The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1892-08-19
the TACK TRUST.

\
~ the Grace ~ mckinley u Advances
Prices - wan 70 Americana. Hut sells
Cheap 90 Foreigners
| The Iron Age Of july ~. 1922. said
that trusts almost universally advance
prices whenever the business Is suf-
| iiciently consolidated - warrant such
| \ course" This is somewhat at vari.
| ance with the teaching Of the New
| York Tribune and other high tariff
papers that feel called upon TO defend
| the legitimate offspring OF ''protec-
| ton" but that II Is true isevidcnt from
| consultation OF the files Of the Iron
| Age in regard to prices Of iron and
| steel goods in and out Of trusts Those
out of trusts show general and steady
| decline Those in trusts show no de-
| cline in prices. unless the trusts are los
| ing their grip on the market. but ordi-
narily show great advances in prices,
| while the trust is secure and supreme.
| The prices of axes, cartridges. shot,
| lead. steel rails cutlery. etc, will illus
| trate this point. but the advance in the
| prices OF taclxs noted in the last Iron
| Age. july 81. will make it pertinent to
consider the subject Of tac.Ss in this
| connection.
| About 1851 a great tack trust was
| formed. called the Central Tack CO.,
| with headquarters at Boston. All, or
nearly all tacks made in the United
| States are made in New England
| There were then about forty-fvc man
ufacturcrs-mostly smaller ones. They
were all included in the trust, which
| closed many of them. Prices were ad-
vanccd greatly and the trust made big
profits for two or three years despite
| the fact that it paid considerable sums
| TO the new factories rapidly called into
existence by the high prices, to keep
them idle. After four or five years
there were eighty or ninety manu- fact
cries and the trust could not subsidize
them all and had To 60 to the wall
Prices took a headloag tumble Of a bout
80 per cent, and for several years the
process ofevolution was at work I'm this
industry, closing up all factories that
could not stand The severe competition,
or annexing them to larger and more
favorably situated concerns. 50 that by
1890 there were a comparatively few
manufacturers doing the bulk of the
business. But among these few were
several OF those who Differed the Central
Tack Co. and who had ever since been
dreaming Of again making those old
profits Five Of these manu- facturcrs-
Dunbar. Hobart 4 Co, of Whitman,
Mass; Loring 4 Parks, of Plymouth,
Mass: the American Tack Co. OF Fair
haven. Mass, and the Albert Field and
the Taunton Tack Cos. both Of Taun-
ton. Mass.-got together in 1890 and
formed the ATLAS Tack corporation"
with headquarters at Boston and ware.
houses in other large cities. These are
all large manufacturers and are said to
make three-fourths of our total prod
uct, which is estimated as being worth
over -, 0oo.o per year BY closing up
some of their offices. and by advancing
prices, which a reduced output ena bled
them TO do. they soon began again TO
reap big profits Besides previous ones,
two important advances have been
made since September. 1891, as is shown
BY the following sample discounts. the
price list remaining the same:
All the following papered, dozcned
and Ms:
Steel carpet lacks Bright-scptembcr 1891,
per cent and -: June. ls9s - per cent. and
Isl July 70 10. esss per cent and y
Upholstrrcrs TICKS. : September, 1921 y
per cent and -: June. 1872 "a per cent and Is;
July -. 1872, 70 per cent and =
American cut lacks september. 1874. - per
cent and IS; June. 1897 81 per ccn. and H.
July -. is)., 6dss per cent and =.
"a
cent ana y. June, 1852. July ~ isJ2. d6h
per cent and p
Thus tacks listed at 81 sold for Is
cents in September 1891. ana sell for %
cents at present The advance on ear
pet tacks then has been % per cent in
side of one year. 1t is noticeable that
outside manufacturers keep pace. in the
matter Of advances. with trust prices,
| showing that there is some secret con-
nection not understood by the public
and consumer. Another remarkable
fact Is that wholesale dealers make no
objection to these increases. but on the
contrary. they consider it healthy
sign" as II enables them 10 get their
hand deeper into the consumers pocket
| As one of them puts IL: I'VE add the
same per cent to the first cost Of the
| goods and IL tacks cost Us 3 instead Of
! ~ cents package, we make just twice
as much profit. because family uses 20
or so cents worth of tacxs year and
will buy just as many, no matter what
the price.
| AS is usual with trusts. q tariff Of
from 80 to - per cent. is back of this
one to prevent the consumer from i'm
porting foreign made tacxs or from re-
importing American tacks sold for ex-
/ port at 20 per cent. less than TO the do
nestle commemorative recent price Of
two dozen papers Of timed iron tacks,
weighing "a ounces per paper, was sa65
TO the American and e.. 20 TO the foreign
consumer. The beauties Of our PRO
tectivc" system surpass all understands
ing now that we are beginning to ap-
prcciatc McKinlcyism-