The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1896-11-23
WIRE NAIL TRUST ENDED.
HEhTT EXPENSES AND BAD BUSI-
NESS ca Used A COLLAPSE.

Orders Given to Jobbera 10 Sell nt ANY
Price-This IL One Dollar Below tho
Circular Price-Enormous Receipts at
Fret Frittered Awny During tho snmmer.
CHICAGO. ILL.,. Nov. GA morning newspa-
per says the wire nall trust has collapsed and
will ondcavor to wind up its affairs on Dec. 1.
Sales agents representing mills within the pool
were yesterday scrambling to sell nails at S1.70
per keg in Chicago, which is 81 a key below the
trusts circular price, and jobbers were selling
In lots of from one TO 1000 kegs from store at
Sc n key. Before tho end of the present week
the price will undoubtedly be down to Sl.25 per
keG, or within 30 cents Of the lowest price they
ever sold here. The trust, in n circular to tho
jobbers, gives them liberty to sell Mt any price
they please.
Troubles have multiplied on the trust very
rapidly during the last eight months. In that
time the stream Of dollars which poured into
its Golfers during the early months of its career
had to be used to buy up ut round prices the op-
position mills which sprang up on all sides, as
well as to meet q multitude of other expenses.
Not the least Of these was tho maintenance of a
regular force OF inspectors to keep all the mem
bers of the pool "~toting fair" For this
and kindred purposes tho trust imposed
q pool tax of $3.50 per key on all
the nails sold by its members and
rebated to them the difference after the objects
sought were accomplished. A fund of $780,
600 was returned to members on the showing
made four months ago. but since that timo the
trusts officials and committees. have incurred
liabilities of much more than this in their dcs-
perate fight to keep the trust going. These liza
billties will have to be met by the individual
mills composing the trust. and a long period of
litigation 10 highly probable.
The advance of 10 cents q key ordered by tho
trust at It's March meeting in this city was the
last act which marked the trusts doom. This
put tho base price Of nails at Pittsburgh at
S".55, which. under the peculiar terms OF its
nail card, meant that the lowest ilrurc at which
any nails could be bought there was S3.05 II
key. This meant $500 In Chicago. and made
the range of commercial nails To Western con-
sumcrs 81 to So n key. This resulted In an i'm
mense curtailment OF the demand. and in turn
forced the trust to close up 80 per cent. of its
in order TO reduce the output to comply with
consumers needs.
The entire sales OF nails by the trust mills
during July were only $4,000 kegs. and in Au-
gust only $4,000 kegs. although the output
agreed upon for those months was 10000 and
10000 kegs respectively. The March output
reached $50, 900 kegs.
was the originator OF tho pool, and was it's
commissioners" To him was delegated the
task OF holding the association together, and
for this service he collected one cent n keg on
each key of nails sold in this country, besides
n large appropriation for secretaries salaries
and maintenance of the inspection bureau.
The association now has on its hands n large
collection of leases OF factories which 1t closed
up. also numerous contracts with manutac-
turers Of Matchmaking machinery. who were
prevented from selling to the trusts competi-
tors.