St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-02-24
THE TRUST.
It Is as Secret and as Dread
full as the Old InQui-
sition.
The Deadliest Enemy Against
the Republic and the
American People.
Lower Than Mormonism, More
Despicable Than Anarchy,
Wiekeder Than All.
The Roguery Which the Pris-
on Shelters. This Youn-
geSt Crime OF the
Nineteenth Century Stands
Face to Face With the
People To-Day,
And Asks, as Tweed Did:
What Are You Going to
Do About It p


The Sugar Trust, the Whisky Trust,
the Cotton Seed Oil Trust, the Lard
Trust, the Steel Trust, the Cattle
Trust, the Iron Trust, and all the rest
of the brood of big conspiracies
which have sprung into being in
the past year, differ from the Stand
ard Oil Trust in that they were eS-
tablshed directly to get a grip on GER
tain commodities and so regulate their
manufacture as to squeeze large profits
from the pockets of the consumers.
The New York World and Times have
devoted columns recently to history of
the trusts and combines. which, owing
to the high protective tariff. have been
enabled to form into mOnOpOlies and
crush out all competition. 1t is inter
esting reading for the farmer and the
labOrer-fOr every man who has to pur-
chase directly or indirectly the nece ssa-
ries of life.
The Sugar Kings.
The capital stock Of the sugar trust is
put at 2G0,0c0,O9O. This represents less
than S20,O09.OO0 of brick and mortar. a
million or two of money and $40,000.G00
of clear, virgin water. Stock has been
offered for sale. and some has been sold
as high as so. but people are wary Of
touching it now at 20, because it begins
to look as if the monopoly kings might
receive a sudden check in their mad
career. If it were only safe it would be
a grand investment, for sugar men
figure that the trust has already made
since Nov. y per cent on its Watered
stock, or 80 per cent on its real property.
The plan of the sugar trust is very
simple. 1t works both ways-to depress
the price on raw sugars and increase the
price of refined. By destroying compe-
titiOn it destroys also the market for
raw sugars, and takes away the buSi-
ness of importers and brokers. The
great American protective tariff helps
in the evil work by barring out the bet
ter grade OF raw sugars which would be
suitable for use without refining. Hay
ing three-quarterS of the retinerieS in
their own hands, the trust plays the
game so familiar in the anthracite coal
fields of shutting down and restricting
production. At the close of January
there were but two trust houses running
in New York, two in Boston, two in
New Orleans and one in ST. Louis. Re-
fined sugar had advanced a cent and
half pound, and as the middlemen al
ways take advantage of good excuse
to raise prices, the poor public found it.
self paying 3 or cents more pound
than it paid year ago.
Millions In 1t.
The sugar importers have not yet
made up their minds what the ultimate
figures will be, for the reason that
there was very large sugar crop in
Louisiana this year, which has naturally
depressed prices and kept the Western
market supplied. This crop will be
used up in three or four weeks and then
more of the refinerieS will start up, but
whether that will mean higher or lower
prices for refined the sugar men say
they cannot yet tell. The importers are
all idle. Like Micawber, they are wait
ing for something to turn up. They
are all desperately afraid to tell what
they know about the trust, for they say
the combination would crush them if
they were known to peach. Not but
what they are pretty we'll crushed al
ready, but there is always a hope that
some change i'll the aspect of affairs may
take place.
With fear and trembling a gentleman
prominent in the trade did a little fig
uring. "There is," he said, sat present
prices profit of 1116 cents per pound
to refine sugar, or in round figures S14
per tor, and the trust will refine 1000
coo tens year. This will give them a
neat little profit of 13,C00 COO or S14.-
worth over S20,000,000. So you can see
for yourself whether the trust is likely
to pay. Of course, these figures may be
lowered, and then again they may be
increased. An eighth of cent one Way
or the other means millions in this bust
ness"
There is pitiful side to the shutting
down OF the big rehneries by the sugar
trust.
The Laborers.
who worked in them formerly got $40
per month. Now they are paid 12l%
cents per hour, and only paid when
actually at work. They are getting
starvation wages, as may easily be con-
ceived. Most of the men are Poles and
BohemianS, and how they subsist on
what they make is mystery to the
human mind. The sugar king of New
York would seem to be about as gener-
Gus as the coal baron of the Lehigh re-
gion.
1.-The Sugar Refneries Company is
the sign and title of the trust. and New
York is its home. The firms composing
the trust are all bound by ironclad agree
ments, involving among other things
fealty, obedience and absolute silence.
A correct list Of the refneries compos-
ing the Sugar Refineries company has
not yet got into the papers. 1t is as fol-
lows:
In New York, Havemeyer & Elder
Sugar Refining company, F. 0. Matth-
lessen& Wiechers Sugar Refining COM
pany, Brooklyn Sugar Refining com
pany, Havemeyer Sugar Refining COM
pany, Decastro & Bonner Sugar Refn-
ing company, Dick & Meyer Sugar Re
filming company, Moller, Sierck q Co.
Sugar Refining company, North River