The Washington herald., 1913-01-24
|COREY REVEALS
MORE SECRETS
He Tells Of Clashes with Judge
Gary, Ending in His
Freezing Out.
HAD DIVERGENT VIEWS
Millionaire Proves Good Witness for
Government, Detailing Price
Manipulating Methods.

New York. Jan. 23.-Intimate revela-
tions of clashes that led to the freezing
out Of William Ellis Corey from the
United States Steel Corporation in 1910
| were given by MIR. Corey at to-day's
hearing before Referee Brown In the
governments suit to dissolve the Steel
Trust as a monopoly.
For the first time Mr.. Corey disclosed
| what Wall Street had always believed
to be the fsct-that he and Judge +. II.
Gary, who displaced him as president
OF the steel corporation, had seriously
divergent views as to vital phases OF the
giant concerns management.
From. Mr.. Corey the government IN
quisitors learned that he opposed Judge
Gary's scheme to form a pool OF manu-
facturers of plate and structural steel
pool that was so broadly comprehen-
sive as to involve nearly all of the steel
manufacturers of the country
Mr.. Corey assured Special ATTORNEY
General Jacob NJ. Dickinson. who led
him through a maze of deals put through
by the Steel Trust, that he had objected
for himself to the corporation trying
to run<the steel industry by fixing prices
by agreement and ladling our territory.
PowerIess to Resist Gary.
The former head of the Steel Trust as
sumed the attitude. before the govern
ment's probers. that he was powerless to
resist the opposing influences in the steer
Trust directorate. led by Judge Gary.
Through Mr.. Corey the fact was fur
ther established that, at the famous
Gary dinner. given by the steel magnate
at the Waldorf-Astoria In DECEMBER
1905, the framework was laid for gen.
eraI understanding among the steel men
Of the country to regulate prices ana
thus control the market against the IN
dependents In pursuit Of this agree
ment, later on. the Steel Trust, II was
disclosed through Mr.. Corey's cNidence'
did actually dominate the field. making
prices as II saw mt.
Evidently smarting under the abrupt
manner in which he was catapulted out
of the Steel Trust in 1870 Corey seemed
to be a willing enough witness, even
though his evidence may go long way
toward accomplishing what the govern
ment is after-the breaking up OF the
Steel Corporation.
Since leaving the Steel Corporation, Mr..
Corey has retired from Wall street ana
has disposed of nearly all, IL not his en-
tire. holdings in the trust. lie Is not a
defendant in the suit brought by the gov
ernment for on parting from the Steel
Trust he relinquished all official relation
with it.
Tells of Forming Pool.
clash between himself and Judge Gary
when he was asked by Mr.. Dickinson TO
tell about the formation of a pool TO fix
prices in pig iron. From what Mr.. Dick
inson was able to draw out-for Mr.
Corey carefully weighed his words and
talked slowly-it appeared that the
United States Steel Corporation entered
into a deal with the Bessemer Pig Iron
Association composed of rival concerns,
back in 1906, to work under an amicable
schedule in selling to the field.
My recollection is that nothing pracu-
cal was accomplished in the long run, so
far as that understanding with the pig
iron manufacturers went, because not all
OF US wanted to restrict the field in that
way" vcntured Mr.. Corey.
He followed this up by observing that
Judge Gary favored this scheme. even il
others opposed it.
Mr. Dickinson delvcd into the forma-
ton of pool OF plate and structural
steel manufacturers, through which 50 per
cent of the production OF the country was
controlled. In this agreement were the
Cambria. Pa; Lackawanna, Jones, and
LaughIin companies and smaller ones.