The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1897-02-25
SUGAR AND TOBACCO.
Continuation of the Trust Investigation
in New York.

New York, February s4.-Francis B
Thurber appeared before the trust in
stigatiur committee today. He sale
that he was president of the American
Grocer Publishing company. He de-
olared tho American Grocer was devoted
to grooers in general. but especially to
the retail trade. He said the price Of
sugar for nine years prior to the eonsol
idation Of the sugar rennsriss was 791
cents per pound. and for nine years
succeeding consolidation was SGT cents
per pound.
The decrease in the price was owing
to the cheaper purchase of the raw ma.
terial and the oheapened cost Of produe.
tion. Mr.. Thurber said the total result
of the com bination. intslligently ad-
ministered, were beneficial to the public
at large and the laboring class. The
profits Of capital have been steadily de.
creasing and those Of organized labor
steadily increasing. There were good
trusts and bad trusts; good trusts 80 far
predmoninated, and that such all aggre-
cation Of capital should be encouraged,
accompanied by safeguards against
abuses. He.oontended that the central
iation OF capital was the natural oondi-
tion Of the times. Witness would not
admit that concentration of capital pre-
vented competition. He declared that
competition was active at present, and
it was bound to increase against the
AmeriCan Refining cOInpanV
Witness said he believed tho limited
price system was a necessity In modern
trade. sc s. did not believe the stock OF
every com binati0n was put on the mar
ket and speculated in. The Standard Oil
company could not be called speculative
in any way. He did not believe the Am
erican Sugar Refining company could
buy up, il it desired, all rival concerns
He admitted that he was IN organizer of
an anti-monopoly league. and be ak
planned that the real object Of the league
was to get railroad commission in
this stat 2.
The league was successful in it's efforts,
although it was opposed by tha railroad
people, who, however, afterward admit
ted that the commission was good
thing for them. In reply to question
the witness said he thought the stock
EXCHANGE was.a legitimate and necessary
form of business and not wholly speou-
lative, as the goods were purchased on
the basis that they would delivered.
He declared that the Wholesale Gro
Gers association was responsible for the
factors agreement, snot the American
Sugar Refining company. "What do you
think would be the effect if the tariff
was taken off sugarf'' here asked As
sem blyman Barry. ''The business of
refining sugar would he transferred to
the other side of the Atlantia,'' replied
Mr.. Thurher
George p. Wheeler, Wholesale cigar
dealer from Syiacuse, testified that the
American Tobacco eompany's factor
agreement wrought him injury from the
fact it refused to sell him goods because
he refused 10 bug exclusively from it.
The jobhers, he declared could not do
business without the factors agreement.
Witness denied that he was under salary
with the National Cigarette company, a
competing firm.
Counsel for the American Tobacco
company, declared that the witness was
simply the mouthpiece Of the National
Cigarette company who, he said, brought
on all the litigation against the Ameri-
can Tobacco company. Witness retortetl
that he was responsible for that liti2a-
tion and not tho National Cigarette COM
pan5. The committee adjourned until
Tomorrow