The Topeka state journal., 1900-05-02
GRIP TIGHTENS.
Local Ice Trust Again Raises
Price to Dealers.
Latest Advance is Fifty Cents
Per Ton.
GROW DISCOURAGED.
Two Retailers Give Up and Go
Out of Business.
Others Struggle to Establish
Cash Basis With Customers.
Dealers Fear That All Will Be
Forced to Quit.

According to the local retail ice
dealers, Topeka is in the grasp of the |
ice trust, and the grasp is a firm one. |
The wholesale price of ice was ad-
vanced Tuesday by the trust for the
second time this season, and the retail
ers are up in arms about it. but they
seem to be powerless TO do anything
about it.
AS the State Journal published some
time ago, the ice trust became effective
in Topeka on April l. On that date 1t
was announced the Peoples Ice COM
pany, which is the local trust mad
bought all the product of the Ice rae
tories for the coming season. There are
four of these factories-the Moeser Ice
and Cold Storage company, the Topeka
Ice and Cold Storage company, the
Crystal Ice company, and the Ice rae
tory in connection with the Wolff pack
ing plant.
There is practically no natural ice in
Topeka. and the city has to depend en-
tirely upon the manufactured article
As the Peoples Ice company controS
every pound of manufactured ice, every
retail dealer is compelled to purchase
the ice for his customers from the trust
When the trust became effective on
April 1, the price of ice to the retail
dealers was advanced so cents a ton
over what it has been heretofore. The
retail dealers accepted the raise as
|
then established to last through the
summer The retail price was left the
same as last summer. from 35 cents to
| 50 cents hundred pounds, according to
| the amount taken each day. The trust
/ runs a retail as well as a wholesale
| business, as it succeeded to all the re-
! tail business of the Moeser company,
| the Topeka Ice ana Cold Storage COM
pany, and the Crystal Ice company.
| These three companies had ten retail
| wagons last year, and it is supposed
| that the trust is running practically
| the same number. so that it is able to
| fix the retail price as we'll as the whole
| sale.
As the retail dealers supposed the
| wholesale price of ice was fixed for the
| summer, they were somewhat surprised
| Tuesday afternoon when they called at
| the office of the Peoples Ice company
| for the ice orders, to find a card con-
| fronting them announcing a further ad-
vance of so cents a ton in the price.
There have been eleven retail ice
| dealers in Topeka. They have been run
| ming from one to four wagons each
| They have been handling about so tons
of ice a day. The capacity of the ice
plants is 72 tons per day. and the trust
| handles the other % tons through its
| retail wagons.
The first advance of so cents a ton
took s25 day out of the pockets of the
| local dealers and transferred it to the
| trust. The second advance made yes
| terday, doubled this. so that the trust
is now making $50 a day in excess OF
what the ice plants made last year on
the Same amount of ice.
The retail dealers claim that the trust
| is trying to force them out of business
so that it can have the entire retail
trade. Two retail dealers. Uno Rode1l
and a man named Sutherland running
one wagon each, have already quit. One
has gone into the employ Of the PeO-
pies Ice company and the other has Sc
cured employment in the Santa Fe
shops. Two other dealers, one of WHOM
runs three wagons, have issued cards to
their customers, ostensibly to ask the
customers to pay cash, but between the
lines can be read, I'VE must have help
or quit
One of these cards reads as follows:
WANTED: YOUR ICE TRADE
"A company, pool, or trust controls all
the manufactured ice in the city. Not
being a member of said firm, 1 wish to
call your attention to the fact that said
firm compels all retail ice dealers t.
pay cash daily for ice. You will do a
great favor to retail ice dealers gen
! orally, myself particularly, if you will
! pay cash at least once a week for ice
delivered. Your patronage is solicited y
The other card says:
"A chunk of ice is cool thing-so is
an ice trust. A trust is like a small boy
"a nuisance unless it is yours. Being
neither an ice trust nor a cake of ice il
will be an advantage to me if you viii
pay promptly. 1t saves bookkeeping tC
pay cash daily, and after all, bills need
be paid only once. would be pleased tC
have your trade"
7 The retail dealers are afrad to try tc
fight the trust for fear the price will b,
raised on them individually so high tha
they will be forced out of business
Last year I sold about 500 tons of fcs
during the year" one retail dealer saiC
today. THE first advance made by tn,
trust on April l took $3.50 off my profit.
5 for the year. might have stood tha
2 by hustling a little harder for business
=
additional so cents a ton and tha
means $500 off my profits for the year
+ which is more than 1 can stand w,
? don't know what will be coming o.
June 1. 1 believe that the trust mean;
5 to force the retailers out of bushes.
2 and then put up the price. of ice on tn
consumers along about July, when i
gets so hot that people use a great dea
( of ice. They will just about let US &c.
' / the summers trade we'll worked uD an.
= then they will force US to quit and tax
our customers. 1t is useless to try t,
= fight the trust by shipping in ice, be
cause we must have manufactured ic
to fight them with, and all of the ic
factories in the west are in a combin
4 to stand by one another
> The manager of the Peoples Ice com
! | pany is William Hebb. who was form
erly in the seed business in Topeka
When the trust was organized a mont
r ago. Mr.. Hebb was very reticent aboG
giving out information about its off
GERS. He gave the impression that the.
lived in the east. but he professed to b
ignorant of their addresses.
: Weather Indications.