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MARINE REVIEW Entered at Cleveland Post Office as Second-class Mail Matter. 5 Published every Thursday at 418-19 Perry- VoL. XX! I I; Payne Blidk., by the Marine Review Pub. Go. CLEVELAND, O., APRIL 4, 1901. Subscription $3.00 a year. Foreign $4 50 a year. No. 14 STEEL CORPORATION MANAGEMENT. AN ARRAY OF GREAT BUSINESS NAMES—ROCKEFELLER INTERESTS VERY PROMINENT—TERMS MADE TO CONSOLIDATED IRON M'NES AND AMERICAN BRIDGE. Of all the announcements connected with the organization of the United States Steel Corporation, that of most interest to the hundreds of managers connected with constituent companies throughout the country is the list of directors and officers given out by J. P. Morgan & Co., a few days ago. It was expected that this list would probably show which of the old organizations—Carnegie, Federal Steel, Rockefeller, etc — vould be liable to have most power in the management. _ Such is not the vase. In the executive committee, which will undoubtedly have most to do directly with the management, no particular interest predominates. It is a Morgan committee, alike to the board of directors, which does not contain a single name that has ever been connected with speculation; on the contrary the board represents the strongest array of solid business men the world has ever seen. The list of directors and officers is as follows: Directors—J. Pierpont Morgan, John D. Rotkefeller, Francis H. Peabody, Henry H. Rogers, Charles M. Schwab, Elbert H. Gary, Robert Bacon, Charles Steele, Marshall Field, Norman B. Ream, P. A. B. Widener, William H. Moore, James H. Reed, Henry C. Frick, Daniel G. Reid, E. C. Converse, Percival Roberts, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., Alfred _ Clifford, William E. Dodge, Nathaniel Thayer, William Edenborn, Abram S. Hewitt and Clement A. Griscom. President, Charles M, Schwab; treasurer, Arthur F. Luke; secretary, Richard Trimble. : Executive Committee—E. H. Gary, chairman; Daniel G. Reid, William Edenborn, E. C. Converse, Percival Roberts, Charles Steele. Finance Committee—Robert: Bacon, chairman; Henry H. Rogers, Norman P. Ream, P. A. B. Widener. In addition to Mr. Morgan himself, two of his business partners, Robert Bacon and Charles Steele are on the board of directors, and the Rockefeller interest in the board is also strong as it includes John D. Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller, Jr., and Henry H. Rogers, with Mr. Rogers also on the finance committee. Of the executive committee, E. H. Gary is president of the Federal Steel Co.; E. C. Converse is presi- dent of the National Tube Co.; Percival Roberts is a director of the American Bridge Co.; Charles Steele is a partner of Mr. Morgan: Daniel G. Reid is a representative of the National Steel and other intercsts ot the Moores, and Wm. Edenborn had been prominently connected with American Steel & Wire. Henry C. Frick, it is understood, takes a place on the board of directors at the personal request of Mr. Morgan. Judge Gary, by virtue of his office as chairman of the executive committee, will be, next to Mr. Schwab, the executive head of the company. Richard Trimble, secretary, was secretary and treasurer of Federal Steel, and Arthur F. Luke, treasurer, was treasurer of National Tube. Treated as individuals this group of men is fascinating. John D. Rockefeller, whose vast wealth has made this great corporation possible, started in life as a bookkeeper in Cleveland. H. H. Rogers was a work- man in an oil refinery and was employed by the South Improvement Co. which was the forerunner of the present Standard Oil Co. Charles M. Schwab, as late as twenty years ago, was a stake driver for the Carnegie Co. These men have all come up from the ranks. They started in life without a dollar. In fact only one of them is of the purple and that is J. Pierpont Morgan himself. In connection with the publication of names of directors. and officers came an official announcement regarding increase of capital and the pur- chase of Lake Superior. Consolidated Iron Mines and the American Bridge Co. The capital has been increased to $550,000,000 preferred and $550,000,000 common, a total of $1,100,000,000. The corporation has also arranged to acquire all the outstanding interest in the Oliver Iron Mining Co. and the Pittsburg Steamship Co. not owned by the Carnegie com- pany. The bridge company, which has a capitalization of $70,000,000 equally divided between 7 per cent. cumulative preferred and common, goes in upon a basis of 110 for preferred and 105 for common. The lake region, however, is principally concerned over the manner in which Lake Superior Consolidated has fared; and it has certainly gone in upon a basis which justified the unusual activity in its stock during the past two weeks. The capital stock of the Lake Superior Consolidated is $30,000,- 000. Holders of this stock will receive for each share of it $185 in pre- ferred stock and $135 in common.stock of the United States Steel Cor- poration. It therefore enters the corporation at a higher valuation than any of the constituent companies and makes Mr. Rockefeller’s holdings of stock in the corporation greater than that of any other man and his actual investment next to that of Mr. Carnegie. The history of Lake Superior Consolidated has been in its way as phenomenal as that of Stand- ard Oil. A few years ago it could have been purchased at $10 a share. It is announced that 85 per cent. of the Lake Superior Consolidated stock has been deposited for exchange. into United States steel securities which, the circular adds, embraces the holdings of Mr. Rockefeller. The list of officers and directors given out by Morgan & Co. was the strongest announcement connected with all the plans of the organization. It was evident from this array of great business names that the corpora- tion has as its guiding spirit a man who can properly be regarded as the most capable and most complete man of his time. Mr. Morgan has given abundant evidence of wisdom. He is not only courageous, but, wise. Many men are clever, and even brilliant, but are lacking in the saving quality. of wisdom. _ The settlement of the recent labor troubles in Pennsylvania by Mr. Morgan was the act of a man of the most far seeing wisdom, That same tact and rare judgment which he has: shown