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Show HOLDING 001 ITEOIGIT Steel Corporation Head Says Federal Interference Likely if All Go Higher NEW YORK, April 19. Elbert H. Gary, chairman of tho United States Steel corporation, informed the stock-' holders at the annual meeting In Ho-boken Ho-boken today that the corporation was holding down the price of its products because of the high cost of living. Roforring to inquiries made by stockholders as to why, in view of tho great demand, the cost of production and prices received by other manu-J facturers, the prices of the corporation's corpora-tion's products had not been raised above those fixed by agreement be- tween tho industrial board and steel I manufacturers on March 21, 1019, he I said: j "It seems to us that tho problem ol j high cost of living is of convincing importance. When tho increasing tendency is to insist upon payment of unreasonable s,ums for every commodity commod-ity and for overy service, so that the vicious swirl of advancement seems to be unending, wo think there is a moral obligation on the part of every one to use all reasonable efforts to check this carnival of greed and Imposition, even at some sacrifice. 1 Salaried Man Helpless. 'Thero is a growing discrepancy between be-tween different individuals and interests. inter-ests. Tho man with a fixed income i3 more and nioro disadvantaged and ho is helpless. He cannot increase his in- j come to meet tho increased cost of living. Therefore, it should be the! effort of all to establish and maintain I u reasonable basis of prices . . . otherwise the government . . . must interfere." The attitude of the corporation on prices, Mr. Gary added, "has had considerable con-siderable Influence in preventing increases in-creases in th.J general selling price of steel, although somo (manufacturerrs) have made them. ... 'Moreover, it is believed that . . . the selling prices of most of tho diver-slfied diver-slfied products of tho corporation, for tho present, at least, arc high enough, ! though it is pertinent to say that whenj' the actual valuo of tho properties and ' volume of business of tho corporation I ' are considered, the net return is att' For Open Shop. Reviewing last year's steel strike, Mr. Gary said, "Wo stand for the open shop, which permits a man to work when and where he pleases, on terms mutually agreed upon, whether he does or does not belong to a labor union. "We do not combat labor unions as such. We. of course, acknowledge the natural right of labor to organize; but we insist that a labor union should be subject to governmental control and regulation like other organizations Discrimination by law in favor of or against any particular class is detrimental detri-mental to tho interests of the general community." Mr. Gary said that public approval of the recent decision of the United States supreme .court refusing to dissolve dis-solve the steel corporation, was prac- tically universal, and added in this connection: "So far as the corporation and its subsidiaries are concerned, we shall not disregard the laws of tho country or tho public interest." It had been the ambition of tho manager of tho corporation, he concluded, con-cluded, to prove that a corporation may bo possessed of mind, heart and soul. |