Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-12-13
The OIL Thrust NfononoIv.

hC oll CuSI AAOnODOly,
A strong effort is being made TO bull the
stock of the American Cotton Seed OIL
Trust Company. Newspaper writers who
handle Wall street matters are trying 70
show not only that The stock of the COM
pany Is worth more than its present price,
bat tdatithe company, which is huge
monopoly, promises to be Of vsst benefit
to the cotton planters.
s'faeI history OF the American Cotton
ie sllk Yil trust Company is quite well
khe%n. A year or so ago all the cotton
seed oil mills in the country were acting
independently OF each other. AS they
were all competing with each other, the
planters stood a pretty good chance OF
getting fair price for their cotton seed.
A few mills pooled their assets and formed
the American Cotton Seed Oil Trust, and
set to work to get control of all the cotton
oil mills in the country. At the outset the
stock OF the company, the par value of
which is 500 per share, was quoted at
$50 per share. AS one mill after another
was drawn into the com bination the mar
ket value of the stock advanced. The
mills in the country, and its stock is
quoted at so, with pretty fair indications
That 1t will reach par before another year.
The claim that is made that this huge
monopoly is better for the planter than
competing mills might be admitted IL
there were disposition to pay fair
price for cotton seed, but was there ever
q
than 1t had to? 1t may be paying a fair
price now for cotton seed, but how long
will it continue TO do SO? When it gets
control OF the few remaining mills the
probabilities are that it will reduce the
price of seed so that it VIII scarcely pay
planter to transport it to the railroad
depot.
The company is able not only to con-
troll the price of cotton seed but also of all
the products of the seed. When the cot
ton oil market is dull it can either stop
production until prices improve or it can
store its products until scarcity is pro-
duced and the demand becomes active
again. 1t is not often that a manu-
featuring monopoly has such absolute
manufactured article.
The company being able to pay what it
pleases for cotton seed and to fix its own
price for oil and oil cake, there is no good
reason why its stock should not 90 to par.
Even at present prices there is an i'm
mense profit in handling cotton seed.
All that is required to make the monopoly
Immensely successful is good manage
ment, and that doubtless it will take care
to have. The few mills that have thus
far refused to come into the combination
will, doubtless, in the course of time, be
starved, as 1t were, into submission. The
monopoly, when it wants them, will prob
ably enter their territory and buy up all
the cotton seed at prices which they can
not afford to pay, ana which the monopoly
would not pay except to destroy opposi-
ton.
The planters cannot very well form
combinations to hold their cotton seed
until they can get a fair price for it, be-
cause their number is too great, and
in many instances their necessities are
too pressing to permit of harmonious &C
ton. AS far as their cotton seed is con-
cerned they are in the grasp of huge
monopoly, and it only remains to be seen
how hard the pressure upon them will be.