Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-10-31
W. va, MONDAY, OCTOBER 81, 1se
A BIG COMBINATION
Twenty Six Stoneware POtteries Have
Combined,

VOA004AtO9
WITH THE OBJECT OF LIMITING
PRODUCTION AND MAINTAINING
FRICES-A LIST OF THE FIRMS
INVOLVED AND AN OUTLINE OF
THE PLANS SEvENTY-FIVE PER
CENT OF PRODUCTION REPRE-
SENTED.
Special to the Register
Akron, O., October 30.-Industrial
combinations seem to be the order of
the day, and this city comes to the
front as the headquarters of one of the
most formidable organizations ever
consummated to limit production and
maintain and fix prices. Outside of the
fact that it's principal aims are thor
ough control of the business in the
United States. the efforts of some of
the best legal talent in the country has
been secured to bring the combination
within the provisions of the laws af-
fecting trusts in the various States, and
the managers believe that this has been
done. The industry sought to be con-
trolled is the manufacture of black,
white and salt-glazed stoneware, bet
ter known as common stoneware, and
none of the fancy lines in pottery are
included. The organization represents
a years efforts to arrange some plan
by which the two principa: objects &C.
sired could be accomplished; limit
on production and standard on prices.
Meetings of the representatives of
twenty-siX of the largest potteries were
held at Cleveland, Akron and Chicago,
bination has been formed something
after the plan of the nail trust. The
twenty-six concerns represented are:
Whitmore Robinson Co., E. x. Merrill
Co., United States Stoneware Co., My
ers & Hall, the Akron Stoneware Co.,
Cook, Fairbanks & Co., Merkle & In
man, all of Akron. and consolidated
under the head of the Akron Stoneware
Co., prior to the organization of the
trust; A. J. Views. Akron;E. L. H.
Weeks, Akron; Canton Stoneware Co.,
Canton; Massillon Stoneware Co, Mas
sillon, O.; Navarro Stoneware Co., Ma
varre, o.; GAINESVILLE Stoneware Co.,
GAINESVILLE, o.; Muskingum Stoneware
Co., of GAINESVILLE, O.; Star Stoneware
Co., of Crooksville, O.; Burley & Win
ter, Crooksville, O.; Diamond Stone
ware Co, of Ohio: g. w. stinoe stora--
ware Co., of White Cottage, o.; the
Buckeye Stoneware Co., of Buckeye
Cottage, O.; the Beck Stoneware Co.,
of Rose Farm. O.; the Elmer SAKE
Stoneware Co., of West Virginia; the
Standard Stoneware Co, of Indiana;
the Pittsburg Clay Manufacturing Co.,
of New Brighton, Pa; the Enterprise
Pottery Co., and the E. o. Russell Co.,
of Indiana, and the Gas City Pottery
Co., of Gas City, Ind. The President of
the trust is R. F. Kent, of Akron, o.,
who is one of the wealthieSt manu-
facturers in the country and is a bus
mess man of wide experience and much
ability. The treasurer is T. G. Robin
son, of Akron, and the secretary is NJ.
H. Linn, of GAINESVILLE, o.
The plan of the organization pro-
ing to the kiln space of his plant, is
entitled to manufacture and sell a GER
tain amount of pottery each month,
and his pro rata share and allotment
was determined by measurement of
the kiln space. On every gallon of
ware sold the manufacturer pays into
the common treasury an eighth of a
cent a gallon. If his sales amount to
more than his allotment in the month,
and he is compelled to submit a sworn
statement from the books showing all
the sales, ne pays half cent a gallon
for every gallon of ware sold over the
allotment. If, for any reason, the sales
are not UP to the allotment, tie man
ufacturer receives half a cent a gallon
for every gallon less than his allot-
ment not sold. The twenty-six firms
in the trust represent seventy-five per
cent of the production of stoneware
in the United States. and a meeting
will be held in few days when the
western manufacturers will come into
the combination and thus the entire
production will be controlled The
plants now outside of the trust are
located in Illinois, West Virginia, Mis-
souri, and Iowa. The combination has
already strengthened the trade to the
extent of advancing the price of ware
from half a cent to cent a gallon,
and the indications are that there will
be still further advance IN the price
The stoneware business has undergone
complete revolution in the past few
years by the introduction of machin-
cry and the perfecting OF equipment
so that the output of the various plants
is many fold that of a few years ago,
and as a result the production has ex-
ceeded the consumption, and as a con-