Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1914-10-26

LEASE GIVEN STEEL TRUST
CANCELLED BY AGREEMENT
Uniform Price Of Products Basis Of Ar
sument of Counsel For Government
Practice Admittedly Discontinued
Since Filing Of Government Action
Three Years Ago.

Philadelphia, Oct. 26.-Further argu
ment designed to show why the United
Steel Corporation should be disin
tegrated on the ground that it is an
unlawful trust as charged by the gov
ernment, was made in the United
States district court here today.
Henry e. Cotton, special assistant to
the attorney general In the govern
ment's dissolution suit against the big
steel concern and it's subsidiaries, was
the first speaker. 1t Is expected argu-
ments will not come to an end until
late tomorrow.
Mr.. Cotton reverted to the alleged
maintenance of prices for steel prod
ucts for long periods after the forma-
ton Of the corporation. The govern
ment charges tina; the uniform prices
maintained was one OF the results of
the Gary dinners in New York. which
We're attended by the iron and steel
manufacturers Of the United States.
Mr.. Cotton argued that the witnesses
the government had called and the
documents 1t had presented in evi-
dence clearly proved that the steel
corporation took the lead in having the
independents going along with it in
keeping up prices. AS to the argument
of the corporation that the prices have
not been uniform the last few years. Mr..
Cotton said he did not contend that the
prices had been uniform since the gov
ernment filed the suit three years ago.
In judging the case, Mr.. Cotton told
the court it should not consider the
prices brought about by government
action in comparison with the alleged
excessive prices that existed before the
department of justice and congress
opened their attacks on the corporation.
Land Lease Virtually Cancelled.
Counsel for the government an
nounced TO the United States district
court today that the action against the
Great Northern ore interests SO far as
involved In the dissolution suit against
the United Steel Corporation, amounts
only to a question of costs in the
present suit.
Henry e. Cotton, special assistant to
the attorney general. in arguing on
the ore resources of the steel corpora
ton, told the court that the lease of
ore lands, by eighteen companies
owned by the Great Northern interests,
to the steel corporation, had been
superseded by another agreement
which virtually cancelled the lease.
The court wanted to know how it
could cancel lease that was no longer
in operation. Mr.. Cotton replied that
the question was now merely one OF
proportion of the costs of the suit to
be assessed against the Great North
ern.
Competitors Barred From Field,
The government in its original petit
ton charged that the lease of immense
ore properties by the Great Northern
monopolistic power in preventing COM
petitors from obtaining supplies and
the court asked TO cancel the lease.
About the time the suit was begun the
lease was cancelled, to take effect In
January. 1915, and subsequent to the
cancellation another agreement was
entered into which made the original
lease practically imperative at once
In addition to the eighteen ore COM
paniee, Louis W. Hill. James NJ. Hill.
Walter j. Hill, Edward T. Nichols and
]. H. Gruber are named as defendants
in the suit as trustees of the eighteen
companies.
Counsel for the Great Northern will
be heard later in opposition to the gov
ernments attempt to have the court
er a decree assessing costs against
the ore companies on the ground that
such decree, aside from any question
of money, would be an asperation of
crime and would brand the defendant
as violators of the law.