The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-08-01
The Mills Of Kansas Join the
Flour Trust.
known as the United States
Flour Milling Co.
LARGEST IN WORLD.
Has an Output of 16,5OO,OOO
Barrels Each Year.
Claimed That 1t Lowers the
Price of the Product.

Kansas City, Aug. 1.-The United
States Flour Milling company, which
is represented in Kansas City by J. L.
Woods Merrill. and is on the point Of
taking in all the big flour mills of Mis-
souri, and Kansas, is probably the big
gest -four trust in the world It is cap
ttalized for 5000, 600. 900, and its total out
put is now over 1000, 900 barrels a
month. Jacob Amos, of Syracuse, N.
Y, vice president and general manager
of this great syndicate, that manufac-
lures enough flour to feed a nation,
wrote to Mr.. Merrill yesterday:
Our mills last week manufactured
and sold $50 600 barrels of flour. So you
can see what this means"
1T seems" said Mr.. Merrill that the
output of the syndicate will be about
16,500000 barrels a year. The average
price of the flour is 81 a barrel, and
each barrel contains four and one half
bushels of wheat, so that the syndicate's
annual sales will amount to $66 000, 900,
representing 74,500, 900 bushels Of
wheat.
A telegram from Mr. Amos to Mr.
Merrill yesterday directed him to quote
flour at 10 cents a barrel cheaper, and
Mr.. Merrill points to this and to its
direct cause as a great argument in
support of the trust
THE trust Mr. Merrill said, "for
don't object to calling it a trust at all,
is saving just $117, 600 a. month by rea-
son of its being trust. Out of this
saving 1t can afford to decrease the cost
of flour to the consumer and Mr.. Amos
informs me that he proposes to con-
tinue decreasing the cost of flour in pro-
portion to the amount saved in this way
When a score of big mills were recently
absorbed by the trust. all the head Of
ficers were at once dispensed with. Only
the WOrkmen and their superintendent
were retained. The president, vice pres
ident, treasurer and secretary were
abolished and their functions assumed
by the head mana cement at Syracuse.
At Duluth alone, 500 900 a year in saIa-
ries of high priced officials, was thus
saved. One of the officers who received
81 500 a year and is now out of a job,
visited me a few days ago. Similar saw
ings are now made at the following mills
recently taken in:
Buffalo. Cleveland, Toledo, Detroit
Milwaukee Duluth, Superior, and the
three leading mills of Minneapolis; the
Hecker-J Ones-J ewen Milling company,
and nearly all the leading mills of In
diana and Minnesota. The syndicate
represents SO 1-3 per cent of the output
of the United States. 1t has nearly all
the big mills, and doesn't care about
the little ones.
4 used to cry about the trusts as
loud as anybody" continued Mr.. Mer
rill, but I'm persuaded that if they
decrease the cost of bread to the poor
and employ just as many IabOring men
as the separate institutions employed,
it is a good thing. I represented the
Minneapolis companies now in the syn
dictate when the syndicate was formed.
When the management notified me to
continue in my position I telegraphed
my resignation, saying: I want moth
ing to do with q trust They wired
back: Wait for letter. In that letter
they showed me all these facts about the
ability and readiness of the trust to di-
ninish the cost to the consumer and
since then I have said nothing against
trusts. They are greatly n1isunder-
stood
In decreasing the cost, will the trust
business?''
mo. 1t doesn't care for the small
millers. All it wants is the big ones.''