The daily gazette., 1880-05-29
HOW THE MONOPOLIEs KEEP
UP PRICES.
From the Telegraph, Rep.

The Printing Papermakers' A $50
cation first voted to firmly maintain
the present schedule of prices for the
various grades of their products, "be-
cause" they said, "no importations of
foreign paper stock are now being
made, and the manufacturers antici-
pate an advance in domestic stock on
this account" The Association then,
in order to make the supply unequal
to the demand, and thus TO enable it
" TO firmly maintain the present sched-
ule Of prices for the various grades of
their products" vo,ed to shut down
their mills for three weeks, commenc-
ing June 2, and also for three weeks in
August.
The Lehigh and Schuylkill Coal Ex-
changes voted to increase the price of
stove and small stove fifteen cents per
ton during the month of June.
Now, let it be understood that, with
no legitimate advance in the price of
paper m: terial or with no special
scarcity of it, the price of printing pa
per is largely in excess of that point
where it yields fair profit and this
exorbitant price, in the face of limit
ed demand, is firmly maintained only
by close combination of the paper
makers, who, by combining, are ena-
bled to es ablish gigantic monopoly,
to decree the limitation of the supply
and to keep it always little under
the actual demand. This can be done
only by association, by the whole num-
Der OF producers acting as one man in
the direction of reversing the natural
laws of supply and demand. We're it
not for the importation duty on print
ing paper, even the closest combina-
tion could not do this but, shielding
themselves under the tariff laws which
are mea. to protect all American in
dustries in common. the representa-
tives of the paper-makers industry pro-
coed to oppress the printing and pub
fishing industries.
In the same manner, the coal opera
tors combine, and by the strength of
their combination suspend all mining
AMI shipping of coal, and so fix the price
Of it to suit themselves. They, too, are
enabled TO do this by the tariff which
protects them against the foreign pro-
ducers; and they too, availing themselves
OF this great advantage, use 1t 20 oppress
other producers. At the present time,
the manufacture of iron is in an exceed
lngly depressed condition; the supply is
large, the demand small, and the price
low. While it is IN this condition, the
Coal Exchanges, which have a mono
poly of not only the coal but of means
of shipping it, raise the price, which is
SIMPLY another stunning blow struck at
the already staggering iron trade.
But the mischief does not end there,
either with the Coal Exchanges or the
Printing PaPermakeIs' Association. To
be able either to firmly maintain an
exorbitant price on paper, or to make an
; an advance upon an already exorbitant
price for coal, the papermakers' mono.
poly and the coal operators monopol y
must shut down their mills and clo.e
their mines for protracted periods at
regular intervals. In doing this, they
inflict the most cruel wrong and injustice
upon the hands employed by them; for
to shut down mills and close mines is to
cut their workingmen off from wages and
their families from support. BY these
disgraceful tactics are the few rich made
richer, and the many poor made poorer.
The worst of 1t all is that there is not
even the preteose of necessity for it. 1t
has no other assumption of excuse than
that the mill-owners desire 10 make ex-
tortionate profits; and in order to do that,
1t matters no. hing to then who suffer
either pecuniarily or physically.
1t is just such unjustifiabe acts as
these which Senator Eaton's proposed
commission is to irquire into and rep 1rt
upon to Congress; and who can say, in
fairness, that they do not offer ali
irrefutable argument in support of re.
vising the tariff? 1t will naturally be
contended that, If the policy of protec.
tion is to be used not to protect our do
mestic industries and 7orkingmen but
to enable the representatives of certain
industries to combine and form power
ful, monopolies to prey upon other in
dustries aud the community as well, it
IS bad policy, and cannot too soon be
revised or abolished altogether. The
tariff can have no such dangerous ene-
mics as these monopolists, for there are
no weapons which can be used so effec-
lively in assailing it as those which they,
by the grasping greed of gain, place In