The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1911-11-01
GARY FORECAST
THE DEFENSE Of
THE STEEL TRUST
Address of Chairman Before
Suit Was Filed Has Come
to Light
BELIEVED THE ANSWER WILL
Be ALONG LINES INDICATED

UI UlVuU IuWkO SUVSVuSeV
Ch,,rman Discussed the Two oppos-
ing Dangers Which Beset the Con-
Germ and Stated That An Effort Had
Been Made to Keep Between Them.
Pittsburg. Nov. LIN the lfght OF
the governments equity Dill nled 1s,.3 %
States steel corporation the appended
address Of Judge e. H. Gary, cnair.
man Of the board, must be deemed
remarkable. It was private. heart-
to.heart talk recently at one OF tne
dinners, where the presidents OF the
underlying companies had tneir tess
beneath the mahogany; Inoueh
a copy has fortunately been procured:
Even the casual reader may suspect
that it's topical heads and ampnnca-
tions. when translated into the swollen
yerbiage Of legal documents. Will oe-
come the substance of the corpora.
tion's answer to the bill Of complain! Ia
now pending AGAINST 1t a1 11eh'on' S'
Judge Gary sharply states the d.
lemma confronting the big corpora
tion. OF course, the whole speech
must be read, keeping In mind the
consciousness Of innocence OF al
vronE-doing" animating the Judge, the
very matter which the government E
contradicts and must controvert oy
ev;dence. Had the corporation engaged
IN ruinous competition, the Judge says.
It would have subjected itself to the
charge Of monopoly: But had II
aereed with independent concerns not
to compete it might have fallen under
the other ban Of the sherman laW
against restraint Of trade: Here .s was
the scylla and Charybdis between
Ing from mythology to modern Dan.
ian geography, the Skagerack ana
Cattegat of the voyage. .
He asserts that no admonitions OF
law violations were ever hearo lrom
federal sources and that compeuiIVS.s IS..
were always friendly. Constant aIu.
sion viii be noted to competition as II
Formidable, and how the policy hao
been to propitiate and not crush 1t.
One OF the strong points Is the rec
ornized publicity the corporation has
youchsafed as to its largest actions
and financial status. Ills eager wisn
as directing head to 9a~ca keep wssnln n .as a.e
cane criticism, to prosecute. the stu
nendo,,s husiness feirly but profitably.
is athted in most seductive. style: tln-
Nlly. he asserts feeling to the S00,VvV
Of employees and counsels seduious at
tention to their comfort. asserting tnas
the executive heads of the corporauons
best Of that kidney. Judge 1aEys
address follows:
II think. perhaps. 1t is well Tor al
Of us to have repeated to US and mace
more emphatic some Of the important
questions which we must necessarily
consider almost day by day. We are
engaged in very serious business and
have great obligations. need hardly
Say that all of us have beon very much
disturbed by the intimations published
from time to time that the steel cor
poration has been the obpect OF ad-
verse criticism by some of the leading
men OF the country. If not by some OF
the officials connected with the gov
ernment. These intimations. whether
based on facts or not, have been most
Distressing to me. and no doubt have
affected you in the same way"
Sought General Approval.
II think we have been of the unani-
nous opinion for a great many years
that II the corporation could per-
basis Of so conducting its affairs and
of continuing such an attitude toward
everyone interested in what it might
do as to entitle 1t to the respect, con-
fdence and approval of everyone; and
It iaa been our studied effort to mega
tive any disposition on our part to
do, or permit. to be done, anything
of. That we have made mistakes, and
that some of our subordinates, with
out our knowledge. and against our ex-
pressed wishes, may have been led
into doing some things that We do not
approve of. we must admit.
"But think am justified In claim
ing for you and for all Of us that our
Intentions have been good. and that
those Of us who have been in COM
mand, who have the responsibility and
authority, whether as officials of the
steel corporation or officials Of sub
sidiary companies. have intended to
conduct ourselves in such q way as to
ever. because Of the great posit' n. in
huence and standing of the steel cor
poration. ! think it is proper for us
to bring up from time to time, con-
slider and emphasize to some extent
at least, and in q general way, what
is proper and what is not proper In
the conduct of the great affairs and in
terests with which we are connected.
Countenances No Violation.
'In the first place. we do not wish
nor intend undeS any circumstances
to countenance any violation Of any
law in force. cannot say in language
too emphatic that, not only from the
standpoint of good morals but from
the standpoint Of our personal inter-
ests. we must never make the mistake
Of Intentionally violating, or permitting
to be violated. any law which Is in
existence.
LAS good. loyal citizens we are Just
as much interested in the observance
of the laws as the president of the
United States even or anyone else. We
do not need to be compelled or urged
by any public official to see the ne
cessity Of conforming to the laws Of
the country: we have just as much
obligation in this respect as any other
citizen. You know. without my sug-
gesting 1t. that lawyers and even
Judges to say nothing Of laymen, have
been in more or less doubt as to what
the laws mean. am not certain that
doubt has been removed up to the
present time.
Certainly we know that in trying
to understand the application of the
Sherman law. so-called. we have been
confronted by two extremes: on ono
hand. H. we should have engaged in