New-York tribune., 1918-05-17
distribution To Be Dis,
cussed at Conference To-
day at Capital
Fate of Commercial
Industries Involved
Fuel and Transportation
Declared Crux of Admit
tedly Bad Situation

WASHINGTON, May 16.-A secret
and important meeting of the steel
committee of the American Iron E.
Steel Institute, headed by Ebert II.
Gary, with the War Industries Board
has been called here for tomorrow.
The whole question OF curtailment
Of industries as we'll as that of steel
will be thrashed out at the meeting.
showdown" Will be demanded by
the steel men. The government will
be asked to determine definitely, and
give figures, how the steel companies
shall be operated and how far the gov
ernment must go in controlling either
their output, as they do now, or how
much more drastic their control must
be.
Information as to the War Industries
Boards purpose in calling the meeting
vas refused to-day by Bernard NJ
Baruch and other officials, and every
effort was made to guard carefully the
try had been called in.
1t was learned, however, that besides
Mr.. Gary, the other steel men who are
expected to attend are j. A. Topping,
> president of the Republic Iron and
Steel Company; E. A. S. Clark, presi-
dent OF the Lackawanna Steel Com
.pany; E. G. Grace, president of the
Bethlehem Steel Company; ]. A. Camp
bell, president of the Youngstown
Sheet and Tube Company, and James
A. Burden, OF the Burden Iron Com
pany, of New York. Charles M. Schwab,
Director General of the Emergency
Steel Institute Committee, and may
attend
Shortage of Steel
Officials familiar with the steel
situation said to-day that shortage
in steel and pig iron, which has shown
little If any Improvement. since the
steel men pledged themselves to devote
their entire capacity to government
orders, made to-morrow's meeting i'm
perative. Increased demands of the
Allies for steel and inability to meet
in full American requirements are the
chief factors.
The steel men are understood to be pre-
pared to take issue with the War Indus
tries Board over the actual war needs
for steel. Officials in the various war
making branches of the government are
said to disagree on just how far the
board should go in controlling the out
put or the steel mills. Some officials
take the position that certain of the
Narmaklng agencies have not given
aehnlte hgures as to their actual re-
ealrements because they have not been
able to determine them. Until this is
done. they say, it is unfair to the in
dustrial life of the country to take
what they regard as radical action.
Seek Actual Needs
Recently after the war industries
board notified the steel men that they
would be required to devote their en-
tire output to war work, and that
whatever surplus remained it would
De distributed for commercial use un-
DER strict government supervision, the
steel men, under the leadership of
Judge Gary, pledged themselves to
carry out that programme.
AS consequence virtually no steel
will be available for other than the
governments and Allies needs.
The steel men contend there is no
serious shortage, and that pending
actual determination of war require
ments there is no necessity for cutting
on absolutely steel for commercial use.
FUEL and transportation, they sav is
responsible for any delay in carving
80 VIC war programme ana the cruX
of the whole admittedly bad situation.
AT to-morrow's meeting an attempt
VIII be made to arrive at some definite
conclusion of actual needs, particular
y with reference to a rs per cent or
greater curtailment of passenger auto
MOBILE production and the present cur
lailment of the piano and musical in
s.rument industry, which amounts to
ABOUT 30 per cent.
The entire curtailment programme
81 the War Industries Board and the
Iuei administration will be taken up.
tremendous pressure has been brought
70 Dear on the War Industries Board
from the automobile industry, and
sssn from government officials, who
,oeileve any drastic curtailment of the
Nsser essential industries would be a
mistake and unnecessary at this time