The daily telegram. [volume] (Clarksburg, W. Va.) 1901-1926, 1912-04-05
IJNIBER.
fcontinued from page one. J

the resolutions required that the In
yestigation should be conducted
with "the particular object" Of as
pertaining the existence Of any com
bination, conspiracy, trust, agree
nent or contract in restraint Of COM
merce.
The petition says further that
while the effect of these resolutions
was Injurious to the lumber indus.
try, the investigation was Welcomed
by lumber producers "who had lo1g
been FESTIVE under this loose, nm
founded and ignorant charges made
against them" and that every as
sistance to the investigation was
given.
with this active and hearty CO.
operation Of the lumber Industry It
was felt that the inquiry should
produce early results" on the con
tray, says the the petition, it was
not until February 10, 1911, more;
than four years after the passage
of the resolution, that any report
whatever was made by the commits
sioner of corporations, who had
charge Of this investigation under
the secretary of the Department of
Commerce and Labor. The petition
calls attention to the fact that this
report was only partial one and
failed to give the lumber producers
the verdict they desired.
The petition closes with an urgent
request that the Charges against the
lumber manufacturers of the United
States be as promptly brought to a
conclusion as seem likely to be those
against lumber dealers who have
been brought into court"
Secretary Nagel in transmitting
to the president the answer to the
lumber mems complaint, says the
report of the Bureau of Corporations
was not only Important and relevant
to the issue involved In the resolu-
tions of Congress, but that the
amount of standing timber and the.
concentration of its ownership were
absolutely essential to the discus
sion of the questions involved. The
secretary says the bureau found a
wholly unexpected and very re-
markable degree of concentration OF
standing timber. 1t thus applied a
second and absolutely essential basic
fact in the discussion OF lumber
prices.
The secretary says the Bureau OF
Corporations has, considering the
magnitude of the task, supplied nee
essary facts as rapidly as possible;
that 1T is now carrying on also an In
vestigation into competitive meth
DDS, report on which will be pre-
scented as soon as possible. Refer
ring further to the statement of the
lumber men that the first and only
report made by the Department of
Commerce and Labor was the report
in 1911 on standing timber, Secre-
tary Nagel says the Bureau has also
for some time been carrying on in.
vestigations into the actual course
of the prices of lumber, and this too.
will be presented as soon as finished.
incidentally Mr.. Nagel points out
the difficulty of gathering this in
formation.
Secretary Nagel says, in reply to
the demand for a verdict. that it
would be wholly impracticable for
the bureau, and entirely outside Of
its jurisdiction, to render verdict
on the existence Of the so-callel lum-
Der trust or conspiracy in restraint
of trade; that the question is strictly
legal one. IAN attempt on the part
of the Bureau of Corporations, says
the secretary, to make such a finding
of guilty or not guilty, would be an
absurdity in itself, and would estab-
lish a most embarrassing precedent
Manager Bronson, in the letter to
President Taft, under date of March
1, takes up seriatim the subjects as
stated and commented on by the
secretary, and says that notwith.
standing the Importance of the in
quiry as standing timber, 1t is not
responsive to the part of the Senate
resolution that the investigation of
the lumber industry should be con-
Quoted with the particular object OF
}ascertaining the existence of any
combination, conspiracy, trust agree.
ment, or contract in restraint OF
commerce.
Manager Bronson expresses the
hope that the investigation into
competitive methods, which secre-
tary Nagel says is under way, will
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