CHAPTER I
. THE WHY AND HOW OF THE BIG COMPANY 6
II. THE BIRTH OF THE BIG COMPANY 22
III. EARLY HISTORY AND GROWTH, 1901 TO 1907 42
IV. THE TENNESSEE PURCHASE 70
V. MEN WHO MADE UNITED STATES STEEL 87
VI. DEVELOPING WORLD MARKETS 111
VII. THE SPIRIT OF THE CORPORATION 132
VIII. THE CORPORATION’S IMPLEMENTS 142
IX. THE STEEL TOWNS 160
X. HUMANIZING INDUSTRY 174
XI. INVESTIGATIONS AND DISSOLUTION SUIT 197
XII. QUESTIONS OF POLICY 217
XIII. STEEL FROM THE INVESTOR’S VIEWPOINT 235
XIV. THE GREAT STEEL STRIKE 246
XV. HELPING UNCLE SAM WIN THE WAR 269
XVI. THE MIDDLE PERIOD, 1907 TO 1914 283
XVII. THE WAR AND AFTER 295
APPENDIX 308
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
Elbert H. Gary _Frontispiece_
“_The story of United States Steel is the tale of how Gary made his dreams come true._”
FACING PAGE Andrew Carnegie 40
J. Pierpont Morgan 41
Down in a Coal Mine 56
Open Pit Mining--Canisteo Mine 57
Mine Stables 72
Modern Coal Mining by Machinery 73
Bee-hive Coke Ovens 88
Mouth of Coal Mine--Coke Ovens in Background 89
James A. Farrell 120
Transporting 222 Tons of Bridge Material in China 121
“Drawing” Bee-hive Coke Ovens 136
Two Views of Modern By-Product Oven 137
The Original Jones Mixer 152
A Bessemer Blow 153
Interior of Gary School 168
Ore Cars at Proctor Yards 184
General View of Duluth Ore Docks 185
Ore Boat and Train 200
Ore Boats at Duluth Docks 201
A Trainload of Ingots in Molds 216
Ingot on Way to Rolling Mill 217
Rails on Cooling Bed 232
Pouring Ingots 233
Part of the Duquesne Works--Detail of Unloading Ore-- a Hulett Machine 248
Making Wire Rods--Old Method 249
Coils of Red Hot Wire 264
Annealing Wire 265
Drawing Fine Wire 280
Making Wire Fencing 281
Making a Steel Tube 296
Steel Transportation by Man Power in China 297
UNITED STATES STEEL
_A Corporation With a Soul_
UNITED STATES STEEL
PROLOGUE
THE MAN AT THE HELM
Every business enterprise, however great, reflects in its dealings with its competitors, customers, employees, and the public generally, the individuality of some one man. Curious as it may seem at first glance, this personal touch, far from being lost, is particularly evident in the greatest of all business enterprises, the United States Steel Corporation.
Many men, including some of the ablest financiers the country has produced, have assisted in a measure in making the Corporation what it is to-day. Morgan, Frick, Perkins, all these and others, have helped with their counsel in bringing the Corporation to the pre-eminent place it holds in the industrial world. But one man has stood out among all these--Elbert H. Gary, its chairman and chief executive officer.
Throughout its ramifications the Steel Corporation is everywhere a reflection of Gary’s spirit. His influence, from the time of its incorporation nearly twenty years ago, has shaped its policies and, almost from the beginning, has dominated its counsels. For what the Corporation is, whether good or bad, Gary must accept full responsibility.
Judge Gary himself would probably object to the use of the word “dominated.” He would doubtless prefer “guided”, for his dominance has never been autocratic. But his colleagues, except perhaps in the earlier days, have confidently accepted his opinion on all matters pertaining to the Corporation’s welfare. And the events of the last few years have proven that they were right in so doing.
Not the Corporation alone but the entire steel trade, the most important manufacturing industry in America, has benefited from Gary’s wisdom. As the chief executive officer of the leading interest in the industry his competitors have always looked to him for leadership in periods of stress. And whenever occasion arose, as in the dark days of the panic of 1907, he proved his right to lead.
There have been times when this leadership was in question if not doubt. One such occasion was as recently as 1919 when the great steel strike threatened.
Gary’s attitude toward labor was well known. He believed in “leaning over backward” in the matter of giving justice to the worker. And when union organizers and radical agitators attempted to force the closed shop on the industry many of his competitors feared that he would yield to the demands of the labor organizers.
But Gary had never flinched from responsibility, however great. Here was a question of principle involved, concerning not the rights of the employer alone but those of the very large number of unorganized workers. Although pressure was brought to bear upon him from high quarters to compromise and avoid a strike, and later to settle it once begun, the head of the Corporation unswervingly stood his ground and led the steel trade to a signal victory. He proved to those who doubted him that, though he might usually adopt the attitude of “suaviter in modo” he knew how to assume that of “fortiter in re” when occasion warranted.
On October 24, 1919, the annual meeting of the American Iron and Steel Institute was held in New York City, at the Hotel Commodore. Some sixteen hundred of its members, including the majority of the leading figures in the steel trade, attended. The steel strike had been going on for some weeks and the steel men were gathered to hear what Gary had to say.
The entrance of the Judge into this gathering was the signal for a most remarkable demonstration. For these staid, solid business men, on catching sight of Gary, broke into a spontaneous salvo of cheers which was enthusiastic and prolonged. It was a tribute to his generalship in the struggle then being waged, an unequivocal admission of his right to supreme command. In that storm of cheers were buried all doubts that may ever have been entertained.
It is impossible to write of the Steel Corporation without writing of its head. His influence on it is too direct, too personal, to be ignored. The Corporation, in a sense, is Gary. He has infused it with his spirit, a spirit which, it is to be hoped, will continue always to animate it.
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