The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-04-13
The Starch Trust DEGREES That
TOpeka's Starch Factory
Cannot Re Put Into Operation
at the Present Time.
ONLY ONE INSTANCE
Of Many In Which the Trusts
Have Injured
Topeka and the West-COmmer-
ciaI Club Business.

The subject of trusts came up for con-
sideratiOn before the Commercial club
at its meeting last night.
Some time ago the club instructed
Secretary Anderson to write the Ma
! tiOnal Starch company and see what
it said about resuming operations with
the Topeka factory. He did so, and at
last nights meeting read the reply he
had received from William F. Peel Jr.,
the president of the trust. 1t was
sort of a stereotyped letter stating that
the condition of the starch business is
such that it will not allow US to operate
our Topeka plant at present. Mr..
Peel also stated that there is a great
overproduction of starch in the United
States and that competition is keen, so
that only the larger plants operated by
the trust (Mr. Peel did not say trust,
of course) could be operated at a profit;
that it would require the complete re-
modelling of the Topeka plant in order
to put it in successful operation. which
the trust did not feel able to do.
After the communication had been
read no one made any motion concern
ing it, so President Brigham said it
would be placed on file. John r. Null
Vane said:
4 don't think we want to pass by this
starch business in this way. 1t is time
that people were asserting themselves
IN THESE matters. Kansas ought uOI ~
be compelled to ship her corn a thou
sand miles and then ship it back again
as starch, simply at the behest of j
trust. 1 for one resent it. We ought
to take action in this matter and the
people of the state will be with US
This trust evil is growing every day.
Only a few days ago we had an ex-
ample of it here close at home, when
the wire trust closed down the WIRE fac
tory at Lawrence, throwing a large
number of men out of employment. Mr..
Henley is reported to have said that he
was compelled to sell his plant TO the
trust. The next thing we know some
trust will be coming IN here and com
polling Mr.. McAfee to sell the wooden
mill, and then that will be shut down.
The committee on manufactures was
then instructed to correspond further
with the trust with regard to matter
and inform them how the club felt
about it.
I think we ought to tell 'em that
We'll make our own starch if they don't
do it, said WV. Gavitt,a and this senti-
ment seemed to find general favor.
F. H. Foster said: This subject of
trusts is one of the most important that
is before US, and am in full Sympa thy
with what Mr.. MulVane has said The
nail trust and the starch trust have
been working against US, and don't
know but the salt trust is trying
to do the same thing"
This was the only direct alluSiOn
made to the efforts of an eastern syndi-
cate to get control of the salt industry
of Kansas, in which the Mulvanes are
deeply interested.
J. B. Billiard, chairman of the COM
mittee on manufactures, said: I'VE
have had several practical exhibitions
of the workings OF trusts in recent
years. Nearly every industry in To-
peka and, in fact, in the west, is at
tackled by some trust. We once had a
hnseed oil plant in operation here. Now
we have only the building and a sales
office, and L understand that is to be
closed soon. Our cracker factory suf-
fered the same way. The committee
would be glad to have as many of the
members of the club meet with us
possible and talk this matter over"
One Kansas manufacturing inStitu-
ton about which little is known, and
which was shut down by a trust, is the
paper mill out at Salina. Eight or ten
years ago the people of Salina voted
bonds a bonus to a Chicago firm
for putting up the mill, with the assur-
ance that it would employ from sixty
market for their straw at 81 per ton,
which was otherwise burned up. The
bonds were issued and the mill was
built, but before it had been in opera
ton a year the paper trust had secured
control of it, all the employees were
thrown out, and the prOprietors were
paid for allowing it to lie idle. The
people of Salina are still paying interest
on the bonds, and they will some day
have the bonds to pay.
At the time the plant was shut down
by the trust, the wOrkmen were expert
menting with making brown paper from
the fibre of sunflower stalks, and were
along this line, but the Intervention of
the trust stopped the experiments and
Kansas lost another important indus
try.