Evening star., 1912-01-22
WILEY NOT BLAMED MUST BRING BOOKS
House Committee Acquts Him Heads of Subsidiary Compa-
of Any Wrongdong. nes to Be Summoned.
McCABE is TOO DOMINANT WILL EXAMINE RECORDS
Committee Would Cua President Farrell Asserts They Are
Solicitor Not Under His Control.
POINTS NEED OF REFORMS PLEDGE BY INVESTIGATORS
Administering Pure FoodA ton Will B.
Is lie
Heads of Subsidiary Compa-
nieS to Be Summoned.
WILL EXAMINE RECORDS
President Farrell Asserts They Are
Not Under His Control.
PLEDGE BY INVESTIGATORS
Trade Secrets of the Steel CORPORA
ton Will Not Be Made Pub
lie Unnecessarily.

James j. Farrell. president OF the
, United States Steel Corporation, when
asked by the Stanley steel trust investi-
cation committee today to produce the
original cost sheets showing the actual
cost OF production I'm all kinds OF steel
manufactures. protested vigorously.
is II the purpose of the committee"
asked Mr.. Farrell. ito publish to the
world all the details of our mill cost OF
production? If II is. l think il is a gross
injustice to an industry I'm this country
that has struggled to build up a business
In competition with all other nations.
with Begun, with Germany with Rus
sia.
This sort of thing may he considered
proper for the diplomatic service Of the
government. but if II is proposed to show
to the world our absolute detailed costs
and put In the hands OF our foreign COM
petitors these secrets. our foreign busi-
ness wouldn't be worth anything within
Twelve months. We have no objection
10 the committee examining the records
10 satisfy themselves. Publication of the
costs would work irreparable injury not
only to us. but to every one Of our COM
peutors in this country as well''
Attorney Reed counsel for the cor.
poration, said the cost information had
been furnished to Herbert Knox Smith.
commissioner of corporations.
Could Not Get Information.
YES" said Chairman Stanley II
went to Mr.. Smith. who had secured
$5O0.O00 worth Of information. and found
that he had been loaned your records
and had sent them back / asked Mr..
Smith to take me into his confidence
and t1l1
what 1T cost you to produce ton OF
pig IRON. He told me he could tell no
one but the President.
Il went to see the President, and
found that he had no desire to make
| a deep and mysterious matter about
the cost OF pig iron. As matter OF
| fact, 1t turned out that Mr.. Smith never
had told him the details. The President
authorized Mr.. Smith to tell me, and
when | went back to the commissioner he
| said he didn't have the records any more
they'd been sent back to you-and that
his recollection on the subject was not ac-
curate.
"Then went back to the United States
| Steel Corporation and asked for q peep
at their records and they objected. on the
ground that It would embarrass them in
their business. Thus did TINS valuable
Information. like the Arab. disappear.
leaving no trace in the government ar
chives."
Chairman Stanley insisted that It. would
De 6SSenI al 1Or the COmmlttee IN OrOeT 10
determine the difference In cost OF pro-
duction at home and abroad, to have the
information desired
Determined to Get the Facts.
1T is most vital that this committee
get this information. continued the
chairman, .'and come what Will We will
know 1t. There is power enough in this
government to find it out
Attorney Reed asked IL the committee
would not be satisfied to let MIR. McRae.
verify them and make general report
thereon.
President Farrell added that publica-
ton of the costs would affect 1000 EN-
ployes engaged I'm the foreign sales de-
partment of the corporation. He said he
thought the members of the committee
could avail themselves Of the informa-
tion and get their conclusions without
making public the details.
1t was tentatively agreed that Expert
McRae should examine the cost sheets of
the corporation to verify figures to be
submitted by the corporation regarding
composite costs of production
Chairman Stanley told the steel rep
resentatives that it was not the COM
mittee's purpose to make public, un-
necessarily, trade secrets of the cor
poration. but that all the facts essen
tial to show the corporations stand
ing under the Sherman antitrust law
would be made public.
No Unnecessary Publicity.
There will be no unnecessary or
spiteful use of these records" he added,
That is all I can ask replied At
torney Reed.
Mr. Stanley, at the outset. announced
that the principal records desired were
the profit and loss figures of the steel
corporation from the years 1901 to 1919.
These were produced from 1902, the
chairman announcing that they could
be used as the committee saw fit with
out restriction.
During the summer recess OF CONGRESS
Mr. Stanley agreed that cost sneets OF
the corporation would he used by the
committees expert in such way as not
to make public the actual operating
costs of subsidiary companies OF. the
corporation. Since Congress mao recon,
yened and subpoena duces tecum had
issued for these records. the chairman
declared he was no longer bound oy
the restriction. -
Attorney Reed said he realized that the
subpoena duces tecum was issued TO nui5
lify the previous agreement
SPECIAL Agent McRae. Tor the. coihml
tee previously had access TO some Oh
these records under the restricted agree
ment..
PreSldent
to these records today ana was asked 70
return at some future date when ne VIII
also be interrogated about the export
business OF the corporation
He testified that since he had Deen
president of the corporation there nad
been ..occa sonal meetings OF the prea-
dents of the various companies. Dut theFe
never have been any. minutes Kept OF
those meetings.
Records of conclusions. he ADDED,
have been kept. Those meetings or the
president usually We're to discuss genera1
Questions such as blast furnace improve
ments. method of utilizing waste grease
etc"
Carnegie Company Records Wanted.
Chairman Stanley asked for minutes OF
the Carnegie Steel Company before 1t was
absorbed by the steel corporation.
i certainly know of no records in ex-
istence concerning the Carnegie Steel
Company prior to 1901" said Mr.. Far
rell.
Mr.. Stanley said the committee had
knowledge of a volume containing rec
ords of the Carnegie Company prior 10
1901. and that in the same volume were
records of the company after the absorp-
ton. -
Attorney Reed said that such early rec
oris were not the property OF the steel
and President Farrell insisted
that they were not under his control
..Mr Carnegie might have them," said
President Farrell. ~ certainly never saw