Omaha daily bee., 1899-11-17
1INPLA1E TRUST METHODS
Witness BEFORE Industrial Commis-
sion Says IL Controls Both the
Product and Machinery.

WASHINGTON. Nov. 16.-william II.
Griffith, a tinplate maker of Washington,
Pa, was before the Industrial commission to-
day. He told the commission that his COM
pany which has since disposed of its plant,
cleared 20 per cent in profit last year when
the price Of tin was $500 per box, the lowest
ever known for plate. He also said that
just previous to the passage OF the Mckinley
| bill and for a year or so afterward, when
the price was s5.65, the profit was fully 100
per cent. He said that while his company
| had sold its plant to the trust the transac-
tion had been without his sanction and that
| he had since undertaken the establishment
OF an Independent plant, also located at
Washington, Pa, which he would soon have
| in operation. The sale of the old plant had
| been made under the representation that the
consolidation was necessary to prevent COM
petition and there had been fear IL they
did not go into the pool their business would
| be injured.
In re-establishing himself he had found
that he was hampered In securing machinery,
! the American company having control of the
makers OF in-plate machinery as well as Of
the manufacture Of plates. In substantiation
of this statement he said that manufactur-
ing company which had entered into an
agreement with him to supply him for Ave
years had already refused to fill an order
after an official Of the trust had become a
large owner Of the stock Of that company.
The restriction, he said, also extended to the
Independent manufacturers of sheet iron, the
American company refusing to sell to them
except upon the stipulation that they would
not sell their product to the makers Of tin
plate Furthermore. they refused to sup
ply jobbers and others with their especial
brands except upon condition that they as
sign their brands to the trust There was
similar restriction upon block tin and half
of the clippers" in the country had been
forced out of business.
He thought the managers of some OF the
different plants in the trust were growing
restless under these restrictions. as they
were not running nearly so steadily as before
the combination was effected. OF the 272
mills in the combine eighty had been closed.
Mr.. Griffith said that since the trust had
been organized prices Of tin plate had ad-
vanced from s2.60 to $4.60. This advance
was out Of proportion to the advance in
wages and raw material. He made a calcula-
tion to show that 1884 would be profitable
price under present conditions. However, he
said that notwithstanding this advance in
prices he had reason to believe some of the
members Of the combination were woefully
stood that the employees in the trust mills
were becoming apprehensive, which he
thought was illustrated by the fact that Of
the 800 rollers employed by the combination
no fewer than 150 had made application to
him for places in his establishment.
Mr.. Griffith said that while the American
company was capitalized for $50,000.0O0 the
plants comprising the combination could
have been bought at the time the combina-
ton was effected for $12,000,000. He had un-
derstood that the promoters of the combina-
tion had received $10,000,000 in common
stock for their services. The standard price
paid for mills in forming the trust was $4O,-
900 each. His own company had received
an advance of rs per cent upon cash valua-
tion.
The witness said he considered the tariff
essential to the protection of the tinplate
industry in this country, but he would not
say that so high tariff as the present was
necessary to it's existence.