Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1895-08-15
NOW A PAPER TRUST.
COMBINATION TO RAISE THE PRICE
OF WOOD PULP NEWS FIBER.

II tne scneue WoThh NeWhPhpeTb WI
Have to Raise Prices to Subscribers Not
So Easy, However, To Corner the Mar
ket--Many Ne. tings Held.
A great trust IL I'm process OF organiZa
tion, trust that viii have n capital 81
over S3b, 900, 600, and that Is intended &c
have absolute control Of tho enormous busi'
ness Of making paper, the kind almost eV'
cry newspaper Is printed on.
The big eastern manufacturers back Of
this scheme believe II they succeed they
will DO able to fix at their pleasure the
price paid for an average daily output oi
over /, 200 tons of this news paper.
They further believe II they succeed In
tho great game they have In hand they
will be able to absorb such OF tho large
news paper manufacturing mills OF the
country as they desire to operate and can
then force scores Of smaller mills out OF
existence.
II they succeed, and fortunately there IL
reason TO nccentuato that ~, " II IL certain
that by increasing the cost of news paper
they will force percentage Of the 20, 00G
newspapers published In this country to
either stop publication or to raise tho price
On tho success or nonsuccess of this mo
nopoly hang the existence Of u very large
number of news paper manufacturing
mills and Of newspapers employing vast
army of workers and tho question whether
newspapers can DO sold to tho people at n
cheap price, IN they now are, or whether
the weaker ones must return to the high
prices they abandoned with the discovery
of tho process OF manufacturing wood pulp
paper.
Tho manufacturers back Of tho trust de-
olare their object In entering into IL IL to
oheapen tho cost Of production and not to
increase tho prco to the consumer. That
has been tho song sung by tho organizers
of every trust under which tho people have
In tho past and arc now struggling.
For several months tho manufacturers
In whose minds tho plan to make mo-
nopoly Of tho news paper manufacturing
industry originated have been holding
meetings and they have about perfected
their plans. Their meetings have been
held In New York and at Niagara Falls,
and there has been ono or moro meetings
every week.
Az matters stand now they do not pro.
pose to form tho $50, 600, 600 corporation
until the close of this year, for tho reason
that most Of them have big contracts run
ming until then. But they ara satisfied
everything IL ripc for them to go ahead
when the time comes. Even now they are
demanding slightly increased price ~ n
sort Of appetizer for tho great foast Of prof
It's which they anticipate will como to
them.
II In not intended to take the whole
country into tho trust, but only the large
manufacturers Of tho central and northern
states from tho Atlantic TO tho Mississippi.
Tho list Of tho intlls to bo included I'm tho
trust cannot DO secured, and, in fnot, liz not
completed yet, tho promoters not having
determined just what properties they must
control,
But 1t can ho stated positively that many
Of tho mills producing II large quantity Of
news paper have agreed to tho trust mr.
ranRenlGnt.
In spite of the fact that this trust IL to
represont such an immonso money power
and such II producing capacity ~ To mako
II q worry dangerous creation to evory con-
sumner Of news paper including tho road
ora Of newspapers, who AFRO tho final con
sumers there arc many ways In which Its
game may DO blocked.
Mon with level heads In tho paper trade
declare that If II attempts to raise prices
and does no 10 an oxtortionnto dogroo Ii
must meet with defeat, and II IL docs not
raise prices IL will go to pieces of It's own
weight,
To control prices tho trust must first
control tho output. They may succeed In
controlling tho output Of all tho big mills
now making news paper, There arc 1906
Of these In tho United States.
II tho trust could control them NIL, II
would still have to fnoo tho fact that there
aro In tho United States W mills which
make book paper. Any ono of these, which
arc not to bo considered In tho trust at all,
could by tho Investment Of less than 500, =
600 buy sufficient machinery tn turn out
daily product of news paper equal to tho
demands of great daily publication. -.
New York World.