The Washington herald., 1914-03-03
MILLIONS paid,
| DECLARES WOLF
Lamar Wants Steel Corpora
ton Forced to Give Back
$75,0OO,OO0.
TELs STORY ON STAND
Appears Before Interstate, Commerce
Commissioner Harlan and Charges
Unlawful Rebating.
TELs STORY ON STAND

Declaring that the United States Steel
Corporation during the last six years had
received S5.Ooo.ooo in unlawful re-
lines. David Lamar. the wolf of Wall
Street." testified yesterday at a hearing
before Commissioner Harlan. OF the In
terstate Commerce Commission. The
hearing was in compliance with the reso-
luton passed By the Senate.
Lamar described the history of the
steel corporation. saying that prior to
1895 there were l,e0o independent COM
panies. but by 1900 they had been consoli-
dated into nine corporations In 1901. J.
Pierpont Morgan and others. consoli-
dated these nine concerns into the United
States Steel Corporation. he said.
by this consolidation" continued La
mar. 'the corporation came into posses
sion of stock Of the nine different COM
psnies and some OF them In return sc-
quiTed n controlling interest in certain
railroad and steamship companies"
Lamar named the Duluth, Mesaba and
Northern; Duluth Iron Range; Pitts
burgh, Bessemer and Lake Erie; Elgin,
Joliet and Eastern: Pittsburgh Steam
ship Company; Bessemer Steamship
Company. and Pittsburgh and Conneaut
Dock Company. as the railroad corpora
tions. a controlling interest in which was
held by the steel corporation.
Plan to Control Roads.
The purpose of having the control
ing interest in these companies" con-
tinued Lamor. was to exercise q voting
control and so name the presidents, gen.
eral managers, and others who would
be obedient to the gentlemen who form
ed the United States Steel Corporation.
These men were to see to It that the
steel corporation received its proper re-
turn. This purpose has been carried out
and one Of the principal devices has been
TO raise rates and at the same time
jump the capital stock. Rates over these
railroads. particularly the Duluth Iron
Range Company and the Duluth, Mesaba
and Northern. were abnormally high.
However. they correspond to rates exc
isting on other roads but this is due to
the fact that the capital stock of both
carriers has been inflated greatly. On
the original investment these roads pay
from 200 TO 2+0 per cent per annum be-
side placing hundreds Of thousasds of
dollars in improvements and surplus
Lamar declared that in this way the
steel corporation received directly from
these subsidiaries in dividends an aggre-
gate during the last six years Of $4,000
oo Lamar asserted this was a form OF
legal rebatinG and preferences that
we're prohibited by the interstate COM |
nerce law.
Publisher Tell. story.
W. II. Green. a publisher. OF Creighton, |
Nebr.. told of the manner in which the |
acts in this case had been placed be- |
ore the Senate after conferences between |
ocal lawyers, attorneys for the Anti |
Trust League and Senator Norris, OF
Nebraska He said it had been impossi-
lie to see the President in reference to /
he matter. He then asked Commissioner
Harlan to hear Lamar.
Lamar stated that he had other wit
lesses. but wanted to confer with the
privately before putting
hem on the stand.
As Attorney C. A. Severance, of tine
Jnited States Steel Corporation, was un-
bile to reach Washington in time to be
resent at the hearing. Commissioner
HARLAN announced that another session
would be held Tuesday at 10 O'Clock.
J. s. kecfe, representing the steel cor
orstion, but not in the capacity OF an
ttorney, declared after Lama. had given
is testimony that no new facts Sere
laced before the commission, and that
that had been stated by Lamar had besn
enerally known for years.