The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1911-09-26
STEEL TRUST INVESTIGATION. Democrats Not Prosecutors But Deter
 mined to Enforce the Law.

| (By Clyde H. Tavenner, Special Wash ington Correspondent of The Farmer)
 Washington, Sept 26-Chairman A. | O. Stanley, of the Steel Trust Inves- t1gating committee, who is in Wash | ington preparing for a resumption of the committee hearings in advance of the regular session of Congress, says the very erroneous impression prevails in some sections of the country that the Democratic Investigation of. the Steel Trust is in the nature of an at-
 tack on the steel business. He de- 1 nies that this is true.
 Republicans, and especially Repub- llcan newspapers, are trying to make the country believe the Democrats are prosecuting the steel corporations for
 no other purpose than to gain cam paign material for next year." MT. Stanley said. Nothing could be fur ther from the truth. From the day the hearings opened the investigation
 has been conducted with the utmost |4iarness. Times without number the
 committee refrained from pressing
 witnesses when it was apparent that
 admissions they might xnake would
 injure them with the trade The committee sought information only in
 legitimate way, and not a single one of the steel men who testified failed
 to thank the committee for the fair and generous way in which he had
 been treated
 The Investigating committee be- gan the investigation of the trust not
 so much with the idea of ascertaining what it's past offenses were, as with the purpose of learning facts and conditions on which an intelligent es- timate of what sort of an attitude the government should assume toward the trust in the future, both in the mat ter, of tariff rates, and in the mat ter of handling the trust generally The Democrats in Congress realize that extreme care must be used in forcing the Steel Trust to an adjust ment beneficial not only to the steel business, but to the consumers of steel. There hasn't been, nor is there now any disposition on the part of the committee or of the Democratic members in Congress to rush in and tear the Steel Trust asunder, with out rhyme or reason. The trust does an immense volume of business, and it's operations affect the lives of lit orally millions of people, not only in it's own sphere, but in allied branches of industry.
 For this reason the Democrats are actuated by a desire to deal fairly with the trust, while at the same time they are going to insist that it obey the law. Furthermore, if the law is found inadequate it is the pur- pose of the Democrats to so amend it that the steel business can prosper legitimately, and without exacting an unjust tribute from the purchasers of its product.
 ."The Democrats realize the necessity for constructive action. They want the country to feel that no legitimate business is going to suffer at their hands, and that no business which is not legitimate is going to prosper if they can help it.
 1.-The Democratic party is not bent upon a ruthless policy of destruction, and while the steel trust is going to be forced to obey the law if the Dem ocrats can make it do so, the trust need have no fear that it will be treated unfairly"