Omaha daily bee., 1922-05-13

WOuld@sr..,sss;,' r,s;,' ~
Big Merger
Wisconsin Senator Demands
Department Of Justice Stop
Proposed Consolidation
of Steel Firms.
Says Monopoly Planned

Washington, May l.,-Ni'hout
opposition the senate today adopt
ed the resolution OF Senator La Fol
le,te, Wisconsin, calling upon the
attorney general and the federal
trade commission for information as
to what action they intend to take
with reference TO the proposed mer-
ger OF independent steel compaLies.
Adoption OF the resolution was pre-
cedcd BY an address by Senator Ia
Toilette, in which he demanded that
the Department OF Justice take steps
10 prevent this merger. He dencane-
ed the United States Steel corpora
ton and assailcd the decision OF the
supreme court OF the United States
in discussing the government dis
solution suit. as one vi the "'taost M
dcicnsible decisions ever rendered by
any judicial tribunal"
Senator La fol.et,c, besides dwell
ing on the plans Ter combination
OF six or seven independent s,ee!
companies, also referred to the pro-
posal Of the Ecth chem Steel com.
pany. annoSnced yesterday, to pur-
chase the Lackawanha company.
Charges Monopoly Planned.
Senator La FoI;crtc charged that
the purpose OF The proposed merger
is ''the elimination OF whatever conf
petition how e.is:s III the steel IN
dustry and the .fc..tion of situation
where prices i1ay be fixed apon a
monopoly bass "ithout feai of de-
lection.
The co7sumrtit on of this merger
must be pr.vea:cd." said Senator la
Toilette. This IS the age Of steel.
Iron and steel today lie at the base OF
every human activity. Without steel
our farms canhot De cultivated. our
railroads wor!d ce1je TO operate. our
industries would be prosuuted and
our very homes could not be built.
The men who control this basic
commodity control the nation. A
little more than 20 years ago they
secured complete control OF one
half the industry by the formation
of a corporation,so great that it stag
gered the nation. They could control
the other half of the industry only by
agreements at understandings with
the so-called Independent companies.
These agreements worked we'll dur
ing the periods of prosperity, but
they were inconvenient, and like all
these gentlemen's agreements, were
likely to be broken when there was a
scramble for business.
Formation Illegal.
To-day they are proposing to
bring the other half of the industry
under one consolidated control so
that in future, instead OF operating
through the medium OF understand
ing to which there were a dozen or
more parties, they will be able to
make firm and binding agreements
between the two great corporations
which will dominate the industry.
Gary dinners will no longer be neces-
sary. Instead. the heads of the two
great corporations will be able to sit
down at lunch table and without
fear of detection, fix the price of
every pound of steel sold in the
United States.
THE formation OF the United
States Steel corporation was illegal
and should have been prevented when
it was first announced 20 years ago.
This is not merely my opinion. It
is an inseparable part from the opin-
ion which the supreme court of the
United States rendered in 1920, dis
missing the suit against the United
States Steel corporation, one Of the
most remarkable and, to my mind
indefensible decisions ever rendered
by any judicial tribunal"