Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1912-02-28

plishment of which the removal of COM
petition was the declared or inferred
object of the consolidation.
"0ther acquisitions in related lines
of business for which no explanation
has been offered and none appears ex-
cept the visible consequence, the re-
moval of such concerns from the indie
pendent field
THE requirement of a large number
of plants which never were operated
and some of them dismantled. being
removed from the competitive field"
The requirement of other plants,
such as the Clarion Steel company,
the Tennessee Coal & Iron company,
| and others. of which the report says:
'Isolatedly considered, the purpose in
acquiring independent concerns may be
entirely colorless, but when considered
in connection with the acquisition of
other Independent plants admittedly or
| inferably TO terminate competition, the
continued policy and practice of ac-
curing control of companies engaged
in its own line of business, may be cor
laboratory of the conclusion that the
intention was to prevent competition
of the concerns acquired, if not, per Sc,
indicative of such intention"
In this connection, after lengthy
analysis of the taking over of the Ten
nessee Coal & Iron company in 1907,
the report says:
TRUE INTENT UNKNOWN.
ut may not be possible to state the
true intention in acquiring the Tennes-
see company, in a way which would be
admitted by the men in control of the
steel corporation, inasmuch as it APP
lpears to many experienced men who
are also interested, that the intention
which impelled it's acquisition was
merely the desire to bring under the
control of the steel corporation the
great possibilities for competition pos
sessed by the Tennessee company
The consequence of the acquisition
should and must be held to have been
intended in legal contemplation, even
if the results so deduced conflict with
the intention declared to be in the
minds of those responsible"
The requirement of As plants, listed
in the report, including many small
bridge, wire, nail, sheet steel and 9th
er concerns, consolidated for the re.
striCtion of competition" and when
considered collectively with many sim
liar instances of absorbing and com
bining separate small plants, lead to
the conclusion that the object in view
was the restriction of competition"
INTERLOCKING OF DIRECTORS.
. The interlocking of directors of the
steel corporation and the purchase OF
stocks and bonds of other companies
and various outside transactions Of
enormous size, the report discusses al
/ length in support of the claim of pow
i er of the corporation in restraining
, competition.
/ The policy of the corporation result
j ing in enhancing the prices of raw anC
l finished material, in which the repor
I says: THE steel corporation officers
= openly declared the policy of buyinl
: all the available supply in order t.
4 keep up the price" Many quotation
5 from the minutes of meetings are givel
a in support of this.
q The control of ore by the steel col
poration, 76 per cent of competitive
ore in Minnesota, 5O0,0O0,000 tons il
the south, "in all 2,500,000,000 tons GU
e of 4,462, 100000 tons of commercial
available ore in the United States
- an ownership and control which mus
interfere with competition"
The resolution that subsidiary con
D panies of the steel corporation sha
p refuse to handle orders for export bus
e mess and that such orders must
turned over to the United States Stee
a. Products (eXport) company, throug
D. which the subsidiary companies pr
n clude themselves from competing fc
le export sales.
THE result" the report says, &C
n enforcing these resolutions and a
n ragement, is that materials for expol
h must be bought from the United State
g Steel Products company, and buyers
IS the United States who wish to bu
T. goods for export are compelled to pa
IN an additional profit to the Unite
Of Sta'es Steel Products company"