New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-10
STEEL SUIT REVEALS
WIRE POOL SECRETS
vice.President of American Steel
and Wire Admits Ordering
Papers Burned.
DISAGREES WITH CRAGlN
aIeo Contradicts Whitney Rela-
tive to Responsibility for Order
Denies Gary or Farrell
Were Members of Pool.

or,can Steel ana Wire Company, and
cno~ge 4. Cragin, assistant general SAFES
.,,t for that company. took the witness
- YESTERDAY at the hearing In the gov
.,ert suit for the dissolution Of the
.a, trust and told their stories of the
,,,oreation between them and Henry \.
v,bitnev outside the grand jury room IN
the Federal Buildirg.
while Mr.. Cragin simply insisted that t
,.os he, and not Mr.. Baackes who had
.i,or the order to Mr.. Whitney to destroy
,be steel wire pool papers, Mr.. Baackes
,.id he mad always assumed full response
t,,,, for the destruction, and that he had
oDenIy stated on several occasions that he
I'd issued the orders TO nave the papers
burned. but that il was Mr.. Cragin. and
80, Mr.. Whitney. 10 whom he personally
gave the Instructions.
The talk with Mr.. Whitney in the Fed
sra1 Building had the sole purpose Of help
,,g the government 10 get the full truth,
Mr. Raackes intimated, and he explained
that there was no attempt made TO change
Mr. Whitney's testimony. except to aid him
!, the recollection Of technical detail.
III was I who had the trunk containing
tho papers sent 20 Worcester. and l told
Mr. Crarin 10 have the papers destroyed"
said Mr.. BaaCkos The responsibility was
IN mine.
Through Nj. BaackeS the government
counsel brought ont the fact that most of
The papers pertaining to the various Jack
son pools. of which the American Steel and
Wire Company was a member were Do"
,troved IN the summer of 1909. almost two
years before the government began the in
NVb oh IL, no M e. m
Of eighty-two men on June %. 1911
. Gave Orders to Burn Papers,
when the pools were dissolved. in the
earlier part Of 1909. Mr. Baackec said. T.
T. Jackson. the supervisor. sen. for the
minutes Of the various pools, and that sug-
gested the idea 10 Mr.. Baackes that he
should not retain any OF the papers either
Thereupon he issued orders to have all
the papers destroyed. The trUnkful OF
papers which caused so much trouble was
overlooked at Worcester. and came 10
light when Henry \. Wise. United States
Attorney. issued suhppnas for all the pool
papers. in March, 1911.
During the examination Of NJ. Cragin
another clash occurred between Richard
" Lindabury OF counsel for the Steel
Corporation, and Jacob NJ Dickinson. who
represents the government Mr.. Dickinson
again tried to establish through a witness
that James A. Farrell, now president OF the
steel Corporation, knew Of the existence of
the pools at the time ne was in charge Of
the United States Steel Products Company
tho export branch of the trust.
Did you not tell Mr.. Cotton and L. r.
Clarke. in February. 1912 in tn Federal
Building. that on one or more occasions
YOU had told Mr. Farrell about tie exist
ence Of these wire pools " asked Mr.. Dick
inson,
want to protest against the practice ~
"a Hing man before the grand Jury and
then cross-examining him IN a trial months
later about evidence he gave before the
grand fury" said Mr. Lindaourv. That
Is somewhat worse than the old Spanish
inouisition. 1t is practice that has never
been recognized by any court in this coun-
Try"
But Mr. Dickinson persisted, and MI.
Cragin said he not only did not remember
snv such conversation. hut also asserted
that he did not know /. r. Clarke
Mr. Baackes did not get his inning until
IN the afternoon session. He said that as
dce-president he was also general sales
agent Of the American Steel and Wire
Company. The competition between the
various wire producing companies was
keen before the formation Of the pools but
his company made money, said Mr..
Baackes
Then why did YOU organize the pooly'
he was asked by Henry r. Cotton, assist
ant counsel for the government.
To make more money" was the casual
answer
He also said that neither Ebert H. Gary
nor James A. Farrell ever was a member
Of any pool on had any knowledge OF its
existence. at least as far as he was aware.
Admits Wire Trust Plan.
Questions as 70 what happened a, a num-
her Of conferences Mr.. Baackes had with
Judge Gary John w Gates and other we'll
known steel men concerning the consolida-
ton Of an wire producers Of the country
into one corporation, brought in each in
stance an answer from Mr.. Baackes that
there had been such a meeting, but that he
could not remember what was said.
On crosS-examination Mr.. Baackcs said
that he had nothing to do with the fOrma-
upn OF any OF the pools, ana tHdl ne never
Informed any Of the officials Of the Steel
Corporation that he was a party 10 the
pools
They reason for the withdrawal Of the
An3icsn Steel and Wire Company from
the pools was given by Mr.. Baackes as fol-
lows:
Charles NcVeaeh. solicitor OF the steel
corporation. ordered me to get out in 1893.
he called me 70 his office and asked me
whether 1 was a member in any pools.
told him ! was / told him also that Mr..
Jackson had informed me that the pools
we've legal. So Mr.. McVcagh sent for Jack
ron and they had a long cor. -. At
Tie end Of this conference / ,,aa .,.. %
get out Of the pools"
Mr.. Baackes said that prices were never
h&ed At the iunCheOns that followed the
breaking UP Of the pools. Trade matters
were talked over and ideas exchanged he
sad. and though some member of the party
would say at what price he was going TO
'eb no agreements on prices were made.