The morning news., 1899-11-16
In the Subscription Rates

| pany had been shut down by their formec
! owners and have not yet been put in op-
| Grafton. These plants are now being over
| hauled and will be put in operation next
| year as 1t is not the intention of the COM
pany TO close down any of the PLANTS
which ii controls. We have no intention of
increasing prices by decreasing the supply
OF goods. Our profits wiR come In the
| purchase of supplies and material in large
| quantities and in economy of operation" "
The company which l represent has not
acquired all of the plants in this section,
said Mr.. Huger. There are still seven
plants in Georgia, five in Alabama and two
In South Carolina, which are being cper-
ated by their former owners. Among these
are the Savannah Guano Company and
the Naldosta Guano Company. OF the
seven fertilizer plants in Atlanta the Vir-
ginla-Carollna Company has only acquir-
ed two"
The officers of the virginia-C Carolina
Chemical Company all reside in Richmond
and are as follows: s. T. Morgan. origi-
naily of Durham, N. c., president; F.
Whittle, vice president; F. =. Addison,
vice president; S. w. Travers, treasurer;
s. D. Crenshaw, secretary. They are all
Southern men.
Mr. C. H. Wilcox, president of the Sa-
vannah Guano Company, when asked
about the condition of the fertilizer mar
ket, gave the same information as that
given by Mr.. Huger as to the certainty of
an increased price for fertilizers next year,
because of the heavy increase in all lines
of material and supplies.
For the last several years." said Mr..
Wilcox, I'VE had been selling fertilizers
at about as low price as we thought
they could be sold. Last year there was
unusual depression in agricultural inter
ests in this section, due to the very low
price Of cotton and the great damage done
to the crops by the storm of 1893. Many
farmers lost a great deal of their cot
ton and sold what they had left as low
as 312 cents a pound. Owing to this un-
usual depression we were forced to make
another reduction of 81 per ton for goods.
The advance in phospha teS had already
begun, but fortunately we had secured our
supplies ahead of the advance. Otherwise
we would have done business at a loss
by selling at the prices at which we did
Phosphate rock, which had been selling at
very low prices, but for the last year 1t
has been steadily advancing. We paid 50
per cent. more for rock this year than we
did year ago, and prices have advanced
since. There Is also a scarcity of acid
phosphate. due to the fact that many
plants were shut down during the sum-
mer for repairs and for other purposes
mot only phosphate" said Mr.. WILCOX
"but practically everything else that en-
ters into the cost of fertilizers has in
creased in price. Iron pyrites, from which
sulphuric acid Is obtained, is selling about
50 per cent. higher. Lead, machinery and
mill supplies have advanced anywhere
from 80 to 100 per cent. Labor costs from
10 to 20 per cent more At inside figures,
the increase in cost of manufacturing will
be S1.50 to $3.50 per ton. To get back the
dollar they lost last year the manufac-
turers will have to increase their prices
50. so to SO 30 per ton. There is a scarcity
of goods at present and prices will prob
ably be higher in January than they are
now"
The fertilizer plants are now hard at
work manufacturing goods for next sea-
son. The travelling men are just beginning
to go out on the road, but will do most
of their work next month. The movement
of fertilizers to the interior merchants
does not get under way until January, and
continues until March.