Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-10-19
Bust by the Trust.
A, Jewelry Combination That
Grips Like Steel.
HOW IT Furnishes THE DERELICT.

a Cleveland Firm-They Resisted the
Despot and Su Tered for 1.-THE DuebeI
Watch Case Company and Its Relations
to the Fight-Boycotts That Crush the |
Victims.
CLEVELAND, o.. Oct 10 -Apropos of the |
bankruptcy of the wholesale jewelry firm of |
]. NJ Chandler & Co, wednesday, the fol-
lowing story of the failure is interesting, as
showing the arbitrary rules and power of
the manufacturers and jobbers' watch COM
bination. Some years ago this combination
was formed for the purpose of keeping up
the prices on watches and controlling the en-
tire trade. The firms in the trust are the lii
nois Watch company; the Eigin Watch COM
pauy; the Howard Watch company, Of Bos-
ton; the Seth Thomas Watch company, Of
Thomaston, Conn. the Keystone Watch
company, of Philadelphia; the Crescent
Watch Case company, of Chicago; the
Bates & Bacon Watch Case company, of At
tleboro, Mas; the Brooklyn Watch Case
company, of Brooklyn; the Courvousier
Wilcox Watch Case company, of New York;
Joseph Faheys & Co, of New York; Charles
Gatz. of New York; the Leroy Watch Case
company; the Brussels Watch Case com
pany, and several minor concerns in
New York; the manufacturing jew
elers throughout the country have a
combination of their own, but it works hand
in hand with the watch and watch-case COM
panies, and is really part and parcel of the
latter combination. Together they absolutely
dictate the price which every citizen must
pay for his watch, no matter what "nake"
be may purchase, unless it be Dueber
watch. The Dueber Watch-Case company,
of Newport, Ky, and Canton, o, and the
Hampden Watch company, of Canton, O..
both OF which are practically under the same
management, are the only watch compa MES
I.o outside of the combination, and bitter war
fare has been waged against them for some
time-in which, by the way, the Dueber com
pany has been holding its ground in good
shape. One of the most stringent rules OF
the combination is that no dealer, either
wholesale or retail, shall buy any of the
Dueber goods
The manner in which the trust attempts to
control not only the wholesale but also the
retail trade is as follows: The principal office
is in New York and is in charge of Secretary
| l. W. Noyes and an executive board If CON-
| plant is made against any wholesale dealer
| for cutting prices or selling so much as one
cent below the price dictated by the trust,
the secretary Immediately notifies every fac
tory, and the Dealers supplies are cut off in
stantly. In the case of retail dealer vio-
lating any of the rules the jobber or whole
sale dealer is compelled TO refuse to sell him
goods under pain of being himself boycotted
by the trust The latter only permits the
iobbers to give discount of Il per cent, and
/ - 81 81 $50
that the combination deliberately ruined j.
NJ. Chandler s Co., of this city.
Last July one of the drummers of this
firm, sold dealer-a regular customer-a
| bill of goods among which were some
watches Some weeks later the customer
sent in his check to Chandler & Co., after
having first deducted the 10 per cent. usually
allowed him The firm claims that the
bookkeeper accepted the check without look
ing up the items in the bill, and hence the
fact that there were couple of watches on
the bill was overlooked. The retail dealer
sent the bill Of the gools and proof that more
than per cent. discount had been allowed to
Secretary Noyes at New York and received
$500 for the job the trust having a standing
offer of that amount to any one furnishing
proof of the violation of any of its rules
Chandler & Co, were at once cut
off without a chance to explain and
orders issued that they be absolutely refused
all supplies for year. The senior MEM
Der of the firm hastened to New York, but
all his explanations and proteststions were in
vain As the Dueber Watch company was
crowded with orders no supplies could be Sc
cured from that source, and the firm was
compelled to struggle along with what stock
it had on hand. The trust had got in III
work, however, and the firm found itself
boycotted in every direction. The bank,
were made acquainted with the fact that the
firm had been forced out of the trust, and al
last the Union National bank, at which thC
firm was trsnsacting business refused fur
ther discount and threw out s. 900 of its pa
per, and Chandler a Co were forced to Civ,
up.
It may be mentioned in this connection
that the trust does not always absolutely
ruin dealers who incur its dispeasure. Some
times it simply levies fines The lowest fin,
is 500 and the largest 81, 900 A great man,
dealers have been buying Dueber goods @ol
the sly" Secretary Noyes recently went OIL
a tour Of inspection, and. going into tn
: iewelrv establishment of c. Oscamp in Gin
be allowed to inspect the private books an
accounts of the firm The proprietor, how
ever, told the secretary OF the trust to go T.
blazes, and refused to show his books. There
upon the secretary and executive board fine
: Oscamp 81, 900, and upon refusal 10 pay tn
same be WAS cut off His business relation
i with the Dueber Watch company were such
n however that he was enabled to continue i
business without much embarrassment
! is said shat at least three or four Chicag
jewelers. were fined in sums ranging frol
$500 to 1900 recently for buying Duebt
a goods
a The firm of Sipe & Sigler, Of this city,
q probably the only one in the country tn,
= has succeeded in successfully defying tt
n trast They advertise openly and Sc
= watches Of all makes at wholesale price
= The trust has cut them off and declared
!. boycott against them, but, nevertheless, Sil
70 & Sigler appear to have no trouble in fin,
Il ing jobbers to sell them goods, though 81
y rosa, and the firm is doing an immense bu;
ness