Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-12-14
MORE ABOUT TRUSTS,
Testimony Before the Senate Investigating
Committee,

NEW YORK, Dec. 13.-The senate trust
committee resumed its session today in
the county court house. Mr. Francis B.
Ehurber, of the firm of Thurber, Wyland
g. Co., was the first witness. He said the
purpose of the Wholesale Grocers associa-
ton was to maintain uniform prices by
the wholesale dealers. The only articles
in which any attempt has been made to fix
rates were sugar, bakers cocoa and
Royal baking powder. The witness
denied that the Wholesale Gro
GERS association was formed to compel
the members Of the sugar trust to sell to
the members of the grocers' association at
less rates than were charged to merchants
who were not members of the association.
There was no understanding between the
association and the trust in regard to
purchasing from the trust rather than
other rsfineries. The association endeav-
ored to get prices which would pay for
the cost of distribution. When the gro
GERS association was first organized they
tried to induce the manufacturers in
the sugar trust to fix their prices SO
that all members of their association
might be allowed a rebate, but were I'M
successful. Recently some of the men,
bers Of the association had been able to
make such an arrangement. Any mem Der
of the association was at liberty to buy
from sugar manufacturers outside Of the
sugar trust, and many members had done
SO. Wholesalers had often special
demand for certain class of sguar, and
as a consequence they mad to buy from
the manufacturers which suited them.
When asked if there was a national
Wholesale Grocers' association, Mr.. Thur
Der said there is not, but his belief was
that before next year such an association
l..
that the chief reason for the formation of
the grocers' association was TO maintain
uniform rates on sugar.
Mr.. John Stanton, counsellor and treas
urer of the Lake Superior. Allouez and
many other companies, was the next
witness. He said that the company
he represented made an agreement
in April last to furnish them with all
the copper produced for the term of two
years and eight months. The syndicate,
he said, controlled the price and output.
Mr.. Charles Ralph, a copper broker, said
that copper had been steadied in price
since the establishment of the syndicate.
Mr.. Appleton Sturgess, president of the
Eagle Milling company, of Brooklyn, next
testified He is manufacturer of bags;
At first Mr.. Sturgess was inclined
to dispute the existence OF
trust in bags. According to Mr..
Sturgess it was only a corner" He
that the manufacturers entered
into a combination about the beginning of
the year, to buy up all the material for
making bags, that they could lay hold of
at any thing like reasonable prices, so
control of the market. They then. he said,
proceeded to get all the mills in the
country into the trust, and succeeded in
all but two instances. The two mills that
refused to go into the trust were
the Ludlow, Mass, Milling company
and the Columbus, Ga, Mining company.
He expressed the opinion that if the Mills
tariff bill had gone into operation it would
have closed every mill in the country. The
dread of the Mills bill was the cause of the
trust, because manufacturers sought to
make as much money as they could be-
fore the Mills bill drove them out of eXis-
tence; hence the corner" or trust. The
price then Immediately raised from
nc to 1876. The mills, of
five, all, with the exception of about five
of them, shut down when the combination
was entered into, so that they could raise
the price to any figure they chose. There
was nothing to prevent them from making
the price % cents but that they would not
be able to hnd purchasers at that price.
Mr. Sturgess, IN answer to Senator Ives,
said that there would be no trust possible |
with reasonable rate of tax on the raw
f. j. Goodheart, whisky broker, said
of the whisky or distillers' trust, that its
headquarters, or principal distillery, is at
Peoria, H., and the capital of the combin- |
alton amounts to S30,000,000. They had
been paying from Is to l per cent diyi- |
lends, but being DESTROYS of increasing |
their surplus stock, they have been paying |
4 per cent for some time back.