The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1914-10-21
FIGHT FOR DISSOLUTION
OF STEEL CORPORATION.
Final Arguments in Titanic Legal
Struggle Begun Before United
States District Court.
ANDREW CARNEGIE ARRA1GNED
'lron Master" Called One of "Active
Conspirators" in Bringing About
Great Combination, Which Is
Under Fire of Government.

Under Fire of Government.
PHILADELPHIA, October 20.-Final
argument in the government suit to
dissolve the United States Steel Cor
poration, tho greatest combination OF
capital in the world, OH the ground
shat IL was created in violation of the |
Sherman antitrust law, was begun here
to-day before four United States ely
cult judges sitting :.s the United Ste,es
Court for the District of New Jersey,
III which Jurisdiction the proceedings
were instituted. 1t was agreed THAI
the entire week should be devoted to
the arguments. j. NJ. Dickinson, former
Secretary OF War. who has had charge
of the case for the government since
Its Inception, opened the argument.
Harry Il. Cotton, special assistant to
the Attorney General. also will speak
Ter the government.
After stating the law in the case
and citing decisions in the tobacco
Standard Oil, Northern Securities and
Harvester cases, Mr. Dickinson plunged
into discussion of the formation of
the Steel Corporation, beginning with
the welding together of certain sub
salaries prior to the Incorporation in
1901 of the big concern. Taking up
the merger of various companies into
subsidiaries of the United States Steel
Corporation, Mr.. Dickinson instanced
numerous cases of what he alleged to
be vicious practices in suppressing COM
petition, not only in the manufacture
OF iron and steel. but also in the wire
and tin plate industries.
MERGER OF FIVE GREAT
INDUSTRIES Is DISCUSSED
~
of the five great Industrial and iinan-
cial interests. These included the Nor
gan interests, consisting OF the Fed
cral Steel National Tube and American
Bridge companies; Carnegie interests
consisting of properties controlled by
the Carnegie Company of New Jersey;
Moore Interests, consisting of the Ma
tional steel, American Tin Plate, Amer
lean Steel Hoop amt American Sheet
Steel companies; the Gates interests,
consisting of the American Steel and
Wire Company, of New Jersey, and the
Rockefeller interests, consisting OF the
Consolidated Iron mines. Mr.. Dickin-
son enumerated the directors in each
OF the companies to show how the vari-
Gus interests were intorlocked. The
government declared that Andrew Car
nege was one Of the active corspira-
tors" In bringing about the combina-
ton and took his bonds secured by
the merged properties with full knowl-
edge of the essential features of the
conspiracy.
Mr.. Dickinson, in concluding his ar
Eument on the capitalization of the
Steel Corporation, said the combine
lion of capital exceeded in magnitude
and strength anything ever attempted
III the history of the world. There are
only four Suites IN the Union whose
individual assessed valuations of prop
erty in 1900 exceeded the Steel Corpor-
n nf mn 4 l,D,,
4cO,O0o,000. These States arc New York,
Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts
The corporations Capitalization cX-
cccded the combined assessed ratablcs
or South Dakota, North Dakota, South
Carolina, New Hampshire, Oklahoma
Utah. Florida, Vermont, Wyoming,
Idaho, New Mexico. Arizona, Delaware
and Nevada.
ASKS THAT CORPORATION
BE BROklaN INTO UNITS
The government asks that the cor
poration he broken up into the numer-
Gus companies that had been merged
Illegally. the government alleges. into
the gigantic concern. The court is
asked to divide under wholly indepcnd-
cnt owncrships the following compa-
MES controlled by the Steel Corpora
ton:
The Carnegie Steel Company, of New
Jersey; National Steel Company, Ame.i-
Sheet and Tin Plate Company, Ameri-
can Tin Plate Company. American Sheet
Steel Company, Federal Steel Company,
American Steel and Wire Company, Ma
tional Tube Company, Shelby Steel
Tube Company and the American
Bridge Company.
The court Is also asked to make in
dependent the Duluth and Iron Range
Railroad Company. the Duluth. Missabc
and Northern Railroad Company, the
Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Com.
pany. Union Steel Company, and the
Clarion Steel Company, and ore and
coal properties of the United States
steel Corporation, other than those of
the Tennessee company, be divided
among the Clarion. Union and new
concerns to DO created in proportion 10
their capacity for the production of
steel.
The court is further asked to decree
that Andrew Carnegie was Il party to
the unlawful combination of properties
through the United States Steel Cor
poration FINALLY, the court is asked
TO appoint receiver to take over
all of the properties owned or con-
trolled by the United States Steel
Corporation and it's subsidiaries for the
purpose of making effective the decree
of the court; that the receiver recover
from the syndicate subscribers and pro-
motors anu others who were parties to
difference between the par value of the
stock received by them, and the cash
value of the properties of the stock
received by them and the cash value
of the properties or the services given
therefor, so that restitution, so far as
possible. may be made to the other
stoCkh olders
The brief filed by the United States
steel Corporation reviewing the law
which the government applies TO
the case. and also reviewing the
evidence, declares that what com
petition existed among the com
panicS required by the big cor.
poration was greatly limited. 1t Is
declared that the steel Corporations
proportion of the country's total pro-
duction OF finished products in 1901.
when the corporation was formed was
1nh,l,