The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1891-10-01
TRUSTS.
The Linseed Oil Trust, the National
Lead Trust
And the White Lead Trust.
TUE LINsEEp or TRUST.


facturers Of linseed 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 gallon, or fifty
cents barrel. Every mill in the Unit
ed States, representing q consumption
of 13,OO0,OO0 bushels of linseed a
year, was represented at the meeting.
-(Associatcd 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 %, 1891.
1t was declared by the manufacture
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
firms entered the field. The result was
the state of things which led to the last
meeting.
1t was said that there were repre-
scented 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 y Miller of Amsterdam.
Campbell & Thayer, Dean q Co, of
New York; the Cleveland Linseed Oil
Co., Mann Brothers, of Buffalo; Metz
ger Brothers, OF Toledo, o. and Chi
cago; the Wright s. Hills Co., of Chi
cago; Taylor, Major &c 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 line of action to
be followed by the firms in the agree
ment About S95, OO0,oO of capital is
represented at the meeting.
When the linseed 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 a 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
Although no manufacturer came be-
fore Mckinley, so far as the published
reports show, to ask for higher Brotec-
tion, the duty was nevertheless raised
20 32 cents which is almost 100 per
cent A suspicious circumstance about
this duty is that the house had voted
for 30 cents and the senate for 81 cents;
yet when the bill was reported from
the conference committee the duty had
been raised to 32 cents Seven cents
were added in order that the trust \
might be able safely to make the price |
OF oil still higher if it choose to exact a
greater tax from consumers.
This is beautiful illustration Of the
benefits Of protective duty. The an
nual production of linseed oil in the
United States is about 2S, 900, 900 gal |
Ions. By the union of all the domestic |
producers, domestic competition is |
killed; the duty of 80 cents keeps out |
foreign oil, and the consumers, who 4!
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 90 per cent.-all because q
popular and paternal and patroniEing
government has laid benefcent tariff |
duty, Just to make the dear people hap
py with cheap oil Not much longer
will the farmers and workingmen Of |
Ohio continue to be bamboozled by such /
balderdash as this Soon they will /
learn the true inwardness and real pur-
pose of the animation" and trust"
fostering tariff, and then this tariff
wall will fall as completely and quickly
ss did the walls of Jericho at the blast
of Joshua's trumpet.
THE NATIONAL LEAD TRUST.
The National lead trust shareholders
met in New York on the 4th day OF
February, 1901 II was announced that
she trustees had declared = dividend OF
10 cents a share, payable April 16 the
'apae to be first OF quarterly dividends
which shall hereafter be declared The
second annual report of the trustees
was made by Col w. P. Thompson,
president of the trust he stated that
It the date of the last report the capi-
,alization was $50. 447, 000 for which
certificates were outstanding There
aas been no change In the capitaliza-
Jon since that time. The valuation Of
she property then was e2a, 361, 900 The
balance sheet for fiscal year 1891 show
ID investments OF a value of S34s17,-
s8sI 81 in the stocks Of the corporation,
divided as follows: Plant investment,
t17, 992, $50. so; other investments, S459,.
s3479; working capital, Sc, 156, 77a e7j
less mortgages TO the amount of S391,
,6424. Other net assets of the trust
amounted to S011 7ss. so The net
amount expended for betterments dur
pg the year was Sl5s, 800. O5; and net
earnings, s2,02s, 552. aS. Up to January
!, 1891, the profits were $500, 535, and
Ihe total profits since the trust organ.
Eation, 81, S57,21s. The sales during
1900 aD0rapatad 2Ia saa 900
Inc average al yalorem rate of duty
aid last year on lead, was SO. 81 per