The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1888-08-08
A Peculiarly odious Monopoly.

A Peculiarly Odious Monopoly.
Ii anything were needed to convince
the people of this part of the country of
the inordinate hoggishness and arrogance
of the high tariff monopolists it has been
supplied by recent pronunciamento of
the Muncie pulp company. This pulp
company is corporation composed of
wealthy New Workers, who were induced
by liberal offers from a syndicate of enter
prising democrats of Muncie to establish
a pulp factory in that thriving town. The
owners of this factory do not vote in In
diana. They are men of immense for
tunes-made, no doubt, out of the mon
opoly tariff. The president of the pulp
trust, with which this company is con-
nected, and the treasurer of the company
Is GUSTAV L. JAEGER, reputed to be eight
times millionaire. His company located
its mill at A1uncie in order to make
money. It was doubtless good
thing for Muncie that it did
so, but it was good deal better thing for
the company. 1t was given (free) twenty
five acres of land, with free fuel and free
water for all time. 1t holds patent on
its process of making pulp, and patent
on its machinery. No one else can use
this process, or this machinery. 1t had
guarantee of $500 tons of straw at s.
ton (delivered) before it consented to
locate its shop at Muncie. 1t employs the
enormous number of sixteen hands at the
r2te of wages current in Muncie. 1t viii
thus be seen that the Muncie pulp
company owes everything to the
generosity and public spirit of
the people Of Muncie, and especially OF
the wide-awake democratic citizens who
gave it its land, fuel and water, and that
it makes a very slender return for the ad-
vantages which have been given it. But
it has the sublime gall to publish in the
Muncie papers an impertinent and Of
fensive letter, purporting to be the COM
position of its secretary, one TRACY Of
New York, in which it sets itself up as a
public benefactor, and presumes to tell
the people of Delaware county that
its interest must be held paramount
10 their own, and that they must vote as
these purse-proud monopolists tell them
to under penalty of their everlasting dis
pleasure. The Journal declares the letter
of this would be dictator and bulldozer
a blow fright between the eyes" of "free
trade" If it is blow at anything it is
blow at the high tariff monopolists, al
though dealt by themselves, because it
exposes them to the people OF Indiana in
their true character of unscrupulous,
greedy and arrogant tax eaters.
The secretary tells the people of Muncie
that if the Mills bill had been introduced
before the company began to build its
shops he doubts very much whether a
brick would be laid where now stands
this fine establishment" He also asserts
that If pulp was put on the free list the
company would have to reduce the price
of its product s. per ton, or on an output
of twenty tons per day S160 per day, or
$4,000 per year. He declares that the
Muncie pulp company could not stand
this loss, but that it would have to fall on
the farmers, mechanics, laborers, team
sters and railroad companies. Almost in
the same breath he asserts that if the duty
is kept on, the Muncie company will sell
pulp as cheap as the foreign article can be
procured at New York. He also says that
the foreign product is controlled by a Ger
man trust, and he insults intelligence by
the statement that "by the grace of an
American tariff system, for every ton of
German straw pulp that the Muncie pull p
works displaces by one of its own,
the United States will be $50 the richer,
and the greater portion of this $50 will
add to the wealth of Delaware county,
Indiana"
This mass of balderdash, of incongrui-
ties and inconsistencies and contradic-
tons and fiat falsehoods, "goes right
home" according to the Journal. And
yet the average school boy OF twelve years
could hardly fail to detect its sophistries
at a glance. If the tax on pulp is taken
of, says this monopolist, pulp win be IS
q ton cheaper TO consumers.
CThe monopoly takers always in
sist that the tax does not
increase the price of the protected article,
but whenever it is proposed to remove or
reduce such tax, some fellow who is inter-
ested in keeping it up, pops up to say that
such change will compel him to sell his
product for as much less as the reduction
in tax amounts to- But if the tax is kept
on (says Mr.. Pulp Monopolist) pulp will
be as cheap as the foreigners can supply
il to us. Thus he gives his whole case away.
He either lies when he says the Muncie
pulp will be as cheap as German pulp If
the tax is maintained, or he hes
when he says it will be S.
cheaper if the tax is removed.
In either case he shows himself to be ut
terly unworthy OF credit.
Now, the facts are that this pulp monop-
oily is one Of the most odious of the whole
brood Of monopolies created by the spoil
alton tariff. The pulp business is con-
trolled by trust, of which, as stated, the
treasurer of the Muncie company is presi-
dent. This trust regulates" wages, limits
the output, and prevents active compe-
titlon for raw material 1t realizes enor-
nous profits. Some figures about the