The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1899-03-18

since Saturday.
The advance is duo 10 causes easil,
traceable. President Duke Of the trus
has apparently achieved his parpos'
with respect to the opposition, and il
again The king Of the trade. William
Butler, who helped to organize the
truS and who recently constructed The
opposition, has been wiped out and
remains hoping against hope to Undue,
I the stockholders Of the Union Tobacco
Company 10 stand by him and continue
the fight.
but Duke has offered millions to these
former hackers Of Mr.. Butler, and 1t is
likely that he will win at the stock.
holders meeting to be held on the sSth
of this month.
All was smooth sailing TOR the old
tobacco trust until Mr.. Duke ousted his
associate, Mr.. Butler, from the wee
presidency. Then Butler, who had
represented the Kinney interest, set
about to organize q rival concern. Mr..
Butler first appealed to the jObbers and
convinced them that they had been
shabbily treated. He told them that
the time bad come for them to combine.
They sgreed TO follow him into the
rival company, and Mr.. Butler sue
ceeded eventually in getting such men
as VIM. C. Whitney, Of New York, md
the Widener-E lkins people, Of Phila-
delphia, to look at things from his
standpoint. 1t was net q hard task
for him to interest Pierre LorillArd,
who was opposed to Duke and who
would have nothing to do with the
American TobGcco Company for that
reason.
And so Mr.. Butler got together
t25, 900 900 and organized first the
Continental Tobacco Company, then
the Union Tobacco Company. The
jobbers were made parties to the deal,
and from the first the rival concerns
prospered, 10 the clsse OF the trust.
The opposition became so powerful
that President Duke, Of the American
Tobacco Company, realized that TO
light it would mean the loss of mil
lions. He thereupon decided to adopt
neS tactics. he realized that The
capitalists behind Butler were in the
deal to make money.
While the capital Of the Union
Tobacco Company was s25, O0O 900, Il
was o listed, and the stock had no
particular rating on the market until
the Union Company was reported 10
have absorbed the Liggstt d Myers
property. Even then the stock was
not listed. Accordingly. Mr.. Duke
went to the stockholders individually
and said to them that be would give
them in exchange for their shares in
the Union and Continental companies
equal shares in the American company.
The new company's stock was quoted
on the curb at low figures, and the
trust stock At that time stood at 1856 on
the stock exchange. This meant .
profit of nearly . million for each
million invested. But Mr.. Duke did
not stop there. He touched the men
who were behind the Union company
on g tender spot when be declared that
in ADDITION 10 the profit from the
exchange Of stock they would derive
other profits from the subsequent
advance in the price of the American
Tobacco Company stock.
The capitalists behind Mr.. Batter,
not being in the Of manufacturing
tobacco "merely for their health" are
said to have taken Mr.. Duke at his
word, and made the deal. Mr.. Butler
Is, therefore, alleged to be out in the
cold, having been compelled to let his
small amount Of stock 20 with the rest.
To the iobbers Mr.. Butler still holds
out the hope that he can control the
stockholders meeting set for March 2s,
but the tide seems to be against him.
Should the plan to absorb the oppo-
sitiOn companies 60 through, the
American Tobacco Company will be
master Of the situation. The jobbers
take a very gloomy view Of the outlook
and say they will probably be com
PEELED to sell cigarettes and special
brands Of tobacco at cost and derive 8
} profit only from the sale Of cigars.