Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-10-19
GIGANTIC COMBINE.
The Barbed Wire Bosses Devel-
oping a Trust.
GETTING ATwIsT ON THE GRANGER

One Fourth of the Mills Put Up Job on
the Other Three Fourths-washburn
Pledges HIS Assistance and the Out
siders Are In the Broth-A Powerful
Consolidation of Interests II There Ii
No MIstake-AIleged Details.
CHICAGO, Oct la-The Herald says that
although nothing has been made public con-
corning it, meeting of the barbed wire
manufacturers is said to have been in ses-
sion in this city for several days, and one OF
the most gigantic trusts ever organized in
this country is about to be formed, If, indeed,
its organization is not already complete.
Eleven of the forty two mills engaged in
barking wire, The Herald says, have en-
tered into combine and have agreed to sell
no wire or wire goods to the thirty-one mills
not admitted.
washburn Gives His Pledge.
Washburn, Of the Washburn & Moen CON-
pany, of Worcester, Mass, who owns all
the barbed wire patents that are of any
practical value, has pledged himself not to
issue TO any one outside of the combine any
license for the use OF his patents For this
pledge the trust has agreed to bear all the
expense of defending Washburn's patents
in any suits that may be brought to contest
his right to them.
Five Rod Mills In the Combine
The business of the trust has been divided
so as To secure the greatest possible produc-
ton. There are in the United States but
five mills that manufacture the rods from
which all kinds OF wire are drawn. With
these five mills Washburn has gone into
combination, and has taken into the pool be i
sides all the puilers and drawers
Of wire and nail manufacturers
Until other bar mills are built-and it re-
quires a vast amount of capital and con-
siderable time 10 complete one-the mills
| outside the trust will not be able to con-
tinue business.
The Price Already Advanced.
The price of barbed wire has already been
advanced IS ton, and wire nails have gone
up from 81 to 40 cents key. On all other
kinds Of wire there has bsen a proportion
ate advance. The farmers will be affected
! by the organization of this trust more than
any one else, barbed or fencing wire being
more extensively used than any other kind.
1t also fills in what little gap was left them
| by the Irvine trust, and may be the means of
forcing harvesting back to the stage from
which Irvine binders removed it, Thou
sands of acres will remain unfencsd on &C.
count of the rise in wire which this trust
brings about
The Mills in Joliet.
| Ii is said that the Ashley Wire company,
| of Joliet, will have to close as soon as its
contract for prison labor runs out. Some OF
the barking mills have closed already, and
their men are employed by the new syndi-
cate There will be three mills for barking
wire in Joliet, the Enterprise Manufactur.
ing company, Lambert, Bishop & Co, anG
the Bakers There will also be one mill al
ST. Louis Some of the mills will be con
fined to the manufacture of barbed wire,
some to merchant WIRE others to making
wire nails. and so on through the list.
Control of the Patents.
Washburn, Moen q Co. are about tn,
oldest wire manufacturers in the United
States When barbed wire was first intro
duced Washburn began to secure control oil
its manufacture by purchasing patents He
bought all the fundamental oness, aud own,
the greater part of the 100 or more thai
have followed The machinery for harbinl
WIRE of which he has control also, is mad
at great expense. 1t would be impos
sIble TO devise a machine of the kline
needed that his patents would not cover
The most valuable patents for barking ar,
known as the Keely and the GLADDEN.. TIL,
keely patent was purchased by Stiles
Calkins, Of this city, and the GLADDEN. b,
Elwood, from whom it passed to Washburn
The rods from which wire is drawn can b,
manufactured in this country, it is claimed
IS cheaper than in either England or Ger
many, and besides there is duty of slS 30
ton on all wire rods imported into thi
country.
The Herald states that its information
comes from one of the oldest wire manufact
urers who was not let into the combina ton