The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1912-05-21
MIGHTY IS NAME
OF ]. ?. MORGAN
Merely Suggested 4 Trade to Holders
Of stock and They Sold Out
Without n Il
Culver. .
2
STEEL TRUST ING y
Testimony Of Pool Agreements In Re
strictlns Operations and Keep
Ing up Prices Among
Members.
STEEL TRUST INC X

NEW YORK, May 21.-That ]. P.
Morgan & Co., by the sheer weight OF
its name, and prestige, was able to
go into the open market and by the
force Of suggestion, persuade holders
OF American Bridge Company stock to
exchange their holdings for stock in
the steel trust was the declaration Of
Percival Roberts, Jr., in the steel
trust dissolution suit, today.
Roberts was formerly head Of the
American Bridge Company, was d.
rector and member OF the executive
committee OF the trust from the
time his company was absorbed until
1902, when he left the company. He
came back In 1909. and is now a
member OF the finance committee and
one of the Individual defendants IN
the suit,
Roberts positively swore that there
was no pickering of officials. no con-
| ferences and no secret negotiations
when the steel trust got the bridge
| company. Morgan & Co. "circularized"
his stockholders, he said, and arrang-
ed to trade the stock, and the Morgan
/ firms prestige was so great that Its
4 statement that the trade was good
\ one was accepted by nearly all Of the
stockholders.
did you discuss your personal
! holdings in the company and arrange
Il for their transfer with Morgan & Co
! demanded Attorney Dickinson for the
4 government
II did not replied Roberts. "Ths
, first | knew of the matter was wheI
Robert Bacon, then member OF Nor
gan & Co., afterward ambassador t.
France under President Roosevelt
, called on me and told me that the
!, steel company was going to trade it:
stock for Bridge company stock. Ht
asked me to do the same with m,
!, holdings and be a director in the
! steel corporation and agreed to ds
So"
, How the big steel mills operated
their pool agreements in restrictint
operations, and keeping up prices wal
further developed by the testimon!
: of John C. Langan, Brooklyn rea
estate dealer, who stated that from
early in 1902 until 1906 he was tn.
private secretary Of w. G. Temple o
! the steam boiler manufacturing com
: pany, and other Pittsburgh steel ant
! iron companies.
: Temple, according to Langan, wa
!. the commissioner of the pools know
/. as the Structural Steel Shafting Com
!, pany and the Steel Plate Steel Shaft
! ing Association. Participants in thes,
pools, the witness swore, were th
Illinois Steel Co.. the Carnegie Stee
Co., the Phoenix Iron and Steel Co
the Pencoyd Steel Co., the A. and Z
Roberts Company, the Cambria Stee
: Company the Lackawanna Steel Co
), and Laughlin Company. Month";
y meetings of the pool members wer
held, witness said, at which tn
amount of work each mill might d
was allotted If company did NOR
: than the allotment it was fined fou
/ dollars ton, at first, and later tw
> dollars, and this was distribute
$ among the companies who had faile
to get orders enough to fill their qut
u ia.
= Would the monthly conference
agree on prices?" asked Dickinson.
"They would"
! How long would they last?"
I "Oh, sometimes until the member
!. got out of the ROOM" said the wi
ness who then proceeded to explai
2 that In many instances the pool men
i bers double-crossed each other.