The Marshall republican., 1911-11-30
The Steel Trust Suit

Great indeed Is the question rails
ed by the government in its suit
TO dissolve the United States Steel
Corporation. The men who man
age the trust are charged not mere
ly with monopolizing the steel
trade, but with controlling so many
other great business enterprises
that they "threaten TO dominate
and deaden" the whole industrial
lie of the country.
The government case may be
thus summarized: In 1895 several
manufacturers of wire, tubing, tin
plate and the like, who had been
buying raw steel from the COM
panies engaged in reducing iron
ore, began to buy iron-mines and
to produce their own steel. The
producers OF raw steel, In their
turn. began to manufacture II into
tubing, structural steel and other
finished forms. To check this com
petition, men interested In the bust
ness formed, in 1891, the United
States Steel Corporation, with n
capital OF about one and a half
billion dollars, more than one
third OF which represented no tang
ible assets. Competition between
the companies thus united then
ceased. Later, the steel trust adj
mltted to all It's meetings ut which
prices and the division OF business
were discussed, representatives
from various other companies.
Whether In the trust or not, the
men who attended these meetings
governed their business in accord
ance with the informal understand
ing there brought about. In that
way the new corporation ruled the
steel industry, and "there grew up
a power to influence action never
exceeded In the commercial history
of the world"
Moreover, the men in control OF
the steel corporation were also in
terested In many railroad and
steamship lines, in the manufac-
ture OF farm machinery and parlor
cars, in telegraph lines, and in
banks and trust companies; by a
system of interlacing directorates'
they produced a widespread COM
munity Of interest that destroyed
competition throughout its range,
"The power and control that have
been exerted by the corporation,
largely through the grasp OF its
t~entacles thus thrown out, upon
the consumer, competitors and cap
ital Is incompatible with the heal
thy commercial life of the nation
Therefore, says the plea, the COR
poration must be dissolved II COM
petition Is to be restored.
Thus speaks the government
the corporation, on the other hand,
has repeatedly denied, through its
officers, that its purpose is to re-
strain trade or to control the steel
business, and 1t has also repeated
ly explained that it's plan OF organ
ization was made to conform to
the law &c far as the meaning oil
the law could be ascertained. II
now denies the allegations of the
government.
Whether IL has offended or no,
Is for the court to decide. II may
be said, however, that for any
small group of men to control th'
business OF the country Is plainl,
against public policy, and that II
any small group doed so contro
it, the power Of that group shoult
be broken and some way founs
to restore industrial independents
to the nation.
No one, however, need be anx
ious either over what has been de
cribed as the political attack Of
business, for the steel trust " per
fectly able to take care Of irself
or over the alleged offences OF tn
trust, for the government IL vel
equipped TO detect and quite adj