Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-11-05

] that he would report the matter 70 his
FIRM and o;bsr johb@rs Present sal.i .hat
me action OF MGe-t1lry would lie = ported
| 10 the sugar trust They claim this all!
cause trouble The sugar ard tchacco trusts
WOULD either haze 20 punsxh the frra for
violating IFS contracts or they would go 20
cutting prices
Seerstary Gresb.. of the Chanu:e firm.
was the only owner of a 1obbing hOuzc
paced on n. witness stand He vehe-
! nent!y ienfad that there was any such
thing as a Kansas trust However. he pro-
! dHc-d some correspondence. by order OF the
| court. which clearly proved that there Is i
t:us:.
Clear Proof of n Trust.
The correspondence showed that the
| Wholesale jobbers of Kansas held a meet
ing III Kansas City on May ., and fixed up
zeal on sugar prices. He was also COM
PEELED TO produce a letter received by him
on June 4. from W. y. Todd, Il wholesaler
OF Leavenworth. who. the states attorney
claims is president of the trust. in which
tie following language is used:
Il am directed to inform you that full,
ef:uality in sale of sugars in Kansas will be
enforced after June :. and that the basis
Will be on American Sugar Refining Com
p&ny's New Orleans card Please take
careful note of the above and so instruct
your salesmen."
The letter WIS written on letter head
bearing this inscription: The Kansas
wholesale Grocers' Association. ". n.
TODD. president, Leavenworth: III. D. Lee.
vice president. Salina: Theodore Poehler.
treasurer. Lawrence; John Van Fossen.
secretary. Leavcnworth. Directors: w. Fl.
D;:Vis. a. z. Symms, ]. s. George and G. T..
Lehman"
owen McNulty was then placed on the
CT nd -t,fI he
mt that there was an association in exist
ence, he said he attended the Kansas city
meeting in May. when 1t was mutually
agreed to maintain n uniform price on
sugar. He also cleared up the mystery
surrounding the sugar rate books. The at :
tcrncys worked industriously all day to find
out who issued the books. No one seemed
to know. McNuity finally said he Thought"
they were sent to Kansas jobbers by Todd.
Ihe attorneys claim they have discovered
sufficient evidence upon which to base
prosecutions. and they will proceed at an
early date. probably with an injunction
suit in the supreme court.
Attorney Hooks Opinion.
When asked for his opinion of the pres-
9WSi,di4gs W, e ben before Judge s5ilTe; Att9rnsy
be entitled AN act to drive all wholesale
SIOctTS IEDrN tne state OF Kansas INTO the
state of Missouri If 1t Is enforced in the
Spirit with which this inquistion is con-
Quoted. It viii! surely have that effect. In
lishments in Leavenworth, Atchison, To-
peka. Salina, Wichita, Fort Scott, Chanute
and In fact, all over the state. with their
hundreds Of thousands Of Kansas capital,
the retailers will be forced to obtain their
stocks from houses in other states.
1T will remedy no evil and makes It
dOLbly hard to do business here. This law
cannot reach outside concerns any more
effectuall. than the prohibitory law pre-
vented the purchase of liquor beyond the
state. There never was any demand on the
part Of the public for the law. nor is there
any now for its enforcement. Neither the
retail grocers nor the people are complains
ing Of high prices. and the purpose OF the
law was purely political. OF course all
people are opposed to trusts in the proper
sense OF the term, but the definition OF a
trust IN this law is absolutely, senseless
To have been consistent it should have In
Guided the marital relation between hus-
vised a year or two ago, held back their
grain from market to force up the price,
trey would have been subject to prosecu-
ton had this law then been in force. La
Dor organizations are within its scope.
THE great complaint OF the prosecution
seems to he an alleged combination in
sugar. AS a fact, the wholesale grocers Of
this state to-day are making less than (
per cent on that commodity. and its costs
them 61s per cent to do business. 1t has
been many years since either a wholesale
or retail grocer has made money out OF
sugar"