The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-05-06
STEEL TRUST
BEING MEIl(,0
Dissolution Suit Has Con q oed and
inner History Of the> pora.
tion Is to be Re-
veaIed.
THIRTY SIX BRANCHES
j. P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, An.
drew Carnegie and Others
Are Named lndi-
vldually.

UNITED Press Leased Wire Service. ]
NEW YORK, May 6-The inner his
tory of the steel trust, including its
absorption of the Tennessee Coal and
Iron Company, and the great ore de-
posits of the lake regions, will be
held up to the light In connection with
the proceedings begun today In the
dissolution suit brought against 1t by
the government
er appointed by the federal court to
take testimony, opened his hearings
today in the customs house, 1t was be-
lieved certain that great deal of SEN
sational testimony would result. Not
alone the giant trust, but all of its
thirty-six subsidiary companies, are on
/ trial. The government asks that each
be dissolved.
/ Named individually in the action
are also j. Pierpont Morgan, John D.
Rockefeller, his son, John D. Jr.. An
drew Carnegie, Charles M. Schwab,
George w. Perkins, q. II. Gary, Henry
.IC. Frick, Charles Steele, James Gay
ley, VIM. H. Moore, ]. H. Moore, e. c.
tConverse, Percival Roberts, Jr., Daniel
G. Reid Norman B. Ream, H. A. B.
4 Widener and William Palmer.
4 1t was believed that the hearings
here would last more than two
months, and that the mass of testi
mony to be taken would exceed that
! taken in either the Standard OIL Of
tobacco trust cases, although 1t vat
: the intention of the government t.
prevent the dilatory tactics tha
spread those litigations over grea
length of time.
The steel trust is bitterly fighting
the action. 1t was represented toda.
by dozen high priced attorneys anc
! every effort will be made to justif.
the existence of the giant corporation
The interests of the government
were in the hands of former Secre
tary of War Jacob M. Dickinson ant
Henry e. Cotton, while the attorney
OF record for the trust were Richar'
-iy. Lindabury and Raynal G. Boiling
l The early days of the hearing wer
certain to be tame because of tn
necessity of first tracing the history o
the various constituent companies
: After that was done the governmen
. planned to show that the now famou
Gary dinners were price-fixing an
: territory dividing functions and the
to take up the division of territor
among the trust companies by district
i a. Oh bn, nnn1nafftinn wa
: stifled. In that connection the no'
famous Tennessee Coal and Iron dea
will be probed
Wallace Buell. of Port Chester, \
Y, formerly sales manager of tn
American Steel and Wire compan,
!, was the first witness and he admitte
y that during the years he was connec
!. ed with that corporation all of tn
3 wire manufacturing companies had
v agreement to keep up prices. 1t wa
customary he said, to meet at certai
h periods and agree on minimum rat
Is for the product.
y The witness insisted, however, thu
d there had always been at least
e. appearance of competition in the trad
e. and denied that pool actually e
listed.
3 "All that we agreed to do" he sal
p twas to maintain prices for our pr
le duct"
70 All of the morning session was d
g, voted to consideration of the wire cor
panys affairs and little new tes'
II mony was brought out.
Is