The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-01-11
ADMITS THAT
TRUST CONTROLS
Carnegie Is Cornered on Witness
Stand and Declares the Day
Of Competition is
Over.
REMEDY FOR CONDITION
His Opinion Is That Government
Regulation Of the Maximum
Price is the Only
Thing.

WASHINGTON, jan 11.-Cornered
Carnegie today admitted to the Stan
ley committee that the steel industry
is now dominated by the steel trust
and that the day of competition has
passed
The shrewd little Scotchman led the
committee merry chase. He sum
moned to his aid in his evading pro-
cess a perfect food of jests, anect- |
dotes, personal "reminiscences. all in
teresting but unimportant. With mer-
ry quips, he led the committee away
from every point the members endeav-
ored to make. 1t took cold outspok-
en- attack by Representative Gardner
to pin him down to pertinent an
swers and even after an exciting pas
sage with the representative, Carnegie
was inclined to wander further.
Representative Beall brought out
/ the important testimony:
DO you believe the day of competi-
tion is over?" asked Beall.
"Yes / do Carnegie finally an
il swered.
why has competition ceased?'
) Because the corporation represent
!, latives have been able to sit down and
agree to fix prices and maintain them.
: This is obvious
) How can this condition be remed-
!, lied9v
Here again carnegie endeavored to
! wander. Finally he declared that the
!. government should regulate maximum
prices.
: "That system" he said, "has been
. successful with the railroads and
+ would be successful with the big cor
porations."
And again the ironmaster insisted
on meandering afeld. He could not be
! headed off from reading a lengthy
5 statement The committee and spec
Z tators listened as he read, slowly and
t carefully. The statement pleaded
most eloquently for unity in the en-.
forcement of the law against past of.
tenders of the antitrust law and
] Chairman Stanley took him up.
S Don't you believe that it is about
. time that the punitive arm of the law
e should be invoked and the man who
4 violates natural competition should
i be seized by the strong hand of the
f law and incarcerated Should he not
g be held up as an example, as warn
ing to his fellow millionaires that
they may no longer be Indifferent &c
the law? Is it not time that we de
cided that ignorance of the law is
no excuse?"
q THAT is a good legal view an.
9 swered Carnegie "but think that
morally that mans conscience is
clear who can say: 4 did no wrong
knowingly
Carnegie pleaded for clemency fol-
the ignorant manufacturers Sever
al times he was cornered, but always
r. a jest or philosophical sally saved his
it face He declared that no considera
ton had been given to the Sherman
A. law from 1890 on until he left the
steel business.
o. "Out of all this trouble" Carnegi,
10 volunteered, "a new condition viii
t. rise There will be a new era ii
which all classes, capital and labo
i will be satisfied.
Beall wanted to know if Carnegi
n did not think it strange that so man
Of manufacturers in the nineties wer
lie Ignorant of the law and the iror
III master said No
". Don't you think that if the crimir
20 al clause Of the Sherman law had bee
g. enforced early in its history. som
es philanthropist would have opened
night school to teach millionaires tha
rn law" Beall persisted.
es That's rather violent suggestion,
en- replied Carnegie. You might hav
suggested Sunday school"
ir.