8 Conservative ,
SOMK OIIKAIICAI. TKUSTS.
Although we now mauufncturo nnd
supply our own market with hundreds
of articles whioh formerly were im
ported and although we obtain no
revenue from the duties on these
articles , yet it is a mistake to conclude ,
as many have done , that duties on such
articles are dead letters and are not
effective. It is these non-revenue pro
ducing duties that are most effective in
protecting trusts.
Thus the duties on drugs and chemi
cals , with few exceptions , produce little
or no revenue , yet protect hundreds of
trusts. Chemical manufacturers and
chemical dealers take to trusts as ducks
take to water. Combinations , asso
ciations , agreements and undertakings
are common throughout the entire
trade. Manufacturers in similar lines
sell by the same schedule of prices ;
jobbers practically do the same ; retail
dealers have uniform prices. Drug
gists in most cities , villages or counties
have their associations which fix prices
on most of the important articles dealt
in. Free and open competition , if it
ever existed , is a thing of the past in
almost every branch of the chemical
trade. Chemicals being mainly raw
materials or medicine , protective duties
upon them are almost certain to become
"instruments of extortion. "
Some of the "heavy" chemicals which
are controlled by substantial trusts are
borax , linseed oil and white lead. Some
others controlled by agreements , selling
agencies , etc. , are paris green , ultra
marine blue , bromine , etc. Nearly
everything in the acid line is under con
trol. Thus acetic acid ( wood alcohol ) is
controlled by a monopoly , Manhattan
Spirits Co. , which sells in this country
at nearly double cost price present price
is 90c per gallon for what is estimated
to cost less than 50 cents and exports
its surplus sometimes at prices but little
above cost.
In "fine" chemicals there are numer
ous trusts composed of cliques of manu
facturers , which , by means of some
form of agreement or understanding ,
control production and prices of scores
of articles. Thus , four of our largest
manufacturers of chemicals , two in
Philadelphia , one in St. Louis , and one
in New York , each manufactures about
950 articles. Each firm has its own
catalogue , but they might as well sell
from one catalogue for their prices are
uniform.
Some of the articles manufactured by
these firms are iodoform , citric acid ,
bismuth salts , mercurials such as
calomel , corrosive sublimate , etc.
chloroform , resublimated iodine and
iodine of potassium , bichloride of potash ,
bichromate of soda , sautonine , strych
nine , rochelle salts , etc.
The duties on all of the above and on
hundred of similar articles are prohibi
tive and serve no purpose except to
protect the trusts formed to take ad
vantage of these duties. As usual the
members of these protected trusts are
very wealthy and much of their great
wealth has been filched out of the
pockets of the people by means of these
worse than useless tariff duties. Ac
cording to the New York Tribune
Almanac ( see American millionaires ) ,
William Weightman of Powers &
Weightman , one of the four firms men
tioned above , is "considered by many
the richest man in Philadelphia. "
Many chemicals are exported and
often at prices considerably below our
: iome prices. But for our inordinate
duty and internal revenue tax of 700 or
800 per cent on alcohol the most neces
sary and costly supply in chemicals
our chemical industry would probably
lead the world.
FiirlH Green Trust.
The Paris Green combine will serve to
illustrate many of the chemical trusts
and will be of especial interest to farm
ers at this season of the year. It is a
peculiar trust. It is intermittent , and
comes and goes so irregularly that it
could never be caught by the worst
trust-hating attorney-general armed
with the most severe anti-trust law. It
is as delusive as a will-o-the-wisp.
While paris green is classified as a
paint its principal use is as an insecticide
for killing potato bugs , cotton worms
and various other insects and worms
which prey upon vines and trees. The
greatest demand for it occurs during the
potato bug season in April , May and
June. This fact is very significant and
important to those who manipulate the
prices also to the farmers who pay the
manipulated prices.
About January 1 , 1894 , the eight or
nine manufacturers ( all of New York )
signed and sent out a circular saying to
jobbers that jobbing prices would be
fixed later , and that all who would agree
not to purchase elsewhere , and who
would then order , would be given re
bates of from 3 cents per pound on
orders of more than 10,000 pounds to 1
cent on orders of less than 1,000 and
more than 500 pounds. As prices had
not , in five years , exceeded 14 cents per
pound , nobody outside the trust , sup
posed that prices would go much higher
than formerly. To the surprise of all
prices were marked up to 20 cents , about
the middle of April , and a month later
to 23 cents.
Judging by these prices , 1894 must
have been a great year for potato bugs ,
cotton worms and protected paris green
makers. The trade , however , under
stood that the last increase of prices was
made to reward jobbers who bought
large supplies from the trust and to
punish those who had not done so. II
was too late in the season for other
chemical manufacturers to adapt their
plants to make paris green and , besides
it would have been difficult to place the
article quickly on the market nearly
all the dealers being pledged to sell only
; he trust's product. These reasons and
the duty of 25 per cent prevented the
large importations which would other
wise have proved profitable. In fact ,
jut for the duty importers would carry
a reasonable supply of imported paris
green in order to benefit by sudden
great demands and high prices.
The exposure of the methods of this trust
in June , 1894 , when the Wilson bill was
being discussed in the senate , caused the
duty on paris green to be reduced from
25 to 12i per cent. In 1897 Dingley
yielded to the behests of the manu
facturers only to the extent of raising
the duty to 15 per cent. This duty ,
aowever , serves the purpose of the trust
almost as well as did the 25 per cent
duty , for it compels importers to sell at
a loss every year when prices are not
raised by the trust.
The 1894 trust dissolved in the fall
and prices wore greatly reduced. In the
spring and summer of 1895 prices were
again raised to from 17) < > to 20 cents ,
[ n 1896 the trust thought it prudent not
bo re-combine and prices varied mainly
from 11 to 12 } cents per pound. In
1897 the Dingley bill was pending dur
ing the potato bug season and it was not
considered advisable by the manufac
turers to repeat the mistake of 1894.
Hence prices ruled very low. In the
East the drug jobbers sold paris green at
} to 12 cents , while in the West
where , as the Oil , Paint & Drug Re
porter of January 24 , 1898 , tells us , the
jobbers "very largely operated under
local agreements * * * the price
throughout the season was 13) cents. "
The Dingley rates having been settled
the manufacturers got together again in
1898. On February 28 , 1898 , the Oil ,
Paint & Drug Reporter said : "The paris
green situation seems to partake of
much of the uncertainty that character
izes the bug to whose voracious appetite
the delectable poison so successfully
appeals. * * * Nobody knows when
this pest may be expected by the farmer ,
and nobody knows what it will cost this
year to do him up. After the usual
annual announcement that owing to
dissensions among competitors no com
bination of manufacturers was possible ,
the makers of paris green got together a
fortnight ago and entered into a selling
agreement , the only missing feature of
the compact , so far as the public is ad
vised , being the price. Up to date no
price has been named , although orders
are being booked for delivery later on.
* * * Just what that will be is not
very clearly foreshadowed , but it is
likely to bo above the figures of last
year. "
The trust marked prices up from 11)
to 12 cents on May 2d , 14J cents to 18
cents by May 9th , and 14 } to 21 cents
by May 28d. On May 80th the Oil ,
Paint & Drug Reporter said : "Not