im handling the coal troubles will doubtless be exercised in the management of the great steel company. The corporation will doubtless be managed upon a broad minded basis, will not endeavor to squeeze the consumer or to change the price of its products merely to manipulate the market, for no man understands the jealous nature of the American people re- garding corporate power more,than Mr. Morgan himself. He is really a distinguished statesman who has devoted his time to business. It would not be surprising to see United States Steel Corporation. securities very much higher in the market in the near future. It is said that the man- agers of the corporation expect that the earnings of the Carnegie plant alone will take care of the interest on the bonds and the dividend on the preferred stock. Speculation has so far concerned itself with the pre- ferred stock, but the fluctuations in the future are likely to be less and less on, the preferred and more on the common stock, Dividends on the preferred stock are limited, while on the common stock they are un- limited. It is thought the prefered stock will soon sell materially above par. LITTLE PREPARATION FOR LAKE NAVIGATION. Two or three owners of large fleets of vessels in Cleveland who have no connection with any of the steel interests are planning for a meeting in Cleveland on Wednesday of next week, when it is proposed to have all, or the greater part, of the so-called individual vessel owners of the lakes enter into'an agreement to take no iron ore at less than 90 cents from the head of Lake Superior, 80 from Marquette.or 70 cents from Escanaba, and no coal. for either Lake Superior or Lake Michigan at less than 50 cents. The leaders in the movement seem quite in earnest. They say that with not more than a dozen of the principal owners stand-. ing together on such a proposition they will be successful. As there is no business of any kind offered as yet it is not known what the proposed scheme may amount to, but it is quite evident that unless something of the kind is done ships will be carrying freight when the season begins at rates probably lower than have ever been known on the lakes. This will be due, of course, to the great surplus of vessel capacity. Prices of ore have not_been fixed, on account of the uncertainty regarding plans of the United Steel Corporation. For the same reason practically nothing is being done towards starting the ore carrying fleets of the steel companies. It is now the general opinion, however, that no change will be made in the management of these vessels for the present season. In a few cases a move has been made towards starting engineers to work on the vessels. All that has been done on this score seems to indicate a struggle between the organization of engineers and the vessel men. The latter are, without doubt, unanimous in their determination to get engineers wher- ever they can rather than give recognition to the organization. Mr. George Uhler, the national president of the engineers, who was in Cleveland for a few days during the present week, insists that the en- gineers have made no demand upon the carriers. All that has been done so far, he says, has been in the nature of a request. ‘‘Year after year,” said he, “the executive committee of the Lake Carriers’ Association drew up a schedule of wages for the engineers, which schedule became the ruling schedule, not only for the vessels in the Lake Carriers’ Asso- ciation, but for those outside of it. This year the lake engineers drew up their own schedule and classification and submitted it to the convention, which approved it. It was given to me to submit to the Lake Carriers’ Association, which I did, with a request that it be. given consideration. Mr. Corrigan of the executive committee has replied that he does not know when the request will be given consideration. And there the matter rests. It was so a month ago and it is the Same today.” Mr. Uhler says that there is no substantial difference between the schedule submitted by the engineers and that paid by the carriers. The main point of difference is that an extra engineer is wanted upon vessels that are equipped with water-tube boilers, because extra work is required upon these vessels. Regarding the new classification of vessels he says that fully as many vessels will pass from the first to the second class as will pass from the second to the first class. He says also that the en- gineers who will lose by the new classification have accepted the prospect of reduction without a murmur. The engineers are quite determined, he adds, and will not alter their stand until they hear from the carriers. When it was called to his attention that certain of the engineers in dealing with the owners had requested them to withdraw from the Lake Carriers’ Association, he said that no engineers had been instructed to make such a request, but that an engineer, knowing that the Lake Carriers’ Association had not acted upon the request of the engineers, had probably dealt with the owner on that score as an individual, _. Thus it would seem, from a disinterested standpoint, that with recog- nition of the organization of engineers on the part of the ship owners there would be little difficulty in arriving at.a settlement, but from the present outlook it is more than probable that there will be no recognition unless the engineers succeed in forcing it by the struggle that is now on. Every vessel master who has been on Lake Michigan during the past two years knows of the dangers of navigation in the vicinity of Gray’s reef on account of numerous shoals, some of them discovered only recently by the deep-draught freighters. This passage was surveyed last fall by officers of the U. S. S. Michigan, and the United States. hydro- graphic office has just issued a special chart showing results of the survey. The chart shows where the Minnesota liner Malietoa found bottom and takes in Vienna shoal, middle shoal and all other shallow places in the vicinity. In order to place it within reach of everybody wanting it, it is to sell at 10 cents and may be had from the Marine Review (15 cents by mail) as soon as locations of light-ships, buoys, etc., in the Straits for the coming year are definitely determined. Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan left for England on Tuesday; ica