The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1916-11-25
STEEL TRUST
GRADS RANCE
WITHOUT COST

By HARRISON GEORGE.
Special Investigator for The Labor
World.
It is the custom for an employer
when faced with a dema.l- for a wage
increase, made by organized labor. to
emit loud bowls of purse-stricken
pain, to cry "confiscatio1" and COM
plain that the predatory poor" are
ings, into which he has sunken-at
great personal risk-his life, his for
tune and pertaps-his sacred honor"
Let us review in brief, just what
this argument is worth when applied
to the U. S. Steel Corporation in it's
requirement of the lorgest iron ore
deposits in the world on the Mesaga
Range in Minnesota.
Iron was discovered on the Mesaba
Range in 1890. AS the U. S. Steel
Corporation was not formed until
1901 we must deal with those whose
acts led to its formation. The sworn
of spectators which over-ran the
Range upon the discovery of iron ore
can be roughly divided into three
groups: the 1Ierritts and their friends,
a group of local capitalists; Henry w.
Oliver, q wealthy Pittsburg man: and
the third group, 1t Of get-rich-Quicl<
pure--or fmpure-speculator who
grabbed everything in sight and then
lay on their "ores" waiting for some
thing to happen Something did hap
pen-though not to their liking. The
first question was that Of transporta-
ton and the Merrftts.s who were real
developers, built railroad from Lake
Superior to the Range. This required
more money than they had, so they
borrowed the necessary cash from
Rockefeller and, with child-like SIM
plicity, mortgaged their entire inter-
ests-mines and railroad-to the Oil
King.
The panic of the carly i1ineties came
on and it, together with costly and ILL
advised MANAGEMENT, resulted in
Rockefeller taking over the whole
works of the Merritt group. He re-
fused to renew the loan and the real
developers were left with empty
hands. The hard times had also
pressed Oliver to the wall and he was
in way Of financial collaps when ap-
preached by the Carnegie Steel Com
pany, and seeing way out. he hur-
ried to Pittsburg.
It was there that The steel Trust,
the most pitiless exploiter of labor
the world has Witnessed conceived it.
self in the mind Of Henry Clay Prick,
chairman Of the Carnegie Steet Com
pany. Frick knew Olive needed
money and he enforced a most amaz-
ing contract upon him which Oliver
having no alternative by bankruptcy,
accepted. The Carnegie Steel company
loaned to Oliver $5OO,0OO to be spent
In DEVELOPMENT work. This loan was
secured by mortgage and. of course,
was to be repaid with interest Yet a
condition of the loan was that Oliver
must give to the Carnegie Steel COM
pany half of his present and future
holdings. In other words, Oliver was
held up for half his ore properties.
worth untold millions: and the Car
hegie Steel company afterward to he
come. the nucleus of the u. S. Steel
Corporation, came into control of half
It's present vast interests on the Me-
saba Range without costing Carnegie
SO much as hostage stamp!
However there was further work to
working together, dickered with
Rockefeller and by contract with
Greasy John, secured leases on all the
mines Rockefeller had taken away
from the Merritts ct al, agreeing. in
consideration Of the small royalty he
assented to (25c per tom, to shil not
less than 100000 tons. OF ore year
year over the Rockefeller roads.
ROCKY caught them coming and going.
This was great advantage to Car
negie and Oliver, as the combination
between them and Rockefeller sent
the third group into Mysteries of fear
and they fought with one another to
get out from under. This was Just
what Frick and Oliver had figured on,
and after much trouble in forcing
Car11egei to accept the fortune thus
to be obtained, finally won his consent
and they. bought up the best remain.
ing locations on the Range; acquiring
Tor What was to be the steel Trust
Incredible riches for a song. Saws
Oliver, writing to Carnegie, July %,
1897, In an effort to get his assist
ance, II desire to impress you, that If
1t had not been for our Rockefeller
zeal, with the consequent dem oraliza-
ton caused by the publication thereof:
1t would not have been possible for us
to now secure the other Range prop
critics I propose to acquire. Now let
us take advantage CT our action before
season of good times gives the ore
producers strength and opportunity
to get together" Sure, while he'a
down kick i'm in the Stats!
All perfectly legal? Certainly! Or
ganlzed wealth has always at it's elbow
the oringing corporation lawyer to see
that 1t stays out of Jail though not
necessarily within the law. The onlv
one to be accused of lawlessness, to