The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1897-06-12
IT TAXES YOU.
How the Wholesale GrOcers'
Trust Reaches
Every Man in Kansas Who Buys
Groceries.
1T VIOLATES THE LAW
Members of the Trust to Be
Prosecuted
Under the Farrelly Law Passed
Last Winter.
1T VIOLATES THE Law

It will not be long until it will be
shown in a court of justice how the
people of Kansas are in the tolls of
a trust which levies a tax upon every
thing they eat. 1t affects the smallest
grain of sugar used by the poor man
and the match with which he lights his
pipe. 1t places a tax upon the soap
which the washerwoman uses to earn
bread for her family.
The trust referred to is the Kansas
Wholesale Grocers' association. 1t is
sort of a tentacle of the sugar trust,
the tobacco trust, the coffee trust, the
match trust and every other trust that
seeks to control the prices of what is
consumed.
In a few days suit will be begun
against this organization. The plan
of procedure has not yet been fully
agreed upon, but it is probable that the
officers of the association will be arrest
ed The law which is designed to
reach them makes the penalty for its
violation a fine of not less than 500
nor more than 81, 900, and not more than
six months in the county jail. The
penalty for continuing to violate the
law after the arrests are made is a
forfeiture of $100 each day. There is
no way of avoiding the imprisonment
clause of the law.
The sugar trusts and other trusts in
the east which now operate through
the Wholesale Grocers' association not
only control the prices, but they make
it very uncomfortable for the whole
saler who makes any deviation from
the prices fixed by the trust. Thus,
if a, Topeka wholesale merchant should
sell sugar for less than the trust price
he would be promptly informed that he
could buy no more sugar and the con-
sequence would be that he would have
to go out of business or bow his neck
to the trusts dictation-
President Hanley of the Kansas Re
a CtrOPnrS' association
bers of the judiciary committee of that
organization are behind the movement
against the Wholesale Grocers' asso-
citation. The members of the commit
tee which has charge of the matter are
7. NJ. Hanley, James J. Lannan of To-
peka, E. T Thomas Of Ottawa and
Charles OFT of Olathe. The prosecu-
tiOns will be commenced under the
Farrelly law which was passed by the
last legislature.
The law created CONSERVATION among
the members of this association and it
disbanded, but a week ago last Thurs
day a new organization was made in
Kansas City for the purpose of eVad-
ing the law. The contracts which the
trust had with Kansas wholesale gro
GERS when the law went into effect were
withdrawn at once, but they are again
being placed. The following concerns,
it is charged, have braved the the law
and entered into new agreements to
protect themselves:
The sugar trust.
Yeast foam manufacturers.
Lewis and Greenwich lyeS.
The Diamond Match company.
DrummOnd Tobacco company.
Liggett & Myers, manufacturers of
tobacco and cigarettes.
The manufa cturerS of cOffees havenot
yet renewed their contracts, but nego-
tiations are now in progress which will
probably result in coffees being
placed on the list. Several soap manu-
facturers are also discussing the advis-
ability of making new contracts and
will probably do so soon.
By the terms of these contracts the
wholesalers agree not to sell goods be
low the trust price. AS a penalty the
trusts compel the wholesalers to pay
the same price for the goods as that at
which they are to be sold. In from one
to six months afterward, if they find
that the grocer has not violated the
agreement, they give him a rebate. On
sugar the rebate is 1Sa4 cents per hun
dred pounds or S93.75 per car. On
matches and tobacco 10 per cent is the
rebate allowed. On Iye and other
goods in cases so cents per case is the
rebate.
This is the old plan of operation and
the one that is going back into effect
since the trusts have recovered from
their scare over the Farrelly antitrust
law. A different plan is adopted, how
ever, to dodge the low.
According to President Hanley of the
Kansas Retail GrOcers' association that
plan is follows THE concerns
Wn1cn 90 business III AdnSaS say IndI
they will make the wholesale men their
agents They do not sell to them at
all, so they say. By this means they
hope to avoid the law. They are en-
gagged in interstate commerce and there
fore the law cannot reach them.
I'VE are confident that they are vio-
lating the law just the same and we
propose to see to it that they are called
to account. The Kansas Retail Gro
GERS association did what it could to
secure the passage of the Farrelly law
and we do not propose to rest on our
arms until we see whether or not it can
be violated with impunity
''Since this new organization was |
made sugar has advanced from S4 SS
per hundred weight to s5.13 and it con- |
tinues to advance in price. 1t was only |
a day or two after the new organiza-
tion was made in Kansas City that su-
gar made one gigantic stride from s4.SS |
to S5.03 The average price before that |
was $4.65.
Almost everything we handle is |
covered by these trust prices and the |
State Retail Grocers' association is tired |
IT may be that this new association
cannot be reached by the law but if it |
cannot we want to know it. The law |
was carefully prepared and I believe |
that it is good"
Senator Farrelly spent the greater |
part of this week in Topeka gathering |
data to make the first test of his bill. |
He had several conferences with Presi- |
dent Hanley and Attorney General |
Boyle but what was the result of the /
conferences is not known Attorney |
General Boyle is out of town and will |
be busy on the stock yards case next |
week so the prosecution may be delay |
ed on that account
The new law places a heavy penalty |
upon the attorney general who re-
fuses to bring cases under the law but |