The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-23

Chicago, Nov. pa morning paper
says: The great wire nail trust, which
has levied tribute on the people of the
United States and Canada since June
l, 1895, has collapsed and will en-
deavor to wind up its affairs Dec. 1.
Sales agents representing mills within
the pool were yesterday scramblng TO
sell nails at $40 per keg in Chicago,
which is precisely 81 per key below
the trusts circular price, and jobberS
were selling in lots of from one TO 1,OOO
kegs from store at 81 per keg- Be
fore the end of the present week the
prices will undoubtedly be down TO
$1.25 per keg, or within so cents OF the
lowest price they were ever sold here.
The trust has thrown up both hands
and in circular to the jobbers gives
them liberty to sell at any price they
please.
Troubles have multiplied in the
trusts head very rapidly during the
last eight months. In that time the
stream Of dollars which poured into
it's Golfers during the early months of
it's career had to be, used to buy up
at round prices the opposition mills
which sprang up on all sides, as well
as to meet a multitude of other ex-
penses Not the least of these was
the maintenance of a regular force OF
inspectors almost as large as the gov
ernment'S secret service, TO Keep all
the members of the pool "toting fair.
For kindred purposes the trust i'm
posed a pool tax of S1.50 per key on
all the nails sold by its members, and
rebated to them the difference after tn2
objects sought were accomplished A
fund of ST. 500, 900 was returned TO MEM
bers on the showing made four months
ago, but since that time the trust s
officials and committees have in
Cured liabilities of much more than
this in their desperate fight to keep
the trust going. These liabilities will
have to be met by the individual mills
composing the trust and long drawn
out period of litigation is highly prob
able.
The advance of Is cents per key or
dered by the trust at its March moo,-
ing in this city was the last act which
marked the trusts doom. This put
the base price of nails at Pittsburg at
S2.55, which, under the peculiar terms
of its nail card, meant that the low
est figure at which any nails could be
bought there was $500 per key. This
meant 1920 in Chicago and made the
range of commercial nails to the west
ern consumer 81 to IS per key. This
resulted in an immense cLrtailment of
trust to close up 80 per cent of its
mills and throw its workmen out of
employment in order to reduce the
output to comply with consumers
needs.
The entire sales of nails by the trust
mills during July was 10000 kegs, and
in August but $4,000 kegs, though the
output agreed upon for these months
was $4,000 and $4,000 kegs respectively.
The March output reached $4,000 kegs.
]. H Parks of sos Sears building,
Boston, was the originator of the
pool and was its commissioner" To
him was delegated the task of holding
the association together, and for this
service he collected 1 cent per key on
each keg of nails sold in this country.
besides large appropriation for sec
retaries' salaries and maintenance of
the inspection bureau. The association
now has on its hands a large collection
of leases of factories which it closed
up; also numerous contracts with man
ufacturers of Matchmaking machinery,
who were prevented from selling to
the trusts competitors.