Hot Springs weekly star. (Hot Springs, S.D.) 1892-1917, 1893-04-21
A JOKE ON THE PRESS.

A JOKE ON THE PRESS.
Newspapers ut the Mercy of Type Found
ers' Trust.
The Inter Ocean says: "Chicago
policemen held up by foot pads" was
the startling headline in the news
papers of the country few weeks
ago, when an incident happened in
this city that gave color to the state
ment, and the joke seemed so rich
that for weeks the Chicago policemen
were targets for the paragrapher
from Maine to California. L The joke
was undoubtedly good, but not half
so good as another joke in which
these same newspapers now occupy
the position of the Chicago police
men in the controversy.
For the last two years, and
especially the last year, the press of
the country has been attacking
trusts and combinations in most
vehement terms. 1t has proposed all
kinds of vigorous methods for their
suppression, but all the same the
trusts kept on organizing at the rate
of about one day, and, to give the
matter humorous phase, an an
nouncement appeared in the asso-
ciated press one day Of the formation
of type founders trust to be COM
posed Of the manufactures of the
very type these newspapers we're
printed with. OF course there
accompanied the announcement the
lstcreotyped postscript that the OBJ
ject was to 'economize in expenses
for the benefit of the consumer" but,
like all its predecessors, the state
ment was simply so many words.
Then, as if to emphasize the humor,
the type founders trust advertised
its prospectus in all the large dailies
in the country, which prospectus
alone, without any other facts, could
be used to indict every one of the
twenty-three firms signing 1t.
From prospectus issued last
September it appears that the Amer
ican Type Founders Company was
incorporated under the laws of the
state of New Jersey, with capital
stock of s9,OO0,OOO, consisting of
1000 shares of 8 per cent cumulative
preferred stock and 1900 shares COM
mon stock, and that the following
firms have entered the trust: Mac
kellar, Smith & Jordan, Philadel-
phia; Collins 4 McLeester, Phila-
delphia; Pelouse & Co., Philadelphia:
James Connor's Sons, New York; p.
II. Heinrich, New York: A. w. Lind
say, New York; Charles j. Cary &
Co., Baltimore: John Ryan s. Co.,
Baltimore; j. G. Mengel s. Co., Balti-
more; Hooper Wilson & Co., Balti-
more: Boston Type Foundry, Boston;
Phelps, Dalton 4 Co., Boston: Lyman
4 Son, Buffalo; Allison 4 Smith,
Cincinnati; Cincinnati Type Foundry,
Cincinnati: Cleveland Type Foundry,
Cleveland; Marder, Luse & Co., Chi
cago; Union Type Foundry, Chicago:
Benton, Waldo \ Co., Milwaukee;
Central Type Foundry, st. Louis:
st. Louis Type Foundry, st. Louis:
Kansas City Type Foundry, Kansas
City: Palmer \ Roy, San Francisco.
1t is also further learned from the
same source that as no bonds are
issued, the preferred stock is equiva-
lent to an 8 per cent mortgage on the
entire property of a business whose
record for stability, permanence and
profit has no superior, if it has an
equal. Before the trust was organ
lied all of the twcnty-one firms in
cluded in it sold type at 25 per cent
off the list and per cent additional
off for cash. Right here the trust
tried to be smart and thought to fool
the printing fraternity. A clumsier
scheme could not have been devised.
This is the way the trust "rcduced:"
To illustrate, the old price on 81
point was "A cents per pound, less %
and per cent, or, net S52.73 a 100
pounds. The new price was reduced
to go. but the discount was also re-
duccd to 5 per cent, making a net
price of $57 per 100 pounds, or an ad-
vance by the trust of 1926 per 100
pounds. Six point under the old
price was 81 cents, less % and 5 per
cent, or, net, $500, per 100 pounds.
The new "rcduccd' list makes six
point So cents, less per cent, or
s43.7o per 100 pounds, or an advance
by the trust of $3.50 per 100 pounds:
and thus it runs all through the
list.
Many widows are capable of accept
ing second husband, but not all of
displaying the business shrewdness of
a woman now living in Washington
state. She was wise enough to choose
for her first husband Revolutionary
a