South Branch intelligencer. [volume] (Romney, Va. [W. Va.]) 1830-1896, 1889-07-26
COMBINING sUeARINrEREsrs
Tho Quiet Machinery of Mo
nopoli as.
NUMBER ~.

NUMBER ~.
The success of tho Standard OH Trus,,
whose general structure attempted 10 rnsk.
plain 10 my last paper, wss = mary.lou.
tn butte TO lie designers. SO perfectly had
sney conceived their plan, and With such
patience and care had they marked out i,s
every detail, that like tho great Co-liu an.
gtusst The Philadelphia ecrteuniAi iu move.
men 70 from the begin ming were a smoo al as
| they were resistiess, and had com oi.,e mas.
sery Of all the attached machinery IL wac
capitalized In 1882 at $40, 600, 800, for which
anon e certificates xafe Issued By fess
iu capital bad grown TO sso, 200. o 100, OF
which less than $4,000. 900 represented
Snare: issued for stock Of new corporations
absorbed into tho trust aud all the stocJx
dividends. 10 addition TO the stock diyi-
dsods Il bad paid regular quarterly divi.
dends IN money, averaging y per cent year.
| ~, and reachipg 20 per ccut ia recent
years. The trust certificates. beginning be-.
lov pan hSe gone up to Sizes. Thus. in
less than six years, q capital OF seveoty mil.
lion dollars, at most scventy-six millions.
with . lees market value, had grown to .
ehPtai OF rinety nsllions, with a market
value OF one hundred aud Efty million dol.
lars. having meantime paid regular and lib.
erai dividends. In word, the trust scheme
10 iteeit. by what IL bad doue, aud what IL
etemei able 10 do, had doubled the value Of
tne property OF the combination, although
tne increasing production Of the Russian oil.
neds was causing serious competition ia the
ioreign markets. These facts, which sound
IKE Eastern tables rather than a CHAPTER
from our recent commercial history, will
| prepare us for the spread Of the ney inyen
uen as soon as its nature could be discover
cd and its possible effects understood. The
| next great co mbiuation was The Cotton
| seed oil Trust, formed by the stockholders
| OF more IMAM seventy corporations, operat..
ing IN fourteen States, which aimed at s.eur-
Ing the control ola recently de welcomed in
| dustrH whose product 10 fast becoming an
important article o: commerce Some of
Tue star dard Oil managers appear in this
trust also. But dealing with an article OF
very recent commercial Importance, neither
necessary of life, nor yet of gene raj
known consumption, the Cottopssed Oil
Trust impressed the public more az Wall
| street speculation than as a matter Of imme
olaie concern to them. Sugar, however, is
| OF daily use In every household. Its aver.
age consumption In the United States Ia 80
pound, per capita, requiring nearly one
| third OF the product of the world. or this
vast amount We produce, chiefly In Louisar.
Q, q variable fraction, averaging about one
tenth. and Import the residue In the form OF
raw sugare, which ara reared ia this couo-
ny. our taTiG dnt les being prohibitory on
the refined grade's When therefore it bs.
| came Known that large majority OF Ameri.
Can re6ners had formed 'sugar trust and
its operation was brought sharply home to
every household By an Immediate and conse
suent rice in the price OF an article of uni.
versai consumption, public feeling was NJ
| once excited TO the point where Legislatures
and courts were invoked to uncover, and If
possible 10 suppress this new form OF scorer
combination. The sugar trust Was frame
very closely upon its model, but some dffJr,
enees must be kept in view from the begin.
Mug.
The Standard Oil trust was simply a new
and more perfect organization given to an
already existing combination.
HOW THE SUGAR TRUST WAS voRxgp
The sugar trust was the adoption OF thar
organization for the purpose of forming a
combination out Of hitherto independent and
competing companies. The deed under
which the sugar trust was ORGANISED was
made in October, 1897. IL provided that
ell parties TO it. not already corporations.
should first become such, aud ihereupon
that all the shares Of stock in all the corpo-
rations should be transferred to the board of
trustees. eleven in number, designated as
The Sugar Re6neries Company 10 lieu of
which stock certificates declaring that the
holder wRs entitled to so many shares OF tn.
Sugar Rehnerics Company were to be dis
tribute3 bg the board 10 the several CORPORA
ions to be by them re .distiibutei 10 The Bar.
ties entitled to them. The amount OF these
certificates was not 70 exceed $50, O0G, 600.
and the quots allotted to each corporation
was to be ascertained By spprsisement and
agreement % 10 the actual value of its pro.
periy, including goodwill, patents and the
like, and without regard to its capitalize
ton. or TIE shares allotted fifteen per cent.
were 20 be left with the boafd with VIII icb
10 acquire other refnesies becoriing parties
10 the deed 10 pay for additional capacities
or to appropriate 70 the several refneries
Each corporation preserves, as before, It's l.
IDENTIFY and separate management but the
board, ss the common and esclnsive stock
holder Of them all, elect their directors and
receive ell the dividends, out OF which in
turn they declare aud pay dividends on the
trust Ger ti6cates.
The parties executing the original agree.
ueut included nine 10 New York, head I'd by
the great UavemeJer h Elder concern.
Wboee refnerles ave capacity " &, 900
barrels, or nearly two and a>half million
pounds daily aud three in Boston. Later
II was signed by one ia 81. Louis. two Ia
New Orleans and one IN Portland Maine
and possibly Others In recent months.
These sixteen re6neries fret forming the
trust produce two thirds OF the refined So
gar Of this couutry Among the declared
objects OF the deed were 70 Communicate TO
ali the processes or appliances possessed by
spy; 70 maintain the standard OF reGuOa sa
gars; 10 promote economies, so as to keep
The price Of sugar as low as CONSTANT with
reasonable profit and 70 protest against 10
lawful combinations Of labor.
IT'S PROFESSIONS AND faACIfoEs.
The deed under which the sugar uust was
formed. while more clear ami explicit IN
many respects tao its prototype, was mOre
general in prescribing The duties Of the irus-
lees. doubtless 10 avoid coDhict with laws
sgeIust combinations ia the state Vt New
York. lts trustees denied, With much en-
phasis, aoJ attempt or purpose 10 control
production or enbsnce prices, but feW facts
cannot be explained 10 any other way
Here were sixteen OF the largest rehDeries IN
the ooubtry engaged In eager competition In
the manufacture add sale Of sugars. that By
single ayr. emenJ entered Into q
trust Almost Immediately Eve OF
these refneri.s we're closed, ibree 10
New York aud Two in Boston. One
OF the New York reGnefics. the Nor h
River, was sold 10 the city for park
purposes. smother and a very large
one. the Oxnard, was directed 10 be