Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1922-09-01
l;] MERGER
AS PROPOSED
HELD ILLEGAL
Federal Trade Commission
Decision Is Reverse Of
Former Ruling
tBy The Associated pr..s ,

Washington. Sept. THE federal
trade commission Thursday issued a
formal complaint charging that the
proposed merged of the Midvale, Re-
public and Inland Steel companies was
IN violation of the low in that it con-
stituted an unfair method Of com
petltion:' The commissions decision
was exactly the reverse Of that reach
ed by the department of justice
which recently informed congress that
the proposed combination was not in
contraventton Of either the webb,
Clayton 'or the Sherman antitrust
laws, but was in line with previous
action OF the commission in issuine>a
complaint against the Bethlehem
l~1ackawanna merger. which merger,
too, was declared by the attorney
general to be as free Of unfair trade
practices" as the proposed Midvale-
Republic-Inland combination
In its complaint, the commission
named as respondents the Midvale
Steel and Ordnance company of Phil
adelphia, the Republic Iron and
Steel company of New York city, and
the Inland Steel company of Chica-
file answers. upon which it was ex-
planned, will be determined, the is
sues Ito be tried out IN formal man.
ner."
n complaint declared that the
commission had reason to believe af-
ter preliminary investigation that the
proposed merger or consolidation Of
the three competing steel compan-
les, which will center the control Of
some IS corporations in n group,
Will eliminate competition between
companies, lessen competition and
restrain trade and tend to create
q monopoly on iron and steel pro.
duets in interstate commerce." This
condition, it was averred, would be
felt particularly in Pennsylvania,
Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky. In
DIANA Michigan and Illinois.
Van Fleet Dissents.
Commissioner Van Fleet, who dis
scented from the majority decision,
reserved the right to file a memoran-
dun setting forth his reasons.
Chairman Gaskill, in a formal
statement accompanying the COM
plant explained his vote by analysing
the various antitrust laws and
setting forth in detail the scope of
authority vested in the federal trade
act. N case at issue he said, like
that of the complaint against the
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES combination,
is of paramount importance to the
parties involved and to the public"
or the many separate corporations
which would be brought under one
control by the. Midvale-Republic-In-
the am and locations Of twenty
n companies, controlledib by the Mid
vale company; eight controlled by the
Republic company n six controlled
by the Inland company. Each of the
three merging companies, the COM
plant averred, was in itself an in
tegrated company. owning or con-S
trolling subsidiaries engaged in the
mining and selling of iron ore, coal
and limestone and in the Transporter
ton of these raw materials to the
plants \ of the several merging com-
panies. for manufacture into crude,
semi-finished and finished iron and
steel commodities. Eacfrof the three
merging concerns, it was further
averred, was an Independent factor in
making the market prices of such
products and commodities in all sec
tons of the United States.
Firms Held in Competition.
8 The commission held that the pros.
Of each of the merging COM
panies, and their several subsidiar-
les were in direct competition in in
commerce and also were in
direct competition. with the products
of other corporations not affected by
the merger, but engaged in similar
lines of industry.
The Inland Steel company is a Del
aware corporation with, outstanding
stock over ofN$25.O0 900 par value;
Republic Iron and Steel company,
a New Jersey corporation with out
standing common stock of $50, OOO,-
600 par value and s25,000.ooo par
value of preferred stock, and the
Midvale Steel and Ordnance company,
a Delaware corporation ,having out
standing stock of 500. 600. O0O..