The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1869-04-01

Ing sufficient working capital and thus New ork IS
nneinrioysd or capital which might better be and
PROBABLY lsj employed In other business; WINE, IN
the inesntirne, the company pleads us tue 10 siF
pr0nt upon prstsndedly inY.syed capital or $1,000
co., being really entitled 10 o pro'lt upon, pernaps
s6000g0. open this fallacy, which II netis tUss-eLa
cles TO see through the consumer Is maze 70 eesyc
that in paying iorty cents hundred Tor ice he q cny
ailOrdlng capital its just and Legitimate piOi, where
as he Is actually paying a proAS upon eaaltai n9t
really employed for his benefit. Tnlrty-iour years
Since when the business lIst started, aad Win
the rude appliances at hand ice was delivered IN
quantity al one dollar q hundred Now, Win every
advantage Of business on large scale, wish per
fected system OF gathering housing and delivery,
backed by excessively low wages 70 employees the
article averages en- gfos at six dollars 1on, though
last summer II ran as low as three dollars, Wnioh Is
alleged to be equivalent to doing business at oss
THE SCHEDULE FOR TIE sEAsoN
seems to have been aclty agreed upon, and involves
retail price OF forty cents hundred ia The aeat OF
tne season, though the business Will be opened AZ
thlrty-nve cents delivered IN small quantities The
cost OF delivery IN carts being estimated at TWO dol
lars and hall per ton, delivery In shipments at the
dock Ia placed at three dollars per ton. The alleged
system OF making up the schsdue is, or course very
simple. The cost OF gathering she estimated cost OF
transportation, further estimated cost OF dstrbu
ton, percentage upon the whole cost OF barRes,
carts implements houses, horses &C, and an esti-
mate OF all taxes and incidental outays are first
added together. To this gross amount Is added the
percentage OF proit upon the alleged capital en-
gagged; and the whole amount Is divided by the net
RumDer oil tons, which IL calculated by deducting
forty-nye per cent from the gross quantity housed
Tor shrinkaHo and Wastage. The quotielt OF THIS
DIVISION represents the average price, from WIlCn
variations FOR wholesale and retail are calculated.
The whole system is one OF estimates, and That tie
estimates are never SOC low Is sufficiently demon,
the enormous amount OF $1,000, 0t0 for the luxury
or ice. II some inventive Individual would ony
perfect plan TO transport iceDergs from the Arctcs
some relief might be expected But, as TO the found
ing OF new companies, sooner they able to
swim than the Old ones swallow them, Increasing
their fictitious or unemployed capital by the amount
Swallowed. t NJ r
Taxing a single company as an illustration the
IN IN fhA QahnA Ia Ia aliaI Eu
umatln1 the cost or cutting aud hauling AZ forty
cents ton, the aggregate housags OF 100000
Cutting and other expenses. 160 900
Ton per cent on value OF houses, barges,
oarts, horses and implements 10 value OF
Actual cost OF shipping to market at ten 'e
cents per Ion. 10000
II is not at the barge or IN trdns,tu that the
greater proportion or The allowance for shrinkage
ought TO be made but IN the process Of cart dellv
ery Bought at the bargc--shrinkage by iand trans
pOrtaiion at tue buyers rlsk-the loss to the COM
pany IA quantity Is not more than ten per cent,
which nxes the actual value per ton at the barge,
regardless oil pront at seventy-two cents. Ten per
cent on $1,000, ooo the alleged capital, $2O0,6oO
which, taken iptO account, increases the price per
ton at the barge 10 81 80, which is equal to SIX and
q half cents hundred; and that the article deliv-
cred at the dock ought not cost more il morally
certain, FOR the reason that the estimates above
given are oiilcal, and likely TO exceed rather than
otherwise, the actual expenses yet IL Is grayely az
serted that companies must be set down doing
business at loss at So rs at the hargethe lowest
rate last summer-which Is somewhat more than
double cost and profit put together, taking Official
estimates for both. In the process OF delivery
again. about thirty per cent Ia lost For instance,
allowing that loo, 600 tons or the whoe quantity
shipped mas 70 be delivered in the cotnpanys carts,
the Just price per ton put down at ones door may
be easily computed
Value at the barge. $4,000
Actual cost OF delivery, with present faci
Ties, ~ IL ~ per t0n.. 10000
Total. ...................... $3.50, 900
Price per Ton, allowing thirty per cent for
waste ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS. dollars
Fer hundred. 20 cents
III these estimates err IL Is in favor OF the compa
MES, and yet these same companies aege that 10
denver Ice at twentyn cents 8 hundred is losing
business, and cipher out the demonstration with Lhe
utmost p!ausibiiity. Verify, figures not always
yerac!ous, though. when tnej la OF speaking tae
TRUTH i IS generally by coercion.