Valdez daily prospector., 1912-09-04
"WEDNESDAY. SEPT. i, 1912.
THE STEEL TRUST REPORT.

The stanley committee, the con- srcssional body that for months has been investigating the steel trust. recommends in it's report certain rcn- edial legislation to cure trust evils and to meet existing conditions, but the value of its investigation and rc- port is likely to be in what is dis closed rather than in the conclusions drawn. The attention of the people is directed to the enormity of the wrongs that have been inflicted Upon them by big interests" The .inves- tieators show the high-handcd manne in which burdens of over-capitalizatio and monopoly have been loaded upon the industrial world. The people knowing the facts in the ease might De depended upon to do somet hing cv cn without rccommndation from the rommittccmen. The showing should lay foundation for new and more intelligent method of dealing with corporations, one that should mako impossible repetition Of the evils disclosed.
 The report the committee shows that stocks Were not merely eva tered," they Were deluged.' Con- panies with feeble sparks of life We're gathered in, subjected to the galvanic action of trust methods and their stocks sent out for the approv- al of the people. An example of the organization methods pursued is cited in the case of the National Tube company An engineer who made an Investigation of the prop critics of the concern says that they we're not worth more than s19.000.OOO and that the owners Were demoral- ized and disheartened." J. p. Mor gan & company took hold of the company a;,d reorganiZed it as d subsidiary of tn" United states Steel corporation. They capitalized it at $SO.0O0.O 900 and took as a com mission for doing so agsrcgating s2O,- COG, ,000-s1 100000 more than the property was worth.
 Similar tactics were pursued in connection with all the financial un- dertakings of the mammoth corpora ton. The result is that hundreds o: millions of dollars worth Of secur- ities were manufactured out of prac- tically nothing and havebeen passed out to the little Investors.
 Meanwhile the industrial world is' being forced to pay dividends on the dcluge of water that was poured out upon it. That has been accom- plished by methods not less vicious tho- rnose of organization. Prices have been maintained by agreements, hy systems of interlocking directors among allied industries and by con trol of the sources of ore supply and the means of transportation The report shows, for example, that an independent in Pittsburg practically had to pay to the trust, through executive rail and steamship rrtes, s3 q ton on his iron. The trust has that much advantage over the inde- pendent produced before a single step has been taken towards manu- featuring the raw material into ar ticles of commerce.
 Of course, 1t was not expected that the last congress would touch the subject, owing to the short time elapsed since the committee made report, as well as the hurly and bur " precedent to an election, but the Stanley report nut Serve as valu- able contribution to the literature on the subjects Of trusts and will en- able to the next congress to deal With the question in an intelligent manner, protecting alike the legiti- mate manufacturer and the consumer.