Omaha daily bee., 1912-05-14
STEEL TRUST Case RESUMED
Daniel G. Reid, Member Of Finance
Company, is First Witness.
HELPED ORGANIZE COMPANIES
lie Traded His Holdings In the Tin
Plate Combine for stock In the
United states steel
Corporation.

NEW YORK. May la--Danicl G. Reid.
the railroad finanoier. director In the
United States Steel corporation and n
member of Its finance committee, was
called as witness at the resumption
today OF the hearing In the government
suit to dissolve the corporation before
Commissioner Brown. Mr.. Reid is the
first defendant to appear on the witness
stand. ...r
Mr.. Reid was asked to testify concern
Ing the organization OF the National
Steel the American Tin Plate, the Ameri-
can Steel Hoop and the American Sheet
Steel companies In which Mr.. Reid. to-
sether with william H. Moore and ]. II.
Moore. were the dominant factors before
the concerns were taken into the So
called tTlish Rsid and William II. Moore
esfh became directots Of the corporation
on the absorption of their. companies
and have been 80 ever since Ths gov
srnment contends that all four com.
panies vert themselves illegal combine.
tons, Mr.. Reid gave i1is business as
Chairman OF the Rock Island and Pa.
cific' railroad" lie said he was stock.
holder OF the United states steel cor.
poration. but declined to say how much
stock he held. lie said he had exchanged
his holdings in the American Tin Plate
company for Steel corporation.
Mr.. Reid was asked 10 describe com
petiuve conditions among the constituent
companies OF the American Tin Plate
company before It's organization In isss.
Helped Organise Plate Trust.
did you take part in the organization
OF the tin plate company" asked Judge
Dickinson Of the government counsel.
"oh. yes"
with whom did you consuit?"
Judge Moore. He hsd a reputation as
an organizer"
Were your tin plate companies en-
gagged In any pools2'
Not to my knowledge"
The witness volunteered an explanation
that the tin plate makers had met every
year to fix the wage schedule OF em-
ployes, but these meetings had nothing
to do with fixing prices. Thirty-nlne
plants operating 300 mills were taken into
the tin plate company. he said. which
represented about % per cent of the tin
plate industry.
sugar suit Begins Tomorrow.
NEW YORK, May lathe long de-
ferred federal suit for the dissolution of
the American Sugar Refining company
comes TO a hearing tomorrow before VIII
son B. Brice. appointed by the circuit
court Of appeals ss special master TO
take testimony. District Attorney Wise
and Assistant District Attorney Knapp,
who represent the government In the pro-
ceedlngs TO break up the so-called Sugar
truit as a conspiracy in restrain Of trade,
are allowed sixty days for the iniroduc-
ton OF the governments testimony.
The court Of appeals. in order to ex-
pedite the case. has allowed lO5 days TO
the defense for answering testimony and
thirty days each for rebuttsL
Purpose of Combination.
Was It your intention when you or
ganized the American Tin Plato company
to monopoIize the industryr' asked At
torney Severance on cross-examination.
We figured that by combination we
could buy supplies cheaper. reduce over.
head charges and make the business more
profitable-we- didn't intend to monopo
lie" said Mr.. Red. There were a num-
Der Of mills not zen in. and at the
present time the are nearly as many
tin mills not under the control OF the
steel corporation as there are controlled
by It."
You said. Mr.. Reid. that in organlzirg
the tin plate company you had no Inten-
tion to monopolize?" queried Judge Dick
inson. did or did you not have the reg
ulation OF prices In mIndy'
Il presume We might have had II in
mind" Mr. Reid said. ..