Twice-a-week plain dealer. (Cresco, Howard County, Iowa) 1895-1913, 1912-02-16
MUCH WISDOM IN
HILLS TESTIMONY
WELLS PRoeERs GOVERNMENT
WOULD DO WELL TO GOVERN
CAREFULLY.
q.N. Is NOT LOSING SLEEP
Over Cancellation Of Ore Lease
Would Rather BE "First Class
Angel" Than Own Steel
Plant.

spent the entire day on the stand be
fore the Stanley steel committee ane
repeated on several occasions that he
could not see any reason whatever 70,
the steel corporations notice of abro
cation Of its lease of the Hill ore
lands in the Mesaba range. except that
they were scared to death"
II know of one representative of
the corporation" said Mr.. Hill, who
declared that If an offer Of $500. OOO,-
600 was made for the lease he would
vote against It, The supply Of iron
ore is constantly decreasing and for
that reason, the Steel corporation s
lease was becoming more and more
valuable when it gave notice of abro-
CATION"
Mr.. Hill said that his properties still
contained, according to the latest est-
mate, approximately 40O.000,OOO TONS
and that the part leased by the steel
corporation should afford them sup
ply for the next 18 to % years if the
lease had remained In effect. He said
the corporation, in making the lease,
was permitted to choose the territory
1t desired, and that they took SO 900
acres, which probably comprises most
of the ore bearing area of the entire
Hill holdings.
Committeeman Young called Mr..
Hills attention to the fact that Com.
missioner Herbert Knox Smith, of the
bureau of corporations, in his recent
report on the steel situation, alleged
that the properties and leases of the
Steel corporation in Minnesota at the
time Of organization were not worth
over $100,O00,000 and that any subse.
quent increase in valuation was
caused by monopolization of the iron
ore deposits. He asked Mr.. Hill if he
agreed with that.
Does Not Credit Report.
Il do not attach any Importance to
Mr.. Smiths monopolistic view of the
question. Placing myself in the posi-.
ton of the head of the steel corpora
ton should have felt derelict in my
duty if l took no steps to assure a
supply Of iron ore for the immense
steel plants of the corporation for
many years in the future
The witness added that he was not
now wearing Grape because the lease
had been cancelled.
Mr.. Hill expressed some very indie
pendent views regarding large cor
porations, when asked whether he
agreed with Judge Gary and others
that the time was imminent when the
government must regulate prices, Mr..
Hill replied:
The age of competition has not
passed. 1t will not pass until you
eliminate the selfish motives that
move men. If the federal government
should undertake the sort of regula-
ton that you suggest, there would
soon be no federal government"
you think that such government
would not be like a republic?" was
asked.
1T would be a monarchy" returned
Mr.. Hill.
Mr.. Hill told the probers that "he
would be first-class angel with red
and white wings" before he would go
In the steel business He said the
stockholders Of the Great Northern
railroad were mot wearing any
Grape" because the u. S. Steel cor.
poration in its fight" had cancelled
the Great Northern Ore lease.
MIR. Hill told the committee he
paid little attention to speculation and
did not think men who made specula.
tive prices in Wall street knew much
about actual conditions in mines 1900
miles away He predicted taking is.
sue with Commissioner of Corpora.
tons Herbert Knox Smith, that the
ores in the Hill lease held by the
steel corporation as worth 81 a ton,
would soon be worth $3.50 to 50 roy.
atty a ton. He also predicted that be.
fore many years pig iron could be laid
down in Brooklyn from China for SIT
ton.
Mr.. Hill aroused some interest when
he said Frederick Weyerhaeuser, the
lumberman, had refused to pay $75,.
COO for the fee to the Wright and
Davis lands, which he afterwards
bought as the major portion of the
land leased to the steel corporation
and containing iron ore estimated at
lo0.O00.000 tons.
Mr.. Hill said he thought it was very
important for the steel corporation to
get control of all the ore it could