The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1913-05-22
SCHWAB RETELLS
STEEL TRUST TALE
Is Witness in Dissolution Suit Of
Combine.
TREATS RIVAL WITH FAIRNESS
Declares }. p. Morgan Had No inten-
tion Of Creating Monopoly, His
Idea In Forming Corporation
Was Economy.

New York, May 20.-Charles M.
Schwab repeated for the third time
before public tribunal the story O.
the formation OF the steel trust. Of
which he was the first president He
was a witness in the hearings being
conducted here in the governments
dissolution suit of the giant combina
ton His examination was conducted
by former Judge Jacob M. Dickinson,
chief counsel ior the government.
Mr.. Schwab now at the head OF tho
Bethlehem Steel company, the trusts
chief competitor, treated his giant
rival with eminent fairness In his
statements.
What was the policy Of the United
States Steel corporation towards its
competitors" asked Richard " I1inde-
bury. the trusts leading counsel.
Says Were Not Cut.
1T was always the endeavor not to
hurt. stife or destroy any conpeti-
tors" replied Mr.. Schwab. Il always
caused the prices for our goods to bs
published and we stuck to these
prices. II some instances very large
customers may have been given lower
prices but as rule there was no
deviation from our published price
lists"
WAS there ever a secret price?"
No; never heard of secret price
being maintained as against the pub
lished price by the steel corporation"
"Pools were entered into in the old
days?"
Yes, when | was president of the
Carnegie company we went after the
business and we got 1t the best way
we could" replied Mr.. Schwab.
Mr. Schwab said he had recently
sold goods to the steel corporation
and they had resold them at a price
lower than the Bethlehem company
would have sold them. He explained
that the corporation endeavored to
maintain standard prices and abstain
from exacting premiums.
No Plants DismantIed.
Mr.. Schwab said that no plants had
ever been dismantled by the corpora
turing the same products in the same
district or were obsolete.
To show that the corporation could
not have a monopoly OF ore Mr..
Schwab described ore bodies in vari-
Gus parts of the world which he de-
cided were available to manufactur-
ers in this country.
Mr.. Schwab said he had never
heard of the existence of foreign
rail pool or any agreements with for
eign manufacturers to divide neutral
territory or to keep out Of each others
territories.
interested J. p. Morgan.
Mr.. Schwab told of a conversation
he had with j. P. Morgan following
dinner at the University club in 1899.
his conversation led to the formation
of the steel trust. Mr.. Morgan was
interested in the steel business at the
time for two years before he had or
ganized the Federal Steel company.
II pointed out to Mr.. Morgan" said
the witness, "the great economic and
business advantage Of an even larger
and more completely integrated organ
ization.
Il also pointed out to him. he said,
that the steel business had been NOM
inal in regard to export business and
that half dozen individual companies
manufacturing one or two lines of
products could not do an export bust
ness because they could not individ-
ually maintain the facilities in foreign
countries. | told him that only by
combination of these companies could
the export business be made profit
able. Probably more than anything
else I impressed upon him the advan-
tages of combining for the sake Of es-
tablshing an export trade"
Following this conversation he saw
Mr.. Carnegie and laid the plan be-
fore him and secured some figures
which we're used as a basis for the
purchase Of the Carnegie concern by
Morgan.
All the economies which he had de-
tailed to Mr.. Morgan we're put into ef-
feet, the witness continued, and the
export business was Immediately de-
veloped.