The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-01-10
PANICS CAUSED BY DlSGRACEFUL BANKING SYSTEM
So Declares Andrew Carne- gie in 'Testifying Before
 Steel Probe Committee
 Then Witness Says He Could Have Built Plant Knocking Out All Com petition in Steel Business
Especial from United Press.)


 Washington, Jan. 1o-The little father of the steel business''-Andrew Carnegie-waggled his stragglins white beard and discoursed on busi- ness economies and philosophy be. fore the Stanley Steel Investigating Committee. today. Among a myriad of other things, the iron master att tackled the. financial system of the country and endorsed the Aldrich ''When panics happen in this coun. try he said. with flashing eyes and bristling beard, rthey are due to our banking system which Is a. disgrace to civilization. Panics are all wrong. If Congress passes the bill now be- fore it way will be made for pre-
 Full of vigor and energy, the iron master faced the nine Representatives and throughout his investigation am swered. back smartly to their ques- cuss anything of which, he was not perfectly. certain and. several tinee during the examination, reproached Chairman Stanley for asking ques- tions which called. for the use of judg- ment or opinion. In this way, he eyaded several points, Declaring he had left a great part of his business to his partners, and knew, nothing of many transactions. After reviewing his early connections with the steel plants were closed when he sold out to the steel trust
 Why" he answered. pounding the r, taDis t osfers s h,,s,n him. M , had remained plant at Connaught. o.. that would have astonished the world and would have absolutely crushed out all corns petition in the steel business Back in the early days of, what wit nessss before the committee have termed ''ruinous competition" Car negie was known as the most ener- Setic figure in the iron and steel trade. The late John w. Gates, testi- flying before the committee, decrered men forced the steel, trust to pur- chas~e his holdings for nearly $780, ! 900, ,00o more than the figure at which he had previously offered them for
 When the diminutive, energetic fig ure appeared, the commission room was crowded For the first time since the investigation began. a. sprinklinc of women appeared among the spec tators- Carnegie looked schipper and smart in his frock coat He took his sent smilingly and drew from an fn- side pocket a voluminous packet of papers and documents which he threw on the table before him.. Under the fringey tuft Of his white beard, a stringy black tie straggIed over his white shirt front His bright little grey eyes flashed here and there bowed glasses set low on his aquiiine nose.
 When did you enter the iron and steel business?@ was Stanley.s opening question. and Carnegie settled him self in his chair, arranged his papers and began to talk.
 t'In November. 1861" ,"she said. .'I began as a partner of Mir. Miller and we built an iron mill in Pittsburgh. Tn 1Se2. we went into the Keystone bridge works. I found an engineer on the Pennsylvania Railroad who had built an iron bridge. I saw at once that the day of wooden bridges had passed and, with two or three partners, I stsrted the manufacture of bridge iron.
 -.I borrowed s1,50o from the Third National Bank, of Pittsburgh, to put in my share of the capital That was my first start"