The San Francisco call., 1898-02-16
WILL FIGHT
 THE POWDER
 COMBINE Miners Will Have Their Own Works
 If Necessary. Why the Price of Blast ing Powder Suddenly
 Advanced. The Manufacturers Become Weary of Competing Against One Another. PROFITLESS COMPETITION. Capital Now Interested in the Fight Between the Producer and
 Consumer.
PROFITLESS COMPETITION
Capital Now Interested in the Fight Between the Producer and
 Consumer.

The powder trust on the Pacific Coast will shortly be broken if the plans of those opposed to it do not fail. An at tempt will be made to disrupt the con- bine, and the indications are that it will succeed. The greater part of the output of the powder factories on the coast is bought by local miners. For time, when the rival powder com panies were fighting one another, the miners had no cause for complaint The powder necessary for blasting pur- poses could be bought by them at prices that gave to the manufacturers but small profit.
 Among the manufacturers it was a matter of cutting prices to get trade. and the miners received the benefit of their rivalry. After a time, it came to the minds of the owners of the several powder factories that the fight, if con- tinued, would mean loss to all of them. There were several meetings held, and it was finally decided to quit the fight and agree on a uniform price for blasting and giant powder. While the war was on the miners were bene- fited. When the combine was made the miners found that they were ex- pected to pay what had been lost by the manufacturers during the period of op- position.
 The prices were raised about 9 per cent. and it was then that those en- gagged in mining determined to battle with the trust.
 Within the past few days several meetings have been held by mine own CTS and superintendents of mines, and the determination arrived at to not quietly submit to the combine. The mining men found that they could in terest capital in their fight, and it Is their intention to have a new factory established in this State.
 They have agreed to enter into con- tracts with any company that will fur nish them with giant powder at req sonable price. None of the contracts is to be for less than ten years nor more than fifteen years. All the min CTS will ask is that powder be fur nished them at reasonable rates. If they do not succeed in getting plant of their own they will subscribe to- ward the establishment of one.
 The powder manufacturers at pres ent engaged in the business claim that the trust was formed after they dis covered that their competition in busi- ness caused them all to lose money They say that the combine would never have been made had it not been that self preservation required it.
 J. F. Nesmith, secretary of the Cali
 
 lowing explanation yesterday of the advance in prices:
 Some time ago we advanced the price of giant powder about 20 per cent, and all other works on the coast did the same thing, simply because we were tired of manufacturing powder for nothing, and decided to make a little profit out of it. About three years ago the various manufactories began cutting rates until the matter finally went so far that while we were selling powder for just what it cost us. the other concerns were selling 1t for a trif1e less than the cost Of the manufacture Of course this thing could not go on forever. and we finally decided to raise the price sufficiently to make a safe profit which would in- sure us against loss by posslple cas- ualtieS at our works.
 "As far as any agreement between the manufacturers IS concerned IL amounts to just this: If you go into aL business house of any kind in the city and ask the price of certain commodity, then go out to another you will find their prices practically the same. although there may be no agree ment between them. So 1t is with us. If YOU visit the offices of the various powder works in this city you will ind that fifty pounds of giant powder will cost about the same in one place as an other and 1t was this way when the rate war was on. Of course, we being the largest works on the coast. gener- ally set the price, and whatever lead we take will be almost unquest1onably followed by the others
 T do not believe the prices will ad- vance any further, unless, of course, there should be heavy advance in the price of raw material. Sulphur, for in stance. recently took a jump of about 20 per cent, but we did not advance our prices any on that account. as 1t fluc- tuates very much and the next move may be a correspondin- drop. Should the price continue high for great length of time, however, or should it increase much we may be obliged to slightly raise the prices We very much prefer to set a fair price and sell the goods at that. as it is much more convenient for us. There has been no advance in the price of granulated powders, nor is it at all probable that there will be"