The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1912-01-11
OLD IRON MASTER
CHUCKLES OVER
SUCCESS
Carnegie Tells How He Bested
John Rockefeller
BEFORE STANLEY COMMITTEE
Tells How He Built Up Great Enter
prise and Sold It Out for
APO Millions.

Washington, d. c., Jan 1O-An-
drew Carnegie faced the Stanley
Steel Committee today for five solid
hours reciting his relations to the
iron and steel industry in America.
IT was a characteristic narrative
which the retired '1ronmaster" gave
to the committee-graphic and at
times dramatic
Throughout the ordeal which be-
came gruelling in the afternoon, Mr..
Carnegie protested to be "blissfully
| ignorant of the details of the Car
negie Steel Company. Probably the
most striking part in his testimony
was his story of how, through the
mediation of Charles NJ Schwab, he
sold the Carnegie Steel Company,
under the supervision of ]. p Morgan
& Co., for $42O, 100000 to the syndi-
cate which formed the United States
Steel Corporation.
what a fool ] was to sell out to
the Steel Corporation for only $42O,-
| 0O0,O0Oi" exclaimed Mr.. Carnegie
with mingled feelings Of emotion.
Il have since learned from the inside
that we could have received 800, 000,-
600 more from Mr. Morgan if we had
placed that value on our properties.
Throughout his testimony Mr. Car
negie played battledore and shuttle
cock with millions. tossing them off
nonchalantly until the eyes in the
throng. which crowded around the
iron master, fairly bulged in aston
ishment. The first half OF his story
was a narration OF his rise in the
iron and steel business, beginning
with his start on $500 borrowed
capital in 1868 and ending with the
monster transactions by which the
Carnegie properties passed into the
control OF the Morgan syndicate
without even a meeting between him
self and Mr.. Morgan.
His description of the development
of the Carnegie interests, their rapid
growth through the application OF the
Bessemer face-hardenlng and open
hearth processes, utilization OF natur-
al gases, construction of the Besse-
mer Road to the lakes, the acquisi-
ton of Conneaut Harbor. and launch
ing of monster steel steamers to con-
yey ore from the Lake Superior reg
ion. mainly out OF profits without any
hard search for additional capital
sounded like a fairy story from the
realm OF Vulcan.
A glimpse into some Of his rela.
lions with the Vanderbilts, Goulds,
and the pioneers in the Pennsylvania
system was given. and when he reach
ed what he regarded as his clever ac.
quisltion OF vast ore rights, under
reasonable royalty payments from
John d. Rockefeller, JOY frightened
the eyes OF the witness. and he eX-
claimed
DO you know, 1t makes my heart
feel good to feel that | was such a
man as to be able to get ahead of
John d. Rockefeller on that deal.
That is the one time | managed TO
get the best of my fellowmillionaire.
Mr. Carnegie put a damper on the
asking OF hypothetical questions at
the very start by throwing up his
hands and remarking:
"Why ask a poor innocent man to
give an answer TO ifY'
Throughout his narrative the re-
tired pioneer OF the steel industry re-
fused to enter into details of many
transactions.
u am free to confess" declared he,
that never saw the inside OF a
book Of the Carnegie Steel Company
| always left the details to my part
ners nj Pittsburgh. ! lived mostly in
New York or abroad II my twenty
1--WE partners were not able to take
care OF the details | don't see how |
could change the situation, or i'm
prove IT,
Some of the striking declarations
with which Mr. Carnegies testimony
fairly bristed were;
That the Governments suit against
the steel Corporation Numbered
and was SILLY" In It's declaration
that the book value of the Carnegie
steel Company was SS4,OOO,OOO, be
cause this did not begin to represent
the real value OF the Carnegie inter
est
That il was complete surprise
IN him TO know that the Steel Cor
poration was capitalized at si92,OO6,'
100. as alleged in the Governments
suit.
That all he and his partners re-
celved from the Morgan syndicate
for the Carnegie interests was $780,
100000.
That all that the Carnegie family,
Andrew, his slsterin.law, Mrs. Lucy
q. Carnegie and his cousin, received
Of the sl20, 100000 from the Morgan
syndicate was s213.0O0,OOO.