The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-06-13
THEY WITHER ALL
When the Trusts Expand 1t
Means Death.
Two Topeka Institutions Fight
ing For Life.
WAR TO THE KNIFE.
Truss Factory Must Close or
Sell Out.
Raw Material Being COrnered
by Trust.
Topeka Vinegar Factory May Be
Grabbed Up.

The truss trust is not satisfied with
the refusal of the Smith company to
sell out the truss factory in Topeka,
and it will make an effort to secure it
anyway. Trusts do not have a habit
! of consulting the wishes of property
owners when they want to get hold of
a piece of property. When they want
a Factory they set out to get it whether
the owners want to sell out or not. And
if the owners want a larger price than
the trust chooses to pay, the trust goes
to work to systematically depreciate
the value of the factory until the owners
are glad to sell at the figures offered
by the trust.
manner in which the wire nail trust
obtained possession of the Lawrence
wire factory. Mr.. Henley, the owner
of the factory, repeatedly refused to
sell out to the trust, and when he was
pressed to set a price on his plant he
made the figure so high that he knew
the trust would not accept it. Then
the trust went to work and secured
control of all the raw material used in
the manufacture of wire and nails, and
then told the Lawrence factory to
whistle for its material The result
was that Mr.. Henley was forced to sell
at the figures offered him by the wire
trust
1t is said that the same methods will
De USED by the truss trust 10 gam pos
session of the Topeka truss factory.
Since Mr.. Clement Smith, the local
manager of the company, stated in an
interview that his company would not
sell out to the trust, it is rumOred that
the trust has obtained control of the
materials used in the manufacture of
trusses, particularly hard rubber. 1t
is said that the truss trust is connected
with the rubber trust and will thus
be easily enabled to control the sale Of
hard rubber. If this is true, the trust
can prevent the Smith company from
buying the material from which to make
its truSSeS, if it chooses to do SO.
This illustrates the alarming condi-
ton which confronts the people in deal
ing with the trust problem. If there
were only one trust to be throttled, the
public might deal with it. But the
trusts are rapidly combining and aiding
one another One trust invests it's ILL
gotten profits in the stock of another
trusts and the combination makes the
strength fourfold.
The Standard Oil is another illustra-
ton of what can be done through this
sort of combination. 1t has invested a
portion of it's gains in railroad stocks
in such a manner that it can control
the railroad rates on oil regardless of
the wishes of the railroad managers.
and no other company can secure nearly
az low rates as the Standard Oil COM
pany. Now that the Standard Oil trust
has branched out into the coal, citing.
steamship and salt business, it remains
to see what these combinations will
bring forth.
If the truss trust gets hold of the To-
peka factory it is not feared that the
factory will be closed down, because it
as one of the largest and most profta-
BILE in the United States. For this rea-
son the Smith company might be able
to hold out against the trust if the trust
did not control the material.
If the rubber trust has invested in the
truss business and is able to control
that by reason of controlling the ma
terial it can be easily seen to what eX-
tent it can carry its operations when it
is remembered how many necessary ar
ticleS are manufactured in which rub
be- III some shape is used.
Another trust which may have it in
it's power to do Topeka great damage
is the vinegar and pickle trust. 1t is
Vinegar and Preserving works, with a
view to closing the plant SO that it's
product will not come into competition
with the product of other plants Which
the trust already owns.
The trust has made offers to Otto
Kuehne, the manager OF the plant, but
he has refused to accept any of the
offers except on the condition that the
trust will keep the factory i'll Topeka in
operation. The trust refuses to make
any such agreement, and there the mat
ter stands at the present.
The Topeka vinegar factory is one of
the leading manufacturing institutions
of the city. 1t keeps a number of
travelling men on the road selling it's
large number of people.
Here is an opportunity for practical
work to be done by the Commercial
club to ascertain if the public will pur-
chase antitrust goods in support of a
home institution. The only manner in
which the vinegar trust can secure con-
troll of the Topeka factory, contrary to
Mr.. Kuehne's wishes, is by making COM
petition so keen that he cannot afford |
to operate the factory There has al
ways been a sharp competition in this
line of business but Mr.. Kuehne has
been able to build up a paying business
throughout Kansas and the west. The
trust already has control of a plant at
Kansas City, and there are others in
the middle west which it will probably |
secure. Its methods of fighting the To- |
pella factory will probably be by put |
ting the prices of it's products down so |
low in the territory in which the To- |
pelza factory sells its products that the |
Topeka factory will not be able to COM !
pete with it. Then when the Topeka |
factory is once shut down the trust |
could put the prices up so that it could |
much more than make back the money |