The San Francisco call., 1896-11-23
COLLAPSE OF TIVE KAL TRUST.
Ruinous Expenditures in Buying UP Com
petitors and Paying "insPectors" Force
the Combine to the Wall.

CHICAGO, I'LL, Nov. pa morning
paper says: The great wlre-nall trust
which has levied tribute on the people OF
the United States since January l, 1885,
has collapsed, and will endeavor to wind
up its affairs by December1 1. Sales agents
representing mills within the pool were
yesterday scrambling to sell nails at 81 20
per keg in Chicago, which is precisely 81
per keg below the trusts circular price,
and iobbers were selling in lots of from /
to 1000 kegs from store at 81 per keg. Be-
fore the end of the present week the price
will undoubtedly be down to 81 % per
keg, or within 30 cents of the lowest price
they ever sold here. The trust has thrown
up both hands, and in a circular to the
jobbers gives them liberty to sell at any
price they please.
Troubles have multiplied on the trusts
head very rapidly during the last eight
months. In that time the stream of dol
lars which poured into its Golfers during
the early months of its career had to be
used to buy up at rouud prices the oppo-
sition mills which sprang up on all sides,
as well as to meet multitude of other
expenses. Not the least of these was the
maintenance of a regular force of in
spectors almost as large as the Govern
ment'S secret service, to keep all the
members OF the pool ''toting fair" For
this and kindred purposes the trust i'm
posed a personal tax of 81 so per keg on
all the nails sold by its mem bers, and re-
bated to them the difference after the OBJ
iects sought we're accomplished. A fund
of 81, 500, 900 was returned to members on
the showing made four months ago, but
since that time the trusts officials and
commissioners have incurred liabilities of
much more than this in their desperate
fight TO keep the trust going. These liza
bilities will have to be met by the indi-
vidual mills composing the trust, and a
long drawn out period of litigation is
highly probable.
The advance OF Is cents per keg, ordered
oy the trust at its March meeting in this
city, was the act which marked the trust s
downfall. This put the base price of nails
at Pittsburg at 81 55, which under the Pc
culiar terms of its nail card meant that
the lowest figures at which any nails
could be bought there was So 05 per keg.
This meant So 20 in Chicago, and made
the range of commercial nails to the West
ern consumer 81 to So per keg. This re-
suited in an immense curtailment of the
demand and in turn forced the trust to
close up 80 per cent of its mills and throw
its workmen out of employ yment in order
to reduce the output to comply with cur
rent needs. The entire sales of nails by
the trust mills during July were but 20
600 kegs and in August but 25, 900 kegs,
though the output agreed upon for these
months was $4,000 and $4,000 kegs respec-
lively. The March output reached $50, 900
kegs.
J. ii. Parks of COS Sears building Boston.
was the originator of the pool and was its
commissioner. To him was delegated
the task OF holding the association to-
gether. and for this service he collected
one cent per keg on each keg of nails sold
in this country, besides large appropri-
alton for secretaries salaries and main
tenance of the inspection bureau The
association now has on its hands large
collection of leases of factories which it
closed up; also numerous contracts with
man ufacturers of Matchmaking m achinery
who were prevented from selling TO the
trusts competitors.