Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-09-01
THE COTTON BAGGING TRUST. /.
Witnesses Before the House Committee on
Manufactures.

WASHINGTON, Aug 31.-The house COM
mittee on manufactures resumed the in
quiry into the alleged cotton bagging
trust today.
Mr.. Anderson Gratz, Of st. Louis, testi-
fed that he was engaged in the manufac-
ture of cotton bagging. The object of the
agreement was to enable the parties to it
to obtain and maintain control of the
cotton bagging produced in this country
for the present season. The trust had
secured control of about twothirds of the
cotton bagsing in the country, the re-
lnaining third, about 10000 being pro-
duced by persons VINO are not in any way
connected with the trust The contract
shows that the agreement is between the
firms of L. Waterbury g. Co., OF New York
city, party OF the first part and the Charles
ton Bagging Manufacturing company;
Nevins & Co.. Of Boston; the New York
Southern Mills Bagglng company: the
Standard Mills Bagging company,
the Muncie Bagging company, and
the Empire Bagglng company, parties OF
the second part. The parties OF the second
part agreed to sell and deliver to l.. Water
bury & Co. all their bagging on hand when
the contract was made and such as might
them during the year 1883. Waterbury q
Co. act as "a center of correspondence
through which the increase and reduction
in price is brought about. 1t is agreed
that profits and losses shall be shared in
proportion. The sale and prices OF cotton
bagging are determined by majority, OF
the members of the second part. The
agreement took effect April 16 Since
then two mills signing the agreement have
failed to start and probably dozen or
more outside Of the trust closed down pre-
viOus to and since the agreement was con-
summated. The first set price of cotton
bagging was made in New York by the
trust about the middle Of July. At the
proposition of witness 90 cents was
then fixed as the price On Jan
uary l the productive capacity of
Warren, Jones & Gratz, in connection
with the several firms which they repre-;
scented, was 'two-thirds OF all the product
i've capacity OF the south but they actually
produced seven-eighths of all that was
was fixed in July the members of the trust
had advanced the price of cotton bagging
3 cents per yard. The present price of cot
ton bagging in this country is 3 cents
higher than at which the foreign manu-
featured product can be brought here i'll
elusive of the freight charges. This was
due to the fact that the production of the
material in this country was confined to a
few firms Probably 60 per cent of this
years bagging was in the hands of the
retail dealers and the other 40 per cent in
the hands of the manufacturers If the
duty on cotton bagging and jute
was left unchanged the witness thought
that the trust would go out of existence,
and if those articles were admitted free
the firms would run a corner every other
year. The needs of the planter were abso-
lutte and imperative and he must have the
bagging, no matter what the cost. During
the last three or four years there was little
cotton bagging imported, the domestic
supply being equal to the demand.
Charles A. Pearse, of St. Louis, secretary
of the Standard Mills Bagging company.
one of the concerns embraced in the trust,
assented generally to the testimony given
by Mr.. Gratz and the committee adjourn
ed till tomorrow.