Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1912-05-07
Witnesses Show Gentlemen's
Agreement Fixing Prices Ex-
listed During Period When
Pools Were Operated.
NINE CONCERNS IN
HORSESHOE COMBINE
Judge Gary, President Of Cor
poration, Does Not Appear to
Have Been Party to Pro-
cedure by Subordinates.

IBy Morning journal Special Lensed wire.I
New York, May 6.-The government
began its suit to dissolve the United
States steel corporation today by at
lacking one of it's largest subsidiaries
the American. Steel a. Wire Company,
with the intent to prove that ever since
its organization in 1889, down to a year
ago, it had been party to pools,
agreements or understandings to re-
strain trade.
The testimony taken before Henry
p. Brown, of Philadelphia, special
commissioner in the case, was given
by two witnesses, Wallace Buell., of
Port Chester, n. Y, a retired indepen-
dent wire manufactures. and George
Il. Holton, president of the Dryden
Horseshoe Company. of Catasqua, Pa,
who with others was indicated and
fined in the so-called wire pool
cases. about year ago.
There are seven of these alleged
pools covering different kinds of wire
named in the governments complaint
and Holton testified as to the informal
ton of the American Horse Shoe as
sociation in January, 1901, three
months before the organization of the
United States Steel corporation. The
association, he said, was organized
for the purpose of fixing the price of
horse shoes and was composed of nine
concerns, among them the American
Steel x Wire and his own concern.
Didn't Vice President Bachus of
the American Steel Il Wire Com
pany state in ore of the meetings Of
the associations ,hat fudge Gary.
chairman of the steel corporation had
no knowledge of this poole" asked G.
A. Severance, one of the defendants
lawyers.
Yes, he did, replied the witness.
Judge Gary had no knowledge of IT
as far as l know"
Didn't the American Steel g.
Wire Company withdraw from it be-
cause Judge Gary found it out?"
THAT ! do not know, | only know
that the American Steel & Wire Com
pany got OUT
Members of the association, includ-
ing a representative of the American
Steel & Wire Company. met Informally
after the dissolution of the pool until
about a month after the New York
grand jury investigation into the wire
pool was begun last year, IL was as
serted. The meetings were abandoned
then on the advice OF Edwin h. Jack
son, lnG SuDeINlSOT OF TINS ana OtntI
wire pools, who was himself indicted
and fined.
"At these informal meetings, We ex-
changed information and every man
knew what the other mans price
would be the next day." said Holton.
who added that although under the
new arrangement prices were not al
ways uniform there were five or six
including the American
Steel q Wire Company which usually
named the same prices.
During the existence OF the formal
agreement, Holton testified, 1t was
Jackson's duty to name the concern
which should accept the bids of the
United States government
Holton read into the record a num-
ber of letters written by him to jack
son in behalf of his company in which
he accused the American Steel * Wire
Company of violating the agreement
to maintain prices. One letter as
serted that the subsidiary was cutting
prices on Honolulu business and 'un
less some action is taken we shall see
that we get our fair share Of that
business"
In another letter Holton remarked
that inasmuch as the American Steel
& Wire Company did not seem TO have
a clear understanding of the agree
ment "it would be well for us not TO
have a clear understanding also"