Gates found two like-minded members of the board when he began talking about consolidating the three steel companies. One was L. C. Hanna, the brother of Mark Hanna; the other was Grant Schley, who had a Wall Street brokerage. Gates now began purchasing shares of Tennessee Coal and Iron in preparation of the consolidation. In January 1905 he was ready to outline his plan to potential members of the trust, with the exception of Republic's president, A. W. Thompson. When Thompson was advised of the scheme, he declared there would be no such trust with Republic as a member; when put to a formal vote, Republic's board members voted down the idea of joining a trust. During this time, Gates was able to purchase enough shares of Tennessee Coal and Iron to give him a controlling interest in the company.