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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
.
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* -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
