The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-09

Ahniston subscribed $4,000 for ,ts ~,
turn mere next year. The guards win
asaih manage the attraction.
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tion. Serious and sincere argument bau
oiteh peen made in favor of tbe nrono0
aitiof that an industry of This kind ha
iio business with the ownership af rail-
roads and steamboats,.
Upon this allegation some jmportant
testlmony was offered by Judge cary
"no ADMITTED that the corporation he
ali. ai'.e ,he owner of two important ore
railroads of Minnesota. When asked WIN,
IL was deemed expedient to buy these
roads and how they were operated .Judee
GARY answered the latter part of tao
question hrSt He testified that these
railroads have been operated as common
carriers. For that reason they have al
ways been accessible to and have been
constantly employed for transporta ton
purposes by independent commences
These Independent companies have haen
served, according to Judge Gary. in every
respect exactly as the corporation itself
mas oeen served by these railroads. The
ihtinatlon, OF course, is that as common
carriers the management of that kind wa s
imperative.
Inc economic reason for the owners. in
Oh these railroads, Judge Gary stated with
| NiSe'i iiN7S, tti tdiuly very DlduSlDlN.
III Will remain for the government TO
snow If 1t can, that Judge Garys tes-
tlmony Is specious. The CORPORATION
bought and operated these railroads be-
cause first the railroads permit contin-
uous operation and that is necessary /
lhere is to be economical use of ore
second, the railroads are Of vital impor-
lance II the best use of the ore, that is
to say, the separation and distribution
oil the various kinds ohor
grades of ore is to be secured 1t is to
the highest economic. advantage that the
ownership of the railroads shall be sub
stantially the Same as the control of the
furnaces. This means that the railroads
must be kept In the highest operating
condition all the time. Judge Gary said
that unless railroads of this kind were
owned by company which possessed
sufficient resources to keep it at all times
in practically perfect condition the rail-
road s economic value to the manufacture
ing company would be greatly diminished
Judge Gary Furthermore stated that a
manufacturing business as great as that
of the corporation is certain to find at
times that it cannot get the very best
service if it relies upon the service of
railroad which is owned outside of
the company. Even as highly efficient
management as that of the PENNSYLVANIA
railroad could not always give as salts
factory service for the transportation of
products entire into the. corporation's s
mills as could be given by railroads
owned by the corporation. Sometimes it
has been necessary to close down the
furnaces or coke works because of the
inability of the Independent railroads to
furnish satisfactory facilities of all kinds
Judge Gary testified Furthermore that he
had never heard any complaint made by
any shipper of the freight rates charged
by the corporation to independents until
there came an intimation at the time
of the Stanley committee investigation
that the rates were too high and the
profits too large.
the Owenrship of Ores
Another of the crticising allegations
directed against the corporation was
based upon it's ownership of large ore
fields in the northwest. The intimation
was plain that this was almost monopo-
istic ownership and that for this reason
many of the independent companies were
really at the mercy of the corporation.
Undoubtedly this issue will be emphat-
ically brought to the attention of the SUI
preme court. If it is, 1t will be necessary
to break down the testimony of Judge
Gary, In which he stated that there were
very large bodies of owned by inde-
pendent companies at the time of the Or
of the independents possessed a supply
of ore sufficient for hundreds of years
The independent company of which
Charles NJ. Schwab is president possesses
much greater supply of ore than does
the corporation. Almost all of the inde-
pendent companies, Judge Gary testi-
fed, possessed larger supply of ore than
did the corporation itself at the time the
suit was brought. If this testimony
OF nd naa chad II r,
justify the position taken by the Steel
corporation that it's ownership of ore
properties is in no sense monopolistic.
The Common Law
The offering of an opinion given by the
late Senator George F. Hoar shortly after
the passage of the Sherman act Is one
of the surprises of this hearing. Senator
Hoar in his autobiography practically as
serts that ne. with Senator Edmunds.
had a large part In the drafting of the
sherman act. He also intimates, in his
booa as he often did in informal con-
versation, that the object of the Sherman
act was simply to apply by federal stat
utes the principles of the common law
with respect to monopolies and restraint
of trade.
But it was not generally known until
Judge Gary offered in evidence the writ
ten opinion of Senator Hoar, given short
ly after the passage of the Sherman act.
that the senator had professionally stated
as lawyer whose legal opinion was
sought that the sole object of the statute
was to extend the common law into in
.erstate and international commerce.
The fundamental principle of the COM
mon law, Senator Hoar stated, upon which
his statute was founded was the for
bidding of certain contracts which were