Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1894-09-07
THE SUGAR TRUST.
Facts Of Interest About the Great
Combination.
How Claus Spreckles Fought the
Eastern Refiners.


this purpose is attained success is as
sured. Tine ratio Of success to failures
is about one-half demonstrating that
it is quite different matter to con
ceive a thing and to put it into
successful operation.
In conversation with a well-known
stock broker, whose office is located
up on F street, a reporter of The
Evening Star recently cleaned consid-
information about trusts and their
methods and capitalization. Among
the long list Of stocks quoted daily
and published in The Star, area num-
Der of trust whose names hardly con
vey to the unnformed the nature of
the combination quoted in the mar
ket. The broker said:
"The history of trusts is short. COM
paratively speaking, as prior to 1890
very few of the combinations, such as
they are now were known to those
familiar with the stock exchange bulle-
tin boards and quotations. The sue
cess of the larger combines gave a
great boom to the idea Of controlling
production under one head, and as a
result trusts became a great fad with
would-be Napoleons of finance. Mil
lions were made and millions were
lost.
About the best known of all trusts
at the present time is the American
Sugar Refining Company, but few
people are aware of the immense
amount of money wrapped up in the
concern. This combine is a New
Jersey corporation, with an original
capital of 81, 600, 900 divided equally
between the common and preferred
stockholdera In January 1892, an
additional s25 900, 900 in stock was
voted making the capital of the trust
$75, 100000 This additional $685.
100000, was voted to buy up sugar
refineries. The stock is great spec
ulatiye, being COED to buy or sell
anywnsfe, ftomfo to 100, and many
Washington people will youch for the
correctness of this statement. The
great Havemeyer, the Spreckles, the
Franklin Sugar Company and others,
are in the trust. which has tremen-
dous grip on the sugar producing
business Of the country east of the
Rocky mountains.
Several good stories are told in
connection with the expenditure OF
the S25, 900, 900 additional stock that
was voted in 1892 in which Mr.. Claus
SpreckIes figures as the bright partic-
ular star. For many years back Mr..
Spree les has had monopoly of the
Pacific coast. and all he asked of the
trust was that he be left alone. But the
trust felt strong, and invaded his ter
rtorv. This aroused the strong Teu-
tonic blood in Mr.. Spreckles and he
decided to retaliate in kind. He came
east, and after purchasing site in
Philadelphia, he started the ball of
competition rolling. He not only
built a million-dollar plant, but pre-
pared for long fight by persuading
farmers to go into the cultivation OF
sugar beets, promising to take the en-
tire product at profitable figures.
NJ my farmers stopped raising tobacco
and went into the sugar beet cultiva-
tion, and N 'de money at it, too.
"Seeing these preparations for a
great fight the trnst decided upon a
compromise, but Mr.. Spreckels, see
ing his great hold on the trust, de-
cidci to make them pay for inaugu-
rating the fight. His plant in Phila-
delphia cost, all told, about 81, 500,
coo, and to pacify the farmers around
that city would take another $500. 900.
The trust proposed that they vacate
the Pacific coast and take the Phila-
delphia plant off Spreekels' hands at
s., 100000. But Spreckels said he
was making money in the East and
would rather remain. But this proved
to be big bluff. At any rate it went
through Six months later Spreckels
was given possession of the Pacific
coast and something over 50, 900, 900
to vacate the East. He moved. The
history Of the big sugar refinery at
Locust Point, near Baltimore, is prac
tically the same. A syndicate banded
together to squeeze the sugar trust.
and, like tile Nickel Plate deal. thew
yanked ofthe pot. Washinton Star