Omaha daily bee., 1897-02-06
INVESTIGATING THE TRUSTS
LexOw and His Joint Legislative Committee
Bayin Operations.
COMMENCE ON THE SUGAR COMBINATION
Theodore Hnvemeyer Denies thai HIS
Company Has n Monopoly of the
Sugar Busincss-Eirbt In
dependent Rchneries.

- " ShHNA NSAaI NHNaN
upon subpoenas to testify II. o. and Theo-
prominent in mercantile pursuits, and sew
eral lawyers, whose interests 1t was supposed
might be affected by the investigation. A
letter was read from c. b.. Richards & Co.,
steamship agents OF this city, calling atten-
ton to the alleged existence of a pool by
the transatlantic steamship companies and
asking an investigation into its methods.
Theodore Havemeyer, vice president of the
American Sugar Refining company, was then
sworn, having explained that prior to 1891
he was connected with the eight sugar refin-
ing companies now operating as the Ameri-
can. Mr.. Havemeyer said that he had moth
ing to do with the commercial or fiscal side
Of the business. He could not give the
capitalization Of the various companies that
we're absorbed in 1891 without a reference
to the books; that was a matter upon which
Mr.. Searles would probably be able to in
form the committee.
The question was then put to the witness:
DO you (meaning the American Sugar
Rehneries company, transact any business
save sugar refining"
II think not"
Have you not recently been led into the
manufacture of ~coffee?"
Yes, sir, | am connected with a coffee
company in Ohio"
OBJECT OF CONSOLIDATION.
"Wha was the object of your consolida-
tion in 1912"
ITO refine sugar"
WAS not your company organized, Mr..
Havemeyer, to control the refining and sale
of sugar in the United States?"
Il think not, sir"
"Do you not control the sugar markets of
the United Ststes?"
mo, SIR"
WAS your company not organized for the
purpose of preventing combinations of
labor?"
mo, sir"
Have you not increased the capital stock
Of the company since 1872"
Yes. SIR
'"To what extent?"
81 should say about $25, 900, 000."
'How many sugar companies outside Of
| yours are there in the United States?"
II should say about eight" The witness
then enumerated the names of the COM
panies. In reply to another question, Mr..
Havemeyer said that the American Sugar
Refineries company produced from 70 to 70
per cent of the sugar manufactured in the
United States"
why was the stock 'increased?"
ITO purchase other comprehensive Frank
lin, the Knight, the Spreckels and the Della
ware Sugar Refining companies Of Phila-
delphia."
rs it not a fact that the price of sugar
increased owing to the acquisition of these
four companies?
II think not, the price of sugar is lower
now than it was then"
WHO FIXES HI PRICE.
"Who fixes the price at the board meet
ing?"
my brother responded the witness.
Reverting to the recent advent of the sugar
company in the coffee trade, the chairman of
the committee asked:
''Why did you go into the coffee business?"
II thought it was a pretty good business"
"Are YOU willing to swear that the officers
Of the coffe. company are not organized for
/ the purpose of shutting out competition
against the American sugar reineries?"
They are not, SIR" the witness said
slowly.
"Why do you hesitate to answer?"
Your questions are so long that l must
take time to follow the drift of your quen-
| tons"
Witness said that part of the cry about
competition in the market was newspaper
talk, but admitted defending a suit in Ohio
brought about through competition there.
when did you purchase the Woolson
stock?"
II will have to refer you to my brother -
Asked if his company organized in New
Jersey so as to evade the payment of taxa
ton under the law of the state of New
York, he said Mr.. Parsons, their lawyer,
would have to be asked about that. Mr..
Parsons had advised it.
The preferred stock of the company was
$37, 00O,0 900 and the common stock $37, 000,-
600. A dividend of Z per cent was declared
last year on the preferred and IL per cent
was declared on the common stock. In ad-
dition there may have been an accumulated
surplus. Il would not go into business =
Mr.. Havemeyer said, "unless l could make
Is to 20 per cent in it,"
Senator LeXow quoted some figures from n
financial paper which showed that in 1894
the surplus of stock increased from SO, 0OO,-
900 to $13, 600, 900. Are those figures cor
rect?" asked Senator Lexow.
81 cannot say. If you got them from Mr..
Searles they are correct"
"Do you know any business, not in the
nature of a monopoly, that pays Is or 16
per cent?"
PLENTY of them"
Tell us one of them"
Coffee, for instance"
and that is the reason you went into
coffee?"
Zone of Them"
Are you willing to swear that there is no
contract, verbal or written, between your
company and any others regarding the fixing
or maintaining of p~rices?"
II am willing to swear that as far as 1
know there is no such agreement"
PRESIDENT HAVEMEYER CALLED.
III. o. H~avemeyer, president OF the Ameri-
can Sugar Refinery company mot reineries),
was sworn and described the organization
VI tHe sugar trust IN 1888. Inc assets, real
and personal, of fifteen companies were
purchased at the time Of the amalgamation.
Asked by Senator LeXow If the directors of
the fifteen refneries were not the directors
OF the present sugar company, Mr.. Have
meyer said that six of the original direc-
tors, with the addition of William Par
sons, were still in the directory board.
Asked where the original document Of agree
ment was, Mr.. Havemeyer said he did not
know and doubted its existence now. The
American Sugar Refining company of New
Jersey, he said, took the place in 1891 OF
the former so-called trust. 1t was done
through purchases. The new company ac-
quired all the property before held by the
trust and no more, and was capitalized first
at $50. 000, 900, afterwards increased to $751;
DOC, 900. The greater part of the $25, 900, 900
increase was used in the purchase Of the
Philadelphia property.
In answer to direct questions Mr.. Have
meyer denied categorically that his COM
pany controlled the sugar market in the
United States. fixed the price of refined
sugars, controlled the product Of sugar or
that it had an agreement with the Mol
lenauer concern, the National or the st.
Louis people.
'Do you ship sugar west Of the Missouri
in competition with Mr.. Spreckels?" asked
Senator LeXow.
mo-"
'Did you enter into an agreement with
Spreckels not to compete with him west of
the Missouri"
Certainly not. Competition with him
there is not possible. 1t is purely a ques-