The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-05-24
JOHN STEVENSON ENL|VENS HEARING
 OF THE STEEL SUIT
Sold Out Half a Dozen Steel Properties to Gates and
 Steel Corporation
SHOOK THE APPLE
 TREE" MANY TIMES
Amusing Incident of Baackes and Wire Nail Manufaeturers-Perin Again Testifies About the
 Tennessee Company

tennessee company | New York, May 23.--John Stevenson, 1 Sr., Scotchman and relative of Rob- ert Louis Stevenson, enlivened the hear ings in the federal suit to dissolve the United States Steel corporation today when he told in Q rich Scotch accent of the various deals by which he sold out half dozen steel properties to the Reid Moore syndicate, John w. Gates and the Steel corporation itself, each time striking profitable bar gain. All of Stevenson's former prop critics now are constituent parts of the called trust"
 Entering the employ of the Carnegie Steel company in 1875, when his fel- low Scotsman, Andrew Carnegie, was making his reputation as an iron mas ter. Stevenson in 1892 established at New Castle, Pa.. the first successful tin plate mill in this country, he said. It was capitalized at s150,00o. Ten years later, after selling out this and four other steel plants which he subsequent ly built, he started the Zion Steel com pany, merged it with the Union Steel company and then sold out to the Steel | corporations. taking for the sharon in- terest SIS, LOGO, 900 In the corporations bonds, he said. He had built the sharon steel plant he remarked. ito shake the ! apple tree again"
 Took Bonds, Not Shares
 You didn't get shares for your in- terest?" asked Ii. E colton, attorney for the government
 No, sir; bonds" said Stevenson.
 That seems to be a Scotch habit" commented R. V. Lindabury, attorney for the Steel corporation, apparently referring to the fact that Andrew Car negie had taken bonds when he sold the Carnegie Steel company to the cor poration.
 No, sir" retorted the witness. That was wisdom. I'd been getting too much common stock in other deals and there was too much gambling about that
 Stevenson told how he sold his Shen ango Valley steel plant.
 Let's sec he said There was s300,- 900 stock in the company, $175,000 bonds and the cash profits brought it up to an even million. l was lying in bed with a broken leg and my wife and children were begging me to sell 1t. l told W. E. Rice, my president, to sell. He sold it to the same old crowd that was bobbing up everywhere about that time for s350,000 in common and preferred stock of the National Steel | company"
 'Who was that crowd?" .atr "Oh, Judge Moore. Dan Reid and w. B. Leeds"
 His Shenango Valley tin plate plant he solo to the American Tin Plate company
  of common stock of the latter company, he said
 Money Was Scarce
 Could you have got cash?'
 If we had all demanded money from that crowd in those days l have my doubts if we could have got it."
 Was competition keen in those days?'
 Tt got worse and worse the longer 1 was in the business"
 It was because of there being too mary wire mills in the business, the witness said, that he surrendered his New Castle wire and nail plant to John w.. Gates, who had organized the Consolidated Steel and Wire company. In 1892 there were f6 wire plants and competition in two or three years had driven all but Il out of the business, he declared. He said there l had been meeting of wire nail manu- facturers in Cleveland, where it was | dSittu to iA piiCcS dt ei,UV d ktB. When the meeting was adjourned for lunch, Frank Baaclles went down and sold by wire 10000 kegs at $li0' said l Stevenson. "I was going down for tho same purpose and the telegraph operator handed me Baackes telegram by mistaae. | 1 stuffed it in my pocket and took It | back to the chairman of the meeting: | What shall we do with him? I said. | Kick him downstairs, said the chair man. I can't l said, he's bigger man | than 1 ann
 | This was Frank Baackes, now vice | president of the American Wire and Steel company"
 | "Yes. and very decent fellow.' | MT. Lindabury brought out from the witness statement that demoralzed con ditions in the wire and tin plate trade during the late 9Ts had directly led to the consolidation of numerous plants into the National Steel, the American Tin Plate and the American Sheet Steel com- panies, and that many Of the manufac- turers had gone to Judge Moore and asked to be taken into the combination.
 Perrin Again Testifies While the iron ores of the Birming- ham district, where the Tennessee Coal and Iron properties are situated. are of such character that pig iron can be manufactured there cheaper than | anywhere else In the United States, i yet consumption of pig iron in the south is so small that at least 50 per cent of tho production must be sent north for a market according to tes- timony given this morning by Charles Page Perrin. iron ore expert, at the re- sumption of the hearings of the suit to dissolve the United States Steel cor poration.
 This fact. said MT Perrin. detracts | from the place's natural advantages today. There are one or two indus trial plants in the south tor manu- l facturs. but majority of them have not been profitable, he said. | Perrin said the corporation had re- habilitated the Tennessee Coal and Iron company's obsolete blast furnaces. 1 He added:
 The corporation will hay, to spend a total of s20.000.000 to 25.000000 in improvements before the plant will be-