The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-05-09
The Ice Trust.

The Ice Trust.
The American Ice Company has announc-
ed that during the coming season 1t will
charge private consumers of ice in New
York City sixty cents a hundred pounds.
This fact is of vital interest to the public
! not only in New York, but in Washington
and other cities.
Ice was furnished in New York last sum-
ner at thirty cents per hundred pounds
exactly half the amount which it is now
proposed to charge. 1t is claimed that there
| is this year shortage in the crop; but
, nobody will believe that the deficiency is
, SO great that it is necessary to double the
price TO one class of customers. especially
as the large consumers who paid last year
| from seventeen to twenty-five cents a hun
| dred. will this year pay only thirty. The
principles of the Ice Trust are definitely
stated by Mr.. Charles w. Morse. This
company" said Mr. Morse on Monday, sis
in business to make money for its stock
| holders" In plain English. the stockhold-
ers will make money out OF the necessities
of the poor. They will cause the death of
hundreds of little children and invalids.
and the suffering of thousands and thous
ands of people in the sweltering New York
tenements. because they want to make
more money this year than they did last.
rise in the price of ice means more suf-
fering among the working people of any
city than almost any other extortion which
can be devised. Not only does it affect,
directly. the health Of the children and
the recovery of the sick, but it will cause
Slight but inevitable increase in the price
OF all commodities which must be kept in
refrigerators. Our civilization is so con-
stituted that ice has become necessity
to the dweller in cities. Out of this neces-
sity the Ice Trust proposes to squeeze some
additional millions of dollars. Some of the
beneHciaries will probably pose as phlan-
thropists, and be lauded vigorously for the
gift of few thousand dollars TO some
, church philanthropic society. In that
way the poor OF the East Side in New York
will get back. in 4 very badly diluted form,
small part of the money which has been
extracted from their slender purses by this
price of ice. 1t reads like wildly imasi-
native satire on nineteenth century civili-
cation. but it happens to be a fact. The
rich mems clubs, the big hotels. the fash
ionable restaurants-all these will be taxed
but slightly in comparison. The increase
of price which they will have to pay Will
be only six or eight cents on the hundred
pounds The small consumers will pay
thirty cents a hundred more than they did
last season. Their monthly ice bills will be
exactly double what they were year ago
There are dozen different ways in
which this will work hardship to the poor.
The smaller dealers will probably make a
rule that they cannot sell any more five
cent pieces of ice The purchaser must
buy n ten-cent piece or go without. In the
case of many of those who most need the
ice this rule win be practically prohib-
tive woman who is trying to- support
herself and TWO or three small children
on wages ptifully inadequate for the liz.
ing of one person, cannot spare ten cents
a day for ice to keep food in proper con-
dition for human beings 10 eat. What is
more she will have to pay higher price
for even the small supply of butter, milk,
and meat which she is able to buy because
the grocer whom she patronizes is one of
those small consumers who cannot get
their ice at reduced prices. An extnrtlon
of this sort grips the poor at every
turn And there is practically no limit
to 1t. The Ice Trust can, and may, put
the price up TO a dollar hundred pounds
when warm weather sets in. Doctors say
that sixty-cent ice means intense suffering
among the POOR of New York. and in
creased mortality among the children. But
all this is of no account so long as the
company must make money for it.
stockholders"
The action of trust affects Wash
ington no less surely than New York
1t is not yet known what the local deal
ers will do. but If the citizens of Wash
ington find their ice bills doubled this
summer In order that the stockholders of
a rich company may improve their country
houses and buy yachts and diamonds, how
will they like the situation, and what do
they intend to do about it?