Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1890-10-03
PAY NOT ADVANCED A CENT!
Effects on Wages aud Prices hy the
Combining of Manufacturing
Interests.
The Full Enormity of Trust Out
RACES on the People Shown
Up,
The Consumer Alone Pays the Adj
yanced Prices and the Trust
Gets the Benefit.

There has been sent 10 retail merchants
circular issued on the 18th inst. hy Eos
ter, Stevens \ Co, hardware merchants
OF Grand Rapids. Mich, "A firm which
handles, we are told. more hardware of
the cutlery, glass, and tin class than any
other in the State' The house WAS ,S-
tabliShed 10y the late Wilder n. Forest
who for many years represented the Grand
Rapids district IN congress As a republi-
can. The CIRCULAR appears 10 have been
addressed to retail merchants. who are
told that Important and rather radical
advances in prices of some articles in the
hardware line are taking place. I'VE
wish to say Il few words TO YOU may more
more fully understand the situation" say
Foster, Stevens \ Co, land not think that
the Jobber is overCharged to YOU.
The hrSt paragraph Of the explanatory
part OF the circular relates to axes. Here
1t is:
There is now but one ax company in
tie United States, and that is called the
American Ak and Tool company. with
headquarters at PIttShurg This COM
pauy has purchased outright every .,x
factory in the country of any imuortarye,
and by thus controlling has udvau,,L
the production, has advanced prices on an
average of 3 dozen. This company al
50 controls the manufacture Of OK polls
Tor the heads of axes, the machinery for
which Is patented, and TINS euahieS il to
keep the price ON polls SO high that no
one can afford to make aNes
The company here meut,oued is the or
Gamzat,on commonly called the An and
Tool trust A few days ago il was an
nouuced that this trust had undertaken to
control the Scythe market. The state
ment we have quoted indicates that those
economies winch are, the trust makers
say, effected 10y the suppression of COM
petition have not IN this instance helped
the consumer. Axes are higher 10y s. a
dozen. These Grand Rapids merchants
have something to say about SAWS:
In this industry the same forces have
been at work, and today there are hut two
companies that manufacture hand saws
where there were dozen four months
ago. Prices la this lime Of goods bdr.
bf,1l udruHccd Jj'Om 10 10 iD yr,, cent. In
croSS-culs II Is the same BY cousolida-
tion of interests prices hare been adruprcH
from I to 5 cents q T0Ot.
Probably nothing was said about this to
the senate finance committee 10y Ar. O,sS-
ton, who, in company with Mr.. Quay, Col
Dudiey, and others. is said to have shown
a deep interest in the tariff duties on
sugar as well as in those on saws.
those to whom the circular Is addressed
are warned that everything made of lead
has had Il decided advance. owing to re
cent decisions ON the admission of Mexican
ore into this country as we'll as to COM
bnations of manufacturers. Shot. lead
pipe. pig lead, solder habbitt, metal. have
all advanced and may so still higher W
1t might have been added that the adj
vances are due partly to the anticipated
effect OF the high duty imposed ON Mexi-
can SilveT-Iead ore in the pending tariff
blIl in response to demands OF the owners
of a group of mines in Colorado. One of
the combinations referred to Is the new
Shot Trust. After explaining what effect
the proposed high duty ON tlu-plates will
nave upon articles of tuware the cir
cular says this about window-gass:
The window-gIasS market of this coun-
try is practically IN the hands of two large
companies, who work in harmony as to
prices, which has resulted in a steady ad-
vance for the last year, averaging about
80 per cent
The larger of these Companies the
WindOw-Glass trust, the organization of
which was recently completed at Chicago
This trlst Includes ali of the factories
west of the Ateghany mountains, Late
reports from the tariff conference committee
indicate that its influence has not been cx-
prte3 in vain upon the repubGCa members
of that body. The circular gives the
names of seven firms that have been max
ing zinc or stove boards, and then says:
An of the above named tirmswere
T.,,,
they have all sold out TO the American
Stove Board comany, with offices III New
York and Chicago. and general advance
on all lines has taken place, Last year you
could buy a twenty eight inch square pa
per-ined zinc for 36 cents, An advance
of 100 per cent
Another example Of the economies
effected by combinations on the trust plan.
Here are two more paragraphs
Ammunition The price Is controlled
by d combination, and you have to pay the
price or go without.
Powder The sane but one price,
and tha rearIy double wuat it was two
years a 20.
In conclusion. Foster, Stevens q Co.
make these remarks:
the tendency Of the times seems to be
thus enabling large corpora
tions to produce the goods cheaper and
sell them at a higher price. We tnl TO
find. however in all The consolidation OF
various lines of goods, a single instance,
the advance they put on
goods, where they have advanced to pay
of labor cent. If the customer who
purchases last, does not pay this increased
cost, we do not know who does. IT he
reaps any personal benefit from it, we
would like to know where II comes IN.
This is not political document, hut
fair $, .fement Of certain lines Of business
as we daily come IN contact with them.
Perhaps the retail merchant to whom
this circuiar was sent would have mad still
more light if the tariff duties, as imposed
BY the present law and as proposed ~ the
pending bill. had been attached 10 the
seye, al paragraphs But if any of them
desire to know Just what these duties are
and will be. and how they have been
and will be used by 'c0mbires, they
should apply for the information
TO Mr. Julius c. Burrows, the
the representative of Michigan ia the
house committee on ways and means, and
the gentleman who declared so loudly at
the beginning Of the session that all com
binations ought to be punished by the en-
tire removal Of the duties on articles com
peting with the products controlled by
them. Perhaps he will tell these mer-
chants and the people Of his state under
what influences he afterward changed his
mind about these things.