The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1891-10-07
TRUSTS.
The Linseed Oil Trust, the National
Lead Trust
And the White Load Trust.
THE L1NsEEp OIL TRUST.

facturerS of llnSeed oil who have been
in conference in this city, for the past
three days, decided to-day to ad-
vance the price of both raw and
boiled oil, one cent a gallon, or fifty
cents a barrel. Every mill in the Unit
ed States, representing consumption
of $1,000, 900 bushels of linseed a
year, was represented at the meeting.
-(Associated Press.
When the linseed oil manufacturers
adjourned the meeting they held in
Buffalo, on January 8, to devise ar
rangements to put their trade on
more satisfactory basis, they agreed to
assemble again in New York City.
They met in the Office of President
Thompson, of the lead trust, at No. 1
Broadway, January 81, 1891.
It was declared by the manufactur-
ers that there was no need of an agree
ment by which the trade might be so
handled as to return satisfactory prof
its on the capital invested. When the
National linseed oil company began
operations it gathered in many of the
concerns, big and little, but it didn't
get them all Competition, especially
in the West, was active, and some new
the state of things which led to the last
meeting.
1t was said that there were repre-
sented nearly all the concerns in the
country which it decided to get to-
gether. The National company, or the
trust, as it is sometimes styled, had dele
gates there. Col. Thompson, who rep
resented the lead trust, presided.
Among the firms outside of the Nation
al company who had ENJOYS present,
were Kellogg & Miller, of Amsterdam.
Campbell & Thayer, Dean & Co., of
New York; the Cleveland Linseed Oil
Co., Mann Brothers. of Buffalo; Metz
ger Brothers, of Toledo, o. and Chi
cago; the Wright & Hills Co.. of Chi
cago; Taylor, Major & Co., of Toledo;
Pope & Co., of Dayton, o.; the Mound
Paint and Color Co., of st. Louis, Mo.
The meeting reaffirmed the action
taken at Buffalo, and appointed COM
mittee to formulate a line of action to
be followed by the firms in the agree
ment About SIS, 100000 of capital is
| represented at the meeting
| When the 1inseed oil trust was formed
| four years ago the price of oil was
thirty eight cents a gallon. The trust
forced up prices, till last year, at the
| very time when the Mckinley bill was
in course of preparation and discussion,
oil was being sold at from sixty-one to
sixty -four cents a gallon, from twenty
seven to thirty cents above the price in
England, the duty being twenty-five
cents gallon.
In the first year of the trusts exist
ence the price was increased nearly 40
per cent. and the combination has held
1T up ever since. Without the aid of a
high tariff duty the trust could not have
done this. The duty under the
old law was 25 cents gallon. or about
rs per cent 1t was so high that foreign
oil was shut out, even after the trust
had raised the price of domestic oil
i Although no manufacturer came be-
fore Mckinley, SO far as the published
reports show, to ask for higher protec-
ton, the duty was nevertheless raised
to 80 cents, which is almost 100 pei
cent suspicious circumstance about
this duty is that the house had voted
for 80 cents and the senate for 81 cents
yet when the bill was reported from
the conference committee the duty had
been raised to 80 cents. Seven cents
were added in order that the trust
] might be a BILE safely to make the price
of oil still higher if it choose to exact .
greater tax from consumers.
This is a beautiful illustration of the
benefits of a protective duty. The an
nual production of inseed Gil in the
United States is about %, 600, 600 gal
| Ions By the union of all the domestic
producers, domestic competition /:
killed; the duty of 80 cents keeps out
foreign oil, and the consumers, who
were persuaded to consent to the laying
of the duty under the false pretense
that it would make linseed oil cheap
are compelled to buy their oil at an ad
vance of go per cent-an because {
popular and paternaa and patronizing
government has laid a benefcent tariff
duty, just to make the dear people hap
DIV with cheap oil Not much longer
will the farmers and workingmen O.
Ohio continue to be bamboozled by sucl
balderdash as this. Soon they viii
learn the true inwardness and real pur
pose of the combination" and trust
fostering tariff, and then this tarif
wall will fall as completely and quickly
as did the walls of Jericho at the bias
of JoShua'S trumpet.
THE NATIONAL LEAD TRUST.
The National lead trust shareholder
met in New York on the 4th day o
February, 1891 1t was announced tina
the trustees had declared dividend o
SO cents share, payable April Is, tn
;, same to be first of quarterly dividend
which shall hereafter be declared. TIL
+ second annual report of the trustee
was made by Col W. P. Thompson
Z president of the trust. He stated tina
at the date of the last report the capi
/, talization was $50, 447, 900, for whicl
! certificates were outstanding. Their
! has been no change in the capitalizs
\ ton since that time The valuation O
the property then was $22, 361, 900. Tn
t balance sheet for fiscal year 1891 show
ed investments Sf value of $24, 21z
6S8 81 in the stocks of the corporation
divided as follows: Plant Investment
ST, ,992, 9S9. 80; other investments, $3.50
2S4 79; working capital, So, 156, 77S. q
less mortgages to the amount of $391
1854. "a Other net assets of the trus
amounted to 1910, 1855. So The ne
amount expended for betterments dul
ing the year was $153, SO2.05; and ne
earnings, 81, 02S, ,552. %. Up to Januar
/, 1891, the profits were $8O3, 535, an
the total profits since the trust organ
ization, 81, S57, 21S. The sales durin
1890 aggregated S19, s9s, 900.
The average ad valorem rate of duty
paid last year on lead, was 6S.S4 pei
cent, on the ore, pigs, and bars; 60 81
per cent. on sheets and bars, and 45 pei
cent. on shot and manufactures of lead.
The duty on sheet and bar manufac-
lures was practically prohibitory, as
only $3.50 worth of the former and $36(
worth of the latter was imported Pro
tected from foreign competition by
: those high rates of duty, the manufae
turers of lead, seeing that com bina
ton would cut off all domestic compe,
tition, organized the National Lead
Trust Co., with headquarters at st