to be revised.
 Opposition alta taong the proposed re-
 moval of the d. Son shoes, as pro
 vided in the fledlist bill, delevoped
 simultaneously at the Senate and House
 ends of the capitol
 While large shoe manufacturers tes- I tified to the Senate finance committee that they were forced to keep prices l high DecSitse they were in the gsi1; eA
 a shoe machinery trust. Representative Weeks, on the floor of the House, was
 praising the concern which controls all the shoe machinery
 Weeks Defense Company rais He declared that because the Unitea- | Shoe Machine company refused to sell any machine outright, only leasing it l to the manufacturer. the latter was en- abled to engage in business with less 1 capital, and that the tendency of this
 method was to increase manufactures. | Senator Bailey told the manufactur- | CTS that, in his opinion their contracts with the trust could be proved Illegal, 1 that, in spite of the shoe machine com pany's patent rights he thought their | taI a | to restrain trade and he declared that 1 the Attorney General might mako some trouble for the trust after he nad l learned of the statements at today's l hearings.
 Representative Difenderfer of Penn | svlvania today introduced resolutions calling on the Secretary of she Navy and the Secretary of War to furnish l Congress with all information relating | to shoe contracts for the army ana navy prior to 1909. Similar resolutions introduced last week by Representative | Gardner were confined to 1909, lslo and 1911 The Gardner resolution re- garding navy shoe contracts was passed by the House yesterday and tne com mittee on military affairs Is about to report favorably on the proposed in- | quiry Into army contracts
 s The inouiries were based upon charges
 made by MT. Difenderfer that one shoe | manufacturing concern has monopoly | on government contracts and has frozen out" all competitors. The resolutions | were referred respectively to the navai | and the military committees. 1 The principal spokesman for the snoe manufacturers was William D'Oench or St. Louis. With him were manufacturers from St. Louis. Chicago and Grand Rap ids, Mich. An incidental reference to a failure to reduce the duty on brass wire used in the manufacture of shoes led MT, D'Oench to say. Trusts made IL impos- sible to buy brass abroad" "Why don't you buy all your machinery abroad, then?" asked Senator SimmonA of North Carolina.
 Duty Is Bar In reply the shoe manufacturer referred
 to the 45 per cent duty which stood In tho way.
 "Would the removal of that duty mako
 shoes cheaper?" asked Senator simmons.
 ..It would, but cannot say how much" The witness said the royalty charged by the shoe machinery trust in less than year would be sufficient to buy the English machinery outright Senator Smoot contended that under these circunl- stances the duty should not prevent the | American manufacturer buying European machines.
 MT D,Oench declared, however, that | shoemakers couldn't get all of their ma- | ohinery in England and to get part from the American concern, they were required to buy all.
 Senator Bailey declared if the reports of the hearing were transmitted to tho | Attorney General it ought to make
 trouble for the shoe machine trust.' Senator Gallinger said he thought pat ents on machinery would clear the ma-
 chinery manufacturing company from the
 charge of being trust. MT. Bailey as-
 serted they would not.
 MT. D'Oench said the United Shoe Ma chinery company sold some of its ma chinery in England and that 1t did not bind the English manufacturers by any
 such contracts as in this country. Representative Weeks of Massachusetts declared there was no combination in thA leather ar shoe industry. MT Meeks un- dertook to show that England made shoes | were already standing in the United3F States and the removal of duty would give a large part of the American market to the English shoemakers. To the Senate Mir. Foreshiem confessed that sometimes 1t became ''necessary's for shoe manufacturer in protecting himself, his trade name and his custo- mers, to refuse to sell to retailer who tried to undersell his neighbor. This. he said, accounted for the uniformity oa