The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-01-12
The Phosphate Interest.

1t was stated yesterday tnaC tue Diotu'
erhood Mining Company, which operates
on Battery Creek, Beaufort County, had
discharged all its hands, locked up its
dredpes, fats &C., and would suspend
operations at least until the spring. The
information comes from source that
does not admit of doubt as to its cor
rectness. :,
"A gentleman. who is thoroughly famil'
lar with the phosphate trade and all its
connections was asked yesterday it the
river companies had as yet arrived at
at any understanding on the subject of
forming a syndicate for the purpose OF
limiting the production of phosphate
rock.
emo" said he, 81 don't think that any
agseement has been made as yet, but
think it is probable that most of the
companies will suspend work for two or
three months, perhaps for longer peri.
cd. I know that Brotherhood has, and
for the simple reason that it does not pay
to mine rock at the present prices. A
sort of fertilizer syndicate has been
formed in Baltimore, l hear, and an
effort is making to form one in New
York. There were some people down
here last year trying to get up syndi-
cate among the miners here, but the
thing fell through, / don't know exactly
why, but it fell through. I am not able
to state definitely what the Carolina men
proposed to do, but wouldn't be sur.
prised if most of the river com panies
suspended operations for a month or
two. Perhaps by thst time prices will
90 up to figures that will enable them to
resume work and perhaps they won't.
Who can tell 2"
The New York Times, ofDecember 81,
says: ga big trust is in course of forn,a-
ton among the manufacturers of COM
mercial fertilizers, and its promoters
claim that it is nearly contaminated and
that only few details remain to be
arranged before it will be an effective
working organization. A low estimate
places the annual sales of artificial fer.
tilizers at 100000 tons, or S30, ,OO0, 600
worth annually, and the trade is con-
stantly increasing. The business does
not yield satisfactory profit at present
on account of bad pay by farmers, the
number of commercial travellers it is
necessary to employ, and the railroad
freights. The trust hopes to do away
with these evils. If it is successfully
carried out, the number of drummers
will be reduced by one-tentb, farmers
will have to pay or they can no longer
procure goods, and house in one part
Of the country that has customer in
another can have his order filed by q
house in his immediate neighborhood.
"This is the programme, but there is
large number of manufacturers-.aRd
among them several of the most impor-
tant-who do not think it is feasible.
They claim that the business is not one
which will admit of the sources of sup
plies being controlled by any trust, how
ever powerful. To make the trust sue
ceed it would be necessary to control the
mining of all the nitrate of soda on the
west coast of South America, the sui.
phate of ammonia supply, the bone trade,
the slaughter house refuse and the
potashes that are the monopoly of q
German syndicate. An attempt of this
kind on small scale lately made has
failed, or is doomed to failure. The
Charleston and South Carolina phos-
pilates are essential in the business,
$50, 900 tons of them being used annu-
ally. The land rock is owned by private
companies and the river rock by the
State, the companies paying royalty Of
81 ton for mining the latter. Five of
the most powerful companies recently
formed combination and got bill into
the South Carolina Legislature to get q
grant from the State giving them control
of the river rock. The bill was defeated
by decided majority. The supporters
of the trust say they will get around the
difficulty about controlling the sources of
supply by keeping out of the market the
fertilizers in which the Ingredients they
cannot control are essential elements or
by substituting others in their place.
Other objections urged by the doubters
are that men who know the business can
get supplies outside the trust, and that
the farmers will be against the trust
when they find the neighboring small
manufacturers frozen out by it.
SIN spite of these obvious drawbacks
to the scheme, which are known to
everybody in the business, it is very
probably that the trust will be formed.
The business is not in good condition,
and the manufacturers, while not abso-
lu,ely certain Of the result, hope to
accomplish it by the employment of large
capital and thorough organization. As
one expressed it, it is sort of desperate
fight for tter-condition of things. If
it succeeds an accidental benefit to the
farmer will be that it will free him from
the fertilizer fends who make his life d
burden. Another effect will be to do
away with brokers, as 80 large trust
would deal directly with producers;
All this is very interesting reading, but
it is not true so far as it refers to the bill
recently introduced in the South Carolina
Legislature. The bill was introduced by
the Joint committee of the Legislature
which had been especially intrusted with
the investigation of the entire phosphate
problem. The give of the most power.
full companies" did not form combina-
ton. They were selected by the phos.
phate commission as being better able to
preserve the phosphate industries with
the best results to the State. The rest of
the Times report may be correct, but it
ought to be taken with a good deal of
salt.-Nems and Courier.