The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1912-02-01
STEEL COMPANY
ENTERS DENIAL
Allegations Made by Federal Gov
ernment in Petition An
swered Today
SHERMAN LAW NOT VIOLATED
No Effort Has Been Made to Re-
strain Steel Trade
Rockefeller Files Individual Reply and
Says He Had No Part in Form
ing Corporation.

| Trenton, n. j., Jan 3l.--The United
states Steel corporation today flied
it's answer 20 the petition of the FED
oral government i'm which the court
was prayed to adiudge the steel com
pany Illegal and in restraint OF trade
Broadly speaking. the answer is a
! general denial To the allegations II
the government. II defends the or
ganization of the subsidiary compan-
les denies that they were formed In
violation of the Anti-tr act claims
that they were normal and neecs-
| sary development of the times. and
insists that instead of restraining
trade or commerce, they have develop
ed and increased the same.
The answer is made i'm the namc
of the United States steel Corporation
and its various subsidiary companies,
and it Is joined i'm by the following
individuals: J. Pierpont Morgan. FL
bert II. Gray. Charles NJ. Schwab,
Charles Steele. Henry c. Frick, James
Gayley, William II. Moore. James H.
Moore, Percival Roberts, Jr., Daniel
q. Reid. Norman b. Ream. George
w. Perkins and Peter A. b. Widener
The array of counsel includes Linda
bury, Depue & Faulks as solicitors
and Joseph II. Choate John G. John
son, Francis Lynde Stetson, David A..
Reed, Raynal c. Boiling and Richard
" Lindabury as counsel.
Revievve Oroanization
The answer begins with reviewing
the events that led up to the organiza-
tion OF the present steel corporation
and describes how the Federal Steel
company acquired the Carnegie steel
company. the American Ste<l and
Wire company. and others through
negotiations conducted by j. =. Nor
gan a Co. Later, when the need foi
additional ore supplies was felt. the
Steel Corporation acquired the prop
critics of the Lake Superior Consolidat
ed Iron Mines The steel Corporation'I
was formed and It's properties ac
quired. the answer declares. for the
purpose of effectjng economies by in
tegrating the plants and the processes
employed i'm the manufacture OF steel
and to reach the principal markets OIL
the United States and Of foreign coun
tries and increase the trade In steel
products therein.
"If any of the companies acquired
by the steel Corporation" the answer
declares had been organized for tho
purpose or with the effect of restrain
ing trade or commerce, or If they
constituted an attempt at monopoly or
a monopolization of trade or COM
merce. neither the organizers of the
Steel Corporation nor the said cor
poration had any knowledge or infor-
nation thereof when the said COM |
panies were acquired"
Foreign Trade Increased.
Continuing the answer recites that
the steel Corporation made it's pur-
poses and the details of its organiza-
tion public in a variety of ways, and
says that the attention of the officers
of the United states government was
directed to said organiza-
tion at the time IL was effected. Only
within a few months has any depart
ment of responsible officers of the gov
eminent criticized the Steel Corpora
ton as being combination i'm re-
straint of trade. or a monopoly.
The answer then sets forth that the
Steel corporation has cheapened the
of steel to the consumer; |
that Il has increased it's foreign trade
from SS.00O,000 i'm 1901 to $60.000,000l
I'm 1911:. that II has not suppressed
that the number of its
I'm the United States has
largely increased since 1901, and that
It's stock has been sold several times
over and is now held by multitude
Of small investors in this and foreign
countries.
The defendants then submit:
"That after acquiescing In the or
of the Steel Corporation for
SO long a time and after rights of SO
sacred character have grown upI
hereunder. and IT is now too late for
the government to insist In court
of equity that such organization was
IN itself and without regard To its al
ter practices an illegal thing"
Tennessee Co. Purchase.
The answer further declares that the
To purchase majority OF
the stock of the Tennessee Coal and
Iron company came from Grant II.
Schlcy and was taken MP on accoun'
and only on account OF the represent
atives made on behalf Of said SchleyI
that nothing hut such purchase would
save Moore & Schley from failure.
Messrs. Gary and Flick, Of the steel
went To see the presiden;
of the United states ON the 4th OF
1907. and laid the situa-
tion before him. The answer denies
that Messrs. Gary and Flick failed
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