The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1899-07-14
The WIRE TRUST.
Clinton Wire Cloth
Company Will Be
Affected.
"SCRAPpY' JOYCE is IN LIMBO.
Police Surprise Him While
He Sleeps But Prisoner
AwakeS Suddenly.
'SCRAPpY'' JOYCE is IN LIMBO.

Awakes Suddenly.
Clinton, July 13.-The effect of the
trust known as the American Steel and
Wire Company is to cause a continued
and increasing sense of uneasiness
among the stockholders of the Clinton
Wire Cloth Company, which has had
pretty much its way in the wire cloth
industry of the country, because it is
the pioneer in this branch of industrial
enterprise, and because the goods man
ufactured by the company have repu-
tation all over the world.
The news of the forma ton of the Am
erican Wire and Steel company was not
received with any sense of pleasure.
Until the transfer of the Washburn &
Moen interest had been actually an
nounced in The Spy, it was not believ-
ed, even by as well posted a man as
Manager Charles Swinscoe, that a new
and more powerful consolidation of the
wire and steel companies would sue
coed the earlier company which was
formed under the laws of Illinois and
failed.
When the New Jersey company be-
came an undoubted fact, there was still
balm for the Clinton company in the
thought that the trust companies were
not manufacturing the line of goods
made here, except, perhaps, wire fence.
None of the concerns in the trust were
manufacturing netting, or wire cloth,
Then, too, Manager Swinscoe and
Treasurer Charles F. Fairbanks enter
tanned the conviction that the CONSOLE
dalton would not be of long endurance.
John w. Gates and Gilbert H. Gary the
promoters, are promoters rather than
builders of great and enduring enter
prises. The over-eapitalization brought
about under their plans was something
tremendous, and it is little wonder thai
the conservative mana gement of The
Clinton Wire Cloth Company felt en-
couraged
The opinion of the men who conduct
the Clinton Wire Cloth Company has
not changed, regarding the stability of
the trust, but the prospect of meeting
dangerous competition will be greatly
increased when the trust begins the
manufacture of wire MEETINGS. Build
ings and already constructed as an ad-
in Worcester, in which this addition to
the manufactures of the trust will be
begun
If the competition for a market for
these MEETINGS is to be on equal terms
the local company has nothing to fear
But the trust can sell itself wire cheap
er than 1t will sell wire to the Clinton
Wire Cloth Company, and consequent
~ may be able to undersell the latter
This does not necessarily mean that
the trust can put the Clinton Wire Cloth
Company out of the business. The
goods of the latter concern are stand
ard and are bound to command a mar
ket.
The Clinton Wire Cloth Company has
plant here that is worth more thar
a million dollars. 1t is backed by some
of the strongest men in Boston. When
the time comes 1t can fight its way into
the trust, If it can't fight its way
through the trust. A representative OF
The Spy is informed that the Clinton
Wire Cloth Company will start wire
drawing industry of it's own, rather
than be beaten by the trust on the price
of wire. The chance is that a rival wire
industry would have to have it's owr
billet mill and perhaps it's own mines.
1t would cost some hundreds of
thousands of dollars, but the capital to
do it with would be forthcoming, if
necessary.
Not everybody who has studied the
history of trusts in connection of the
American Wire and Steel Company, is
sanguine that the trust will come to a
bad end.
A gentleman who has given the or
ganization of iron and steel trusts a
good deal of attention, said today: 81
do not think the wire and steel indus
try will ever return to the control of a
large number of independent mills
even if the American Wire and Steel
Company should prove topheavy.
Il believe that the trusts of the coun-
try will most of them go through a pc
riod Of financial disorder just as the
railroads have done. Most of the trusts
| are over capitalized to an astonishing
| degree, and disaster and reorganization
| is the natural consequent. If the Am
| erical Wire and Steel Company meets
| difficulty, you may depend upon it that
| there will not be segregation of the
mills, but simply a reorganization"
| A gentleman prominently connected
| with the Clinton Wire Clothing Com
| pany was asked by representative Of
| The Spy, recently, what effect the en-
| trance of the trust in to the wire net
| ting business would have upon the 10.
1
early to say
To the question, will the trust sell
wire to themselves cheaper than tt
you?" he replied, ut is likely that They
WILL"
The Clinton Wire Cloth Compan,
owns the second largest mil in Clinton
1t employs thousand hands in the
season.
"Scrappy" Joyce, youthful veteran
| of the late war, was ambushed by hi,
friends, the police, this afternoon, anC
lugged to the police station on the spe
| cious pretext of a warrant issued June
2. The warrant charges "Scrappy'
with committing an assault upon thu
frail person of his father, Patricl
Joyce. "ScrappY" has hoe arrested
five times since the treaty of peace be
gan to be negotiated. He has been ex
cused with a small fine on each oc
casion. After he committed the as
sault upon his father he realized tina
he wasbin danger Of losing his liberty
He disappeared, leaving behind hin
the story that he had gone to re-enlis
| for the fight in Manila People be
lieved his story, and the newspaper
printed story about it.
Officer James O'Malley and Office
Joseph Lawson went for q little stroll
this afternoon. They are night COPS
They were in citizens clothes, and ha,
none of the implements of their trad
with them, neither gun. handouts no
billy. They had decided that the after
noon was warm for walking, whe,