Evening star., 1939-11-10
Hits Statesmen
1ampering With
Price Levels
Steel Spokesman
Denies Collision
At Monopoly Probe
By the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
Ernest T. Weir, a leading figure In
the Nations steel industry, told the
Federal Monopoly Committee today
he objected to price-cutting that
placed the very life Of big cor
poration in the hands of an ordi-
nary salesman"
Mr.. Weir, president of the Amer
lean Iron & Steel Institute and
chairman of the National Steel
Corp, disputed earlier testimony
that the United States Steel Corp.
announced steel prices and it's
smaller competitors followed the
leader"
prices of the steel industry are
made in the competitive market
from day to day regardless Of what
the Omitted States steel corpora
ton puts out for the quarter" he
said. 'The criticism comes from
prices that get below the cost OF
production"
A. H. Feller, committee counsel.
asked: How are you going to avoid
that?"
by determination of each COM
pany of price that will give it
reasonable profit and absolute re-
fusal to sell below that price," Mr..
Weir replied.
Loss Blamed on Management.
Representative Williams, Demo-
crat, of Missouri asked Mr.. Weir If
he could explain earlier testimony
by other steel executives that their
companies had suffered large losses
in recent years.
"The executive management is at
fault" the witness said. "It never
is justified in letting prices get to
point where loss results. Compe-
tition is so keen in the steel in
dustry that an ordinary salesman
has been given authority to cut
,, prices necessary to get business.
I'm other words, the very life Of
big corporation is in the hands
of an ordinary salesman. That's
what object to-"
Mr.. Weir conceded that price-cut-
ting might be necessary in some
other large industries, such as au-
tomobiles and clothing, but added,
There is no style problem in steel"
Grace Hits Armaments.
TeStifying before the committee
yesterday, Eugene C. Grace, presi-
dent of the Bethlehem Steel Corp,
expressed wish that his company
would never be called on to build
another battleship or another gun.
The gruff voiced steel man as
serted that manufacture of NUM-
tions was "unsound prosperity"
I'VE don't want prosperity on that
basis" he said. That's building for
a destructive purpose"
The Bethlehem Shipbuilding
Corp, largest company of its kind
in the Nation, is a subsidiary of
Bethlehem Steel.
Mr.. Grace made the comment
during discussion with Leon Hen
derson, Securities and Exchange
Commission member, about meal:s
of levelling off the rise and fall of
steel production.
The Government buying factor"
he told Commissioner Henderson,,
lis really only a flea bite. You
build five or six battleships-"
But you like to get bitten by tn
flea, don't you?" Mr.. Henderson pu.
in.
YES" Mr.. Grace responded, "bu.
We don't like to get bitten by the
flea that requires us to build bat
tleships."
Committee questioning Of Mr..
Grace was concentrated principally
on Bethlehem's price policies. The
witness testified that United States
Steel, only other American producer
larger than Bethlehem, "set the
pace" in price for the latter. Beth
lehem followed, Mr.. Grace said as
a matter of meeting the competitive
I