Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About The Conservative (Nebraska City, Neb.) 1898-1902 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 28, 1899)
- I * > , * . " I * T T * - - . * * . ' , . . . . . . 6 'Cbe Conservative * TIIR IRON OKU TKUST. Has Raised Prices One Hundred Per Cent. The United States supreme court decided on December 4 , that the com bination , or pool , of the six corporations engaged in manufacturing water and gas pipe was a trust and that , there fore , the agreement between them was void. This cnso , known as the Addy- ston pipe case , has been in the courts since 1894. By the agreement the six leading pipe manufacturers divided the United States among themselves. Each company was allotted certain territory in which all the other companies were permitted to make bids on contracts but only under the supervision of the company in charge of the district. In unallotted territory the pool would , determine the price to be paid by the \ consumer and would auction off , to the ( highest bidder , the privilege of supply ing pipa at this price. The bonus thus derived , which sometimes amounted to $9 per ton , and averaged about $6 , was divided amongst the members. Futility of Anti-Trust LrglHlntloii. This famous case and decision is the first under the anti-trust act of 1890 which involves restraint of trade by agreement between manufacturing companies in different states. It is re garded as highly important. But what does the decision affect ? It does not touch the big corporations that own factories , and perhaps mines , in many different states and without agreement with other corporations arbitrarily fix prices. Neither is it made to apply generally to all interstate commerce agreements between industrial concerns. In fact it does not affect the status of original pipe companies , which are now parts of big corporate trusts ; nor does it seriously alarm any of the price fixing combinations in force between hundreds of producing and distributing com panies. This decision , like nearly all former decisions , whether based on commoner or on statute law , is adverse to trusts. Nevertheless all kinds of combinations are more numerous and effective than ever before. But little attention is paid to either antitrust legislation or anti-trust decisions. Thus the day after the decision was announced the trust mill was grinding as busily as ever. We read that the sheet iron and steel manufacturers were about to call a meeting to form a trust ; that the structural iron men would soon hold a meeting for the same purpose ; that trusts were about to be formed in naval stores , hats , etc. A few clays be fore we read that the Bessemer Ore Producers' Association had advanced prices 100 per cent. This association , like the Anthracite Coal , steel rail and many other trusts , appears to be essen tially , if not legally , very much like ; hat of the pipe manufacturers which has just been declared to bo illegal. Thus far no one has even intimated that this ore combination is to quit fixing prices because of this decision. And why ? Because all sensible men recog nize that it is in the power of a few mine owners , shippers and sellers to fix prices and that while they have this power they will exercise it. This power comes first from the monopoly , through ownership and lease of the principal minesand second from the tariff duty on imported ore which prevents exten sive competition from Canada , Cuba vnd Spain , where there are within easy reach valuable mines of ore especially valuable for mixing with some of our Atlantic coast ores. Tlio Ore Producers' Trust. The Bessemer Ore Producers' Associa tion , which has annually , for many years , fixed prices and allotted outputs to various companies , usually meets in Cleveland , Ohio. This year they held meetings the last week in November and fixed the basic price of Bessemer ore delivered at lake ports at $5.50 per ton. The past year's price was $2.90 , which was 15 cents higher than 1898 prices. Prices in 1899-1900 , therefore , will be just double those of 1898. Some of the principal shipping and selling companies which compose this ore association are : M. A. Hanna & Co. , Ogleby , Morton & Co. , Pickauds , Mather & Co. , Corrigau , McKinney & Co. The principal mining concerns in terested and represented in the associa tion are : The Oliver Iron Mining Co. five- sixthsof which is owned by the Carnegie Steel Co. and one-sixth by the National Steel Co. ; The Minnesota Iron Co. Now owned by the Federal Steel Co. ; The Clmpiu Mining Co. The Nation al Steel Company interests ; The American Mining Co. The min ing end of the American Steel and Wire Co. During the same week the non-Besse mer producers of the Lake Superior region met in Cleveland and fixed a basic price of $ 4.25 for 1900 , as against $2 for 1899. These producers are large ly the same companies which compose the Bessemer Association. Three- fourths of our ore product conies from the upper-lake region. When prices are established on this largo output over 17,000,000 tons they are also fairly well determined for most other regions. Who Pocket the Profltb ? How the price is divided amongst mine owners , ore producers , and ore transporters is indicated by the Carnegie agreement with the mining and trans portation companies. Mr. Carnegie . - - - ' " 1" " j _ 'TT ! * -ik . * # & % 'i ; &dB . < tti $ & ihrough the Oliver Mining Company , las leased some of the mines owned or leased by the Rockefellers. Thus the Tilden'miue is leased for 50 years at a bonus price of $500,000 and a royalty of 50 cents per ton , or a minimum yearly amount of $200,000. The Tildon com pany pays a royalty of 25 cents per tone ; o the fee owners of the mine and pockets the other 25 cents. The ore must be hauled to Duluth (74 ( miles on the Duluth , Mesaba and Northern railroad owned by the Rocke fellers ) at a charge of 80 cents per ton. Probably 50 cents of this amount should be charged to royalty and would be if it were not considered good policy to cover up the actual royalties paid to private companies in order to lower the royalties paid for state mines. The rate of $1.25 per ton has been pratically fixed by the lake shippers. The Rockefellers own and control nearly one-half of the ore-carrying boats and therefore get $1.25 for lake transportation , instead of 45 cents that they got one year ago and an average of about 74 cents that they got in 1899. The cost of mining and loading the ore varies from about 7 to 50 cents , averaging perhaps 80 cents. Thus the actual cost of laying ore down in Cleveland is about $1 per ton. The remaining $4.50 is to pay the monopoly charges of the owners of the mines , railroads , docks , and boats. If 20,000- 000 of tons of ore are produced in the lake region next year the bonus to monopoly will amount to $90,000,000. This bonus will easily be increased to $100,000,000 by other districts. Tariff Partly Responsible for Monopoly Prices. While the tariff is not responsible for the greater part of this monopoly charge , it is responsible for some of it. Vast mines of iron ore exist on the Canadian side of the lakes , in and near Nova Scotia , in Cuba and in Spain , all of which have been drawn upon by this country and would be drawn upon more heavily but for the duty of 40 cents per ton. Our imports for the last ten fiscal years have been as follows : Imports Iron Ore. Years. 1800 1892 . . 1803. . . 1894. . 1805. . . 1800 . . 1897. . . 1898. . . 1800. . . Totnl No. Tons. 1,157,805 055,517 1,003,787 083,050 218,550 202,205 770,288 5M.241 852,455 200,118 0,221,002 Value. $2,415,711 2,480,150 2,592,401 1,242,707 1)88,720 ) 870,082 1,20,012 778,084 470,089 403,208 12,821,010 Av. Price Per Ton. $2.09 2.51 2.68 1.82 1.70 1.45 1.57 1.48 1.83 1.50 1.03 The high price for ore in 1899 will probably result in the importation of millions of tons of ore next year. Thus the Iron Age of November 80 , says that
