Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1888-10-20
Market ManipuIutOrs,


The men who attempt the unnatural
control OF product sooner or later come
to grief, says Mr.. Andrew Carnegie, and
1t is doubtless true, as "A rule, though
with many exceptions. Mr.. Hutchinson
seems lately to have out Of his
corner successfully the lead man
has however fallen by the way
side; and the fate of the copper corner
Is for the future to disclose. And the
fact is that so much disturbance is caused
In market prices by the restless efforts of
upscrupulous Spectators TO seize all the
money they can reach, that it Is necessary
for the law to say how they shall reach
for il,
The law undertakes to say this, and TO
punish those who take anything without
permission Of the owner and without
giving value for it. The law is good, but
the execution of it is very imperfect, as
everyone knows. The man who
takes things directly and without
any humbug about it, gets to Jail
generally when he is caught, particularly
".~NA NN 10 Iobi puN hS VIII uOtb tIlt
same work in roundabout way can often
get away with the plunder without being
bothered by the law; while it
could hold him fast enough il the
judges, and lawyers, and execcutioners
generally would give it fair chance.
Thus the Standard Oh company people
have amassed great fortunes by entering
into conspiracies with the agents of carry
ing companies whereby they got advan-
tayes that were denied to their cCmpeti-
tors. There is no doubt about this fact and
thera Is no doubt that it was done con.
trary to law, nor is there any doubt that
The consplrators would 90 to Jail if they
We're arrested and tried for the crime
and the facts were proven in court,
as they are known 10 he, and a suit has
just been brought by Chicago spring
manufacturing concern, which charges
that there is combination Of spring
makers, and combination of spring
steel makers; and that the spring
combination, to crush the opposi-
tion OF the Chicago concern, has
induced the spring steel combination to
ask 1T ten dollars per ton more for its
steel than the spring combination is
charged. The latter combination is bound
together under compact which requires
certain prices to he maintained and com.
pels the payment into common treasury
OF certain percentage upon all sales by
any member over its allotted quantity.
This form Of combination is quite
common among manufacturers, and is
generally ineffective. 1t is probably one
which the law will not care to forbid. 1t
does not often last long enough TO hurt
anybody.
The railroad spike makers try it every
whipstitch, the difficulty always b.ing
that the parties conspiring will not keep
faith with each other. There is nothing
surer than that in half dozen bust
ness firms there will be one or
more who will lie at least
II they will not cheat, for dollars
sake and that is death TO combinations.
This spring steel combination has
however stuck together wslI, and the
declaration is that they are particularly
prosperous in their union, because
1t is clear that they do not stick together
through honor or piety. They show in
Their scheme against the Chicago concern
that they are natural pickpocke,s of the
hrst wafer, and so, too, is the steal
spring combine; for if these worthless
have plotted and agreed between
each other TO make the Chicago
spring concern pay ten dollars per ton
more for spring steel than the spring
steel combination pays, they are not only
dishonest, but they have done what the
law declares TO be dishonest, and what it
will put them in the penitentiary
for, if invoked. And they have
done just this thing. The spring
steel makers having nobody to sell
spring steel TO but steel spring makers,
who were all combined, were under their
feet; and had 10 do what they were told
20 do OF shut up shop; SO that there is
excuse for them; but the spring steel
makers have none but the love OF lucre.
us~
tss tn The NiIkesbarre Crime.