The Washington herald., 1912-05-08
GOVERNMENT WAs
At POOL S MERCY
Regulated Prices Which the
Army Was Forced to Pay
for Horseshoes.
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES

s.
New York, May f.-'.About how long
a er the withdrawal Of the Aneri-
en- Wire and Steel Company was It
htore the wire pool collapsedT'
About a minuter
The question was asked by D. A
Hsed. junior counsel Of the steel Corpo-
don IN the examination being con-
aacted BY Judge J. NJ Dickinson be-
fare special Examiner Brown In the
dissolution suit Of the giant combine
1ich the government has fled In the
rcuif Court at Trenton. The answer
IS given BY samuel J. Bailey. who.
ring the ten years life Of the wire
ol was confidential secretary Of E. E
clxson. organizer Of the combination
5ailey swore that he did not know
lere the much-wanted Jackson Is now,
bugh he thought he Vas in Europe.
le government has been extremely
xious to get hold OF jackson ever
6 nee the dissolution suit was started.
Bailey was custodian Of the secret
aorrespondence between jackson and
tas various memberseof the Illegal pool
iHrouehout the country, he also kept
minutes OF the monthly meetings
TAT were held by the pool members In
1ackson's law Offices in this city, and
great deal OF the correspondence upon
he subject Of fixing prices OF and allot-
ents OF contracts was conducted In
rs name
A sample OF these letters. written by
galley for jackson, supervisor of the
p)oi. was one 10 George z. H. Holton.
president of the Dryden Horseshoe Com
pany. OF catasauqua, Pa, in May, 1903
Il began:
aYou may quote the following prices
-. -
horse. mule, and pony shoes to be sent
10 the Philippines"
In a similar letter, written in 1906 II
was stated that the Diamond State
Steel Company has been authorized by
me 10 make the lowest bid on horse
shoes to be sent by the government 10
the Isthmian Canal. You viii submit
the higher prices I have quoted you"
Only One Competitor.
No letters were discovered from or to
the American Steel and Wire Company,
the only subsidiary Of the Steel Trust
which was party TO the wire pool. The
only correspondence which thus far has
been seized was that in the keeping Of
Hoiton and some from Jsckson's ONCE.
All the other concerns involved appar-
emily destroyed every bit Of documentary
evidence on the subject before the gov
ernment agents visited them.
Bailey volunteered the statement that
every contract made by the pool with
the government was at slightly lower
rate than in the case Of private bids He
also said that about the only big concern
in the country that was not a member
of the combine was the Burden Iron
Works, Of Troya n. Y. and that COM
pany did about . per cent Of the entire
hTrrfr4aue f0F he tTrT fr, of a
effDrts Of the pool TO undersell IT,
II was made manifest to-day by Judge
Dickinson's close questioning OF Bailey
about the operations OF the wire pool
that the government has planned to at
tack the big Steel Trust in detail rather
than make what war strategists call a
frontal assault.
That is, the government has started
out TO prove that the Steel Corporation
Is a congeries Of trusts. In order the
better to do this, it will direct its efforts
to establishing the monopolistic charae-
ter Of every branch of the huge combi-
nations Of business and activities. Thus,
after completing the inquiry into the
part played by the trusts subsidiary, the
American Wire and Steel Company the
trust probers will take up the barbed
wire end, the sheet steel end, armor
plate, &C.
Plan Quick Inquiry.
Judge Dickinson said to-day he could
not yet put any estimate upon the length
of time that viii be required TO COM
plete the task President Taft has set for
him. He hoped, however, TO be able to |
the examination within three |
or four months, in order that the suit |
nay be expedited through the courts in |
ess time than was required in the cases |
5f the standard OIL and Tobacco Trusts |
The first Of these suits was nearly four |