The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-07-29

lzed or operating in violation of the Sher-
man law. Attorney General Knox, who
was afterward Secretary of State in
fafts administration and Attorney Gem
eral Moody, who was afterward associate
Justice of the supreme court at Washing
ton, Whose attention had at one time or
another been called To the Steel corpora
ton. never reported to President Roose-
Welt that any action snould he taken
against that corporation. Colonel Roose-
Nelt testified in January of this year that
no information had ever been given to
him by any governmental authority which
tended in the slightest degree to show that
the Steel corporation ought to be pro-
| ceeded against.
James A. Garfield, who was member
of Roosevelts administration. testified re-
Gently that he never discovered any good
reason for prosecuting the United States
Steel corporation for violating the Sher-
man law.
In the first two years of President Taft's
term it seemed to he the sentiment of the
administration that there We're no reasons,
, either official or informal, for proceeding
against the Steel corporation. Judge Gary
| had frequently informed tcth administra-
tons that if in the viep OF tive government
the Steel corporatio.. was doing anything
in violation of the Sherman law, then in
stantly measures would be taken to eradi-
cate from the Steel corporations methods
| whatever the government found fault
with. But there never was any intimation
that the government through the early
pa<t of Taft's administration looked even
with suspicion upon the Steel corporation's s
organization and methods.
A Sudden Change
Suddenly In the fall of 1911, only about
a year before the presidential election Of
/ 1912, Attorney General Wickersham filed
a complaint in the federal court in which
| II was charged that the United States
Steel corporation was organized and op-
Grated in violation of the Sherman law
The Attorney General proressed to be able
to establish by evidence such illegality as
would justify the courts in dissolving the
corporation. For nearly year the taking
| of evidence before a special examiner in
| this proceeding has been In progress.
Suddenly and almost coincdenty in
| point of time with the adjournment over
a summer recess of the hearings before
| the special examiner In the Steel appro-
priation persecution. there came testimony
upon the witness stand al Washington
which furnished several important and
| highly dramatic links in the chain which
will not be completely fabricated until the
supreme court at Washington decides
whether the Steel corporation has vio-
lated the sherman law or not OF until the
government abandons, as some think 1t
will do the prosecution of the Steel cor
poratlofi for violation of the Sherman law.
Testimony was given upon the witness
stand at Washington recently that some
time in the spring of 1911 Edward Lauter-
back of this city called upon the late J.
P Morgan to show him a copy of reso-
lution which had been prepared. as the
record apparently shows. by David Lamar,
calling for an investigation by commit
tee of the lower house of Congress into
the United States Steel corporations af-
fairs. Whatever may have been the pur-
pose in showing Mr.. Morgan this resolu-
tion, whatever suspicious he may have
had as to that purpose, nevertheless there
seems to be intimation in the record that
had Mr. Morgan acted he might have
done the resolution would have been sup
pressed and never offered upon the floor
of Congress. Certain of the executive Off
GERS of the Steel corporation were shown
this resolution 1t did not seem greatly to
interest them, although they suspected
that had certain propositions been made
by them, amicable or reasonable, the reso-
luton would never have been introduced.
The Stanley Committee
AS this resolution did not seem partcu-
larly to interest Mr.. Morgan or the Steel
people it did find it's way into the lower