The herald., 1897-02-14
Continued by the Legislative
Joint Committee
ILLEGAL CONTROL OF PRICES
Is Plainly Shown by Thoroughly Com.
petent Witnesses
The lien Who Declined to Come to Trust
Terms Were Promptly Forced Out
of Business
Associated Press Special Wire

JOINT committee on trusts resumed It's
meeting today. George r. McDougali
and John E. Searles were absent, alleg-
ing business as an excuse and were given
till Monday to appear. George H. Moller,
thirty years sugar refiner of Williams
burg, was examined. AS secretary of
the North River Refining company, he
received from John e. Searles a check
out to the American Sugar Refining COM
pany.
What was the price paid?" asked
Chairman Lexow.
Il don't remember"
WAS it a fair market price?'
I'VE thought so or we would not have
made the transfers" The witness ad-
mitted his company was competing with
Havemeyers. He did not remember that
the price of sugar went up after the
trust was formed.
Lawson w. Fuller was called to place
the value on the refining property. He
said he was in the sugar business from
1854 to 1883, and in the real estate busi-
ness when the sugar trust was formed.
Fuller knew very little about the value
OIL lUQlNlQual pldIlIS. LeAOW ldDOIGQ Will
him a long time without extracting any
information. Fuller finally said in five
years after the trust was formed the
price of sugar was raised to 81 cents g.
pound. This, he declared, cost the con-
sumers "a 200, 900 during that time. Fuller
based his figures on the circular price
list issued by Wellett & Gray, who, he
said, were authority.
The number of employees was decreased
n hn An nfia ri q q O
cost. Mr.. Fuller spoke an an expert ac-
countant, for he had charge of Have
meyer & Elders affairs for many years.
The trust, he said, absolutely con-
trolled the price of the raw material and
though the price of raw material had
gone down the refined had gone up.
This increase fell on the consumer. Pre-
vious to the trust there was a fierce COM
petition among the various refineries.
Edward j. Dugan of Albany whole
sale grocer, was the next witness. He
had been in the sugar business for
twenty years. He said that he was
what is known as factor for the sugar
trust. Before the trust was formed he
could buy sugar anywhere, but after the
trust went into operation he refused to
join the Wholesale Grocers' association
and then he could not buy any sugar
at all.
What reason was given for that?"
"They said that was cutting prices
and 1 was then forced to buy imported
sugar."
'What was said to your
Robert S. Russell of this city told me
that must buy all my sugar from the
American company"
In answer to further questions, Mr..
Dugan said the trust had refused to sell
him any sugar and allow him the rebate
by which profit could be made. He was
factor for only two months.
"The trust" he said, "has forced me
out of business and am about to close
out. The factor gets rebate of three
eighths of a cent pound. A grocer
cannot live unless he is a factor. He
would be forced out of business. You
must make affidavit that you will sell
the sugar at a certain rate before you
get the rebate.
"One of the articles in the factor S
agreement reads: None of the sugar
shall be sold by you or disposed of by
with freight added, from point to point
of sale nor on more liberal terms as to
credit and cash discount
Witness made his agreement in Octo-
Der, 1895, and since he was thrown out,
he has held very little sugar. When a
customer wanted a. barrel Of sugar he
went out and bought it from another
grocer.
Did you pay more for it than when
you bought it from the American Sugar
Refining company"
Yes, because I could not get the re-
BATE
Michael Callahan, a broker in I'M
ported sugar, took the stand next. He
would not admit that the trust had con-
trolled the price Of raw material for the
last three years.
'Is not the American Sugar Refining
company the only purchaser of the raw
material in this country"
1T is only large purchaser. The COM
pany cannot control the market"
Witness said he had sold the trust
900, 900 tons OF sugar, one quarter of their
purchases. He admitted that "some peo-
pie were hurt by the way the trust ma
nipulated the market last year." but ad-
ded that "the trust was not responsible
for that"
Witness said that the brokers could
personally speculate in the future de-
mands of the company, but it practically
has the broker and speculator in its
power all the time.
E. S. Beardslee was then called. He
is also a sugar broker. He said that
there was competition in the raw mater
ial and he gave the names of several
competing companies. He sells the trust
about one-eighth of the raw material il
purchases He said that the trust diG
not fix the price in this country, that il
was fixed in Europe by free and fair COM
petition.
Chairman Lexow said owing to the
absence of Mr.. Searles the comn zee
would adjourn until Monday at m
He added that he did not care tG nge
the line of investigation unit hac
finished the sugar inquiry. com.
mittee will sit every day n eek
1t has been announced : the com
mittee will, on Thursday .r upon al
investigation of the so1 ed wallpaper
trust. Henry Burns esident of the
National Wallpaper apany, has beer
summoned to testiff
PRISON DIRECTORS