The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1898-04-26
HUNTING FOR PROXIES
To BE USED IN ELECTI\G NEW
A\NJAI ]. ELECTION.
MANY SIGNS or The MOVEMENT
Attack CIeyerly Planned al 4 Time When
There are lndic atoms Of Further
Combination.
New York Norld.1

'N'N ltIh NHi4t.i
There are Indications that T. ere Will
be Il lively row al the annual meeting
Of The Tobacco Trust. which viii J..
held IN Newark on May IL next. II j.
commonly rrT0rtcd that Il change of
directors Will follow IN" effort being
made 10y IN" STANDARD Oil interests and
Oliver IL. Payne, John q. Moore. Grant
T.. Schley ana their allies 10 get control
Of The stock &C The trust before he an
nnal meeting.
The transfer books of the company
We're closed last Friday. lmt representa-
tiNeS Of re Standard oil Trust were
making an active canvass Yesterday Of
the stock commission houses Tor proxies
10 be used nj the approaching hattle
for the mastery IF The trust.
Indications that the ltockcfcIlcrs bad
an eye on the rich profits OF the Tnbac-
60 Trust have been seen in Wall street
for Il year or more. Their brokers have
been quietly buy ing the stock ever since
it became apparent thar a peaceful so
lution Of lis trouble VITA The Drum
nlond>. Liggctt X Meyer and the other
big rln@-tohacco concerns would hr
cached
The foresight Of the Standard Oil mag
mates has been proved by The develop
- - ''N I''|t 49, ~ ~
formation Of the Continental Tobacco
Company for the purpose Of uniting the
warning companies in the plug-tobacco
trade was announced in The World OF
yesterday. If the deal is perfected the
expensive war which has almost dis
Sipated the surplus Of the Tobacco
Trust and has eaten into its earnings
will be at an end. The American To-
haccO Company is to be Il party to the
compromise. 1t will surrender its plug
tobacco factories to the new concern in
exchange for stock. 1t is known that
| there are interests in the management
Of the American Tobacco Company that
believe the trust is strong enough 10
throttle all competition eventually.
| These men once held control over 4
majority Of TIE trusts common stock.
which was for years distributed
throughout the country III small LOTS Ii
| was originally Icddled out by the tras-
cling statesmen Of the trust. If was
paying y per cent. dividends and the
tohacc" dealers thought they had struck
a gold mine. Thus il was that the I'm
SiderS" held control over the majority
Of the stock. 11aey had it where they
could put their fingers on II at any time
and whore they could vote il.
That was III" condition Of affairs in
August. 1895. when Tobacco was paying
a Il per cent. dividend on lis common
stock, which was quoted AT III. II had
accumulated a surplus Of S1,WO.VO.
The bubble burst almost over night.
Suits under the antitrust alw were
brought in nearly every State, and sim
ultaneouSlv there came from every
quarter Of tho country rumors Of n re
oellion by H." big wholesale g%roccrs' a.
ISOLATION against The trusts rebate con
I,,-+ a
Trust. which had gone into the field or
dug tobacco, found the monopoly III
the cigarette trade threatened by a for
midahle combine Of the plug-tobacco
manufacturers. which had been formed
for the purpose of fighting the trust in
the manufacture Of cigarettes.
Cuts were made in plug tobacco amt
Cigarettes until bOtA concerns were ac-
ually giving away their goods. There
was II great crash in Tobacco stock. In
-w"nty-four hours it dropped from 11r
o 1O4. Then the quarterly dividend
was passed and there was another drop.
The public completely lost confidence
n the Tobacco crowd. and The small
holders throughout The country took
right also and dumped their stock on
he market. Under this pressure. The
stock dropped and dropped, until It
cached II.
It was n this time that the Rocke-
fcllcr> and Col. Payne began their great
coup. A. fast as IN" llittlc fellows
lumpcd their petty holdings on the
market they picked them mp. They got
the stock many points below par. Then
The INSIDERS gradually lost their con-
-rol over the petty stockholders AMI
he opposition soliditicd its holdings.
Whether the RockefclIers. Col. payn"
md Moor" * Schlcy haze actually got
| majority of the stock remains 10 be
seen At the coming annual election.
Both SIDES are making desperate Of
forts 70 get control Of every share Of
stock To be had.
Investment buyers are being warned
~ their brokers III Wall street 10 stay
nj Of the stock until after the annual
lection at least. Much OF il i IN tho
7ands Of spectators. and it i proabl"
hat it will be wildly manipulated dur
ne the next two weeks.