INTEGRATION OF INDUSTRY 67 



This condition of affairs could not last long, and signs soon 

 began to be manifest that great plans were on foot for its cor- 

 rection. To do this, there were but two lines of action open. 

 One was that each of the companies should seek to gain its 

 independence of the others by the enlargement of the scope 

 of its operations, so that it would itself mine or manufacture 

 the materials used in its operations. The other was that the 

 different companies could make some arrangement among 

 themselves by which their interests would be harmonized. 



Efforts were at first directed towards the first named 

 method. One after another the different companies began to 

 formulate plans for the erection of mills to manufacture prod- 

 ucts embraced within the field of operations of the other 

 companies. It needs but a casual study of the situation of 

 affairs to see where this policy, if adhered to, would have led. 

 It meant a gigantic struggle between the companies. The 

 company manufacturing sheet steel, for example, could not 

 see with indifference the companies which took almost its 

 entire product reach a position where they were no longer its 

 customers. If they succeeded in doing this, the former com- 

 pany had but one alternative, if it was to remain in the busi- 

 ness — that of itself building mills for the conversion of its 

 products into articles ready for final consumption. The an- 

 nouncement by one company that it intended building mills 

 for the production of articles which it had formerly purchased 

 from a second company was consequently immediately fol- 

 lowed by announcements of the second company that it would 

 retaliate by entering the field of the first, and erect mills for 

 the conversion of its products for which it could no longer 

 secure purchasers on an adequate scale. These were no idle 

 threats. It is well known that definite plans for such action 

 were, in many cases, formulated, and the preliminary opera- 

 tions for their execution begun. The tremendous danger to 

 all parties, if this movement had been allowed to continue, 

 was quickly seen. Efforts were, therefore, turned to the 

 second method of bringing about harmony — that of uniting the 

 interests of the companies in some way. The powerful firm 

 of J. P. Morgan & Co. was appealed to. The result was the 



