The age-herald., 1899-05-27
TRUSTS AFFECT
 HOUSE BUILDERS

bulld u ffdhle n0uSe on my lot, III one ol tue suburbs of this city. At first declined the offer, but after thinking it over again l de- cided to build. there being a good many mechanics idle and the prices of building materials being then so moderate that the 1 project promised to fall within reasonable cost.
 did not enter. into one general contract, as is customary, but supplied most of the materials and paid the men myself. As house-buldins Is matter of concern t0 the average man. will state briefly my ex- perlence with the work, for tho benefit of any one intending to build.
 As the readers of the Republic are well aware the trusts have been organized and operating in lively amnner in the last | year. If man wants to discover the ex- teRt of their work, let him build house l It need not be a pretentious one. Be it 1 ever so modest, the builder will find 1t is not overlooked by the combinations. They will all demand taeir pound of flesh, and l after he has finally emerged from their clutches, the sensible man will be apt to say, in desperation, that if he ever barks in another enterprise of this kind he hopes tho house will be struck by lightning and that he will be directly in the path Of the bolt.
 It happened that one week before order ed my brick for the cellar all the yards in this district combined and raised prices si a thousand, the present quotations being s for salmon, S7 for arch and SS for red, or dinary merchantable brick. On 96,000 bricks which I bought for the cellar, chmneys, etc., there was levy of s36 That was what it cost me for delaying my order one week; and yet I found that these sharks were delivering, and now are delivering, all grades Of bricks In this city at dollar less. under ''verbal agreements' made with favored customers just before the combination was made.
 The first lot of nails, Chesapeake eight penny cut, cost SLIGO a keg. They had been selling much lower. But the nail trust was beginning to control the market. The next lot, practically the same kind of nails, bought on March T. were s2.S5 a keg.
 The first box of tin, bought for flashing. was Lowell tin. for which paid $1150. Six additional boxes of Lowell tin bought ten days later were s13.5O a box On the nails and tin I clipped in a contribution to the trusts of $25. The total bill for hardware in the households, nails window weights, etc.. not including the tin-was SIPS, and my bills show constantly increasing charges for hardware running through tho time of building
 The trustees, however, were only testing me, apparently, to see if I would get tired and stop the work. Finding I was bent on seeing it through, they set to work for keeps
 Under the sanitary regulations of this district no terra eotta pipe can be used in plumbing. My house required 22O feet of four-inch cast iron piping. As I found, there is a very efficient pipe trust now in operation. Out of several bills for plumb ing, not including the kitchen range or gas piping and chandeliers, the lowest was s37S. This I had to accept There is no alternative in Washington in plumbing matters. Either you do it in a prescribed way, the police court hires a plumber to do fiat your cost. The plumber said, however, when he got the contract: 'It is a great pity you did not give us your order thirty days ago. We would have bid fully $75 less than we can now" He showed me a circular from the wholesalers, putting up the prices on iron pipe from II cents to g cents foot; like advances on lead pipe, and practically on all the materials needed in his trade.
 As stated, my plumbing assessment to the trusts was about 9 per cent Early in the winter looked at lot of chandeliers. and had memorandum of my selections amounting to $65. l did not buy the lot until later. and when l did close the bar. gain the same articles cost me 800. Tho dealer told me there had been an advance of nearly 50 per cent. have no doubt of the truth of this. From a leading dealer I ordered tile fireplace at SIS, and told him l would order another like it next day if could use it. The following day the price was advanced to $15. This may seem an exaggeration, but it is a fact
 FATTY In the winter l contracted for all the mil work, doors, sash, trim, etc On this escaped very well; but the pleasure IS somewhat marred by the knowledge that the firm which filled the order did so at an actual loss of over $50
 fof primdng the outside work along in february, l bought raw linseed oil at 40 cents a gallon, retail quantities and whiro Iead at $o2o a hundred. About that timo the Linseed Oil trust was organized. and notlced this prospectus, saying their in- tehtloh was not to raise prices to the con- sumer, but merely to steady the trade ana give 1t stability" I bought some of .ieir product within week afterward, aad the price had advanced 50 per cent or to 6o cents a gallon, at which it stands wsx All together l used forty gallons, on which l was squeezed for a bonus of about SS
 It IS worthy to remark that one factor in lnis building remained without advance. uIu not nave to increase wages l cent to keep pace with rises in materials Had tbo work been in the hands of a contractor am sure that, finding himself squeezed in every direction for his materials, he would nave reduced wages in order to get out with less JOSS. This would be the natural rem edy.
 nave enumerated but a few of the ino portant items of increased cost for ma terials used in building and advances due. in every case, to combinations in restraint ot trade. The fact is, in present cond- tions, man trying to put his money into circulation, to give employment to men out of work, will find himself even in a mod crate frame building, bilked SS6 by a con- spiracy of brick dealers, $S5 by hardware thieves, $l5 by plumber robbers and enough L!. ,.inils