The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-12-04
A REVIEW OF TRUSTS GROWTH.

A REVIEW OF TRUSTS GROWTH.
one of that numerous and very in
fiuential class of business men, the
commercial travellers, himself a Repub-
lican. said that his class generally
would reverse their votes last year for
Republicanism, because of the imme-
date increase of those combinations in
business known as trusts that has
followed the return of that party to
poWer-a consequence of that return
with its encouragement to combine and
Its failure to enforce existing laws or
provide new remedial measures 1t is
worth while to take a review of the
conditions since last November to see
what ground there is for the complaint
Of the men of the road. There were
Bone indications last year that the
trusts We're disintegrating. The glass
trust got cracked; the bolt trust dis
solved, and the wire nail trust found
1t was not clinched on the under side.
1t began to look as if there was an
economic law which was visiting its
penalty upon its violators
But the ink was hardly dry upon the
presidential signature of approval to
The Dingley act before its beneficiaries
began to arrange to gather unto them
selves all there was in it. One month
later. Aug. "a, it was announced that
he American Glass association was be-
Ing formed at a manufacturers meet
mo n Chioa 70 ho
stronger than the old one that got
cracked, and was to be built on the
most modern trust lines" A month
later the manufacturers met in Pitts
burg and completed the trust with a
capitalization of $40, 900 000 One SELL
Ing agent handles the trade. On Oct.
10 an advance of per cent was order
ed in prices, and a further one of
per cent was ordered for Nov l. Capt
Brown, of the Brown & Haywood COM
pany. of Minneapolis, jobbers, return
Ing from Chicago, where Western job
bers had met to see what they could
do. reported that conditions in the
trade were due to the trust the tariff
advances and the summer shutdown of
the glass works. The jobbers decided
also to have a consolidation of their
stocks and one selling agent Ito dis
tribute stocks in such a way as to
meet the most urgent needs of consum-
ers and, of course, net the largest re-
turns to the jobbers." The captain felt
compelled to explain that jobbers did
not pretend to be philanthropists, but
that their action was forced ''by con-
ditiOns not of our making" The Chi
cago Tribune said, in comment on the
effect of the trust, that the consumer
will be absolutely defenseless in the
matter of price. He can either
pay the price or go without glass"
In August the papers announced the
arrival in New York of the "Borax
King" one Smith, from California, who.
having his protection of 6 cents a
pound against borax from Turkey and
South America, was going to transfer
his refinery to that neighborhood from
Alameda The tariff made that trust
solid On Sept. 20 the Maple Flooring.
Manufacturers association was organ
lied in Chicago Ito promote the social
ana business relations between the
members of the maple floor fraternity"
and on the next day the malt trust
was completed in New York Earlier
In the field, confident of what DingIey
was going to do for them, were the
tin plate men to get harmony of ac-
lion" towards their employees on one
side and consumers on the other. The
lncandescent lamp companies had pool
pd in February, and the iron ore men
got together in April. The wire nail
trust reformed its shattered ranks and
began closing mills to reduce output
and keep up price while the leather
betting trust felt obliged to raise it's
prices % per cent to meet the Dingley
tax on hides In July came the for
nation Of the glucose trust, with a
capitalization of $40, 900 and the Gus
tomary business methods.
November was a fertile month in
trusts growth. The enameled ware
trust formed in St Louis on the 18th
with $4,000, 900 capitalization, a very
different thing, by the way, from cap
ltal. On the 18th, mills putting out 81
per cent Of the steel tube product con-
solidated into one company at Pitts