Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-03-26
The Lend TRUST.
AMERICAN LEAD SELLS FOR A CENT
A POUND LESS IN ENGLAND
THAN HERE.
THE GOVERNMENT A PARTNER
In All Tariff Trusts-Does Not share
Profits, But Keeps OF Competitors
and is q Powerful and
Partner.
By george A. B

cannot see the difference between what
a trust can do and what a firm with
q large capital can do. Both may en-
ploy a promoter and place worthless
shares of stock, bonds or SOM variety
OF securities" on sale, keeping an eye
on the guideless-all of which is COM
mon, and, like the confidence game,
goes on forever.
I cannot, however, share in the abuse
of a fair and honest aggregation of cap
ital and especially of that particular
form or organization known as a cor
p~oration-an absolute necessary form
or organization for carrying on. bust
ness-but / will and can agree with the
utter condemnation of what some of
them do, what they are intended for
doing, but what is only a made posi-
bic for them to do by the government
being in partnership with them-and
a most powerful partner, too, without
a share in the profits, as a government.
The government booms the stock,
keeps off and competitors, humps
things up occasionally for the stock
holders by introducing a bill in Con-
gress for buildings, ships and what not
and lately a coterie has the gall to
propose that the government pay for
building other ships than its own. Well
may farmers say, pay us for raising
wheat"
The most Of the combines of to-day,
created for the purpose of extortion in
price, could not and would not exist,
If 1t was not for the part the United
States takes in them.
Example of Lead Trust.
Here is on example, and the same
Ia true Of several commodities manag-
ed by combines. This quotation is
from the New York Commercial, March
6, 1900:
"Lead.-Was steady and unchanged
at s4.70c per 1b. spot to March. In
st. Louis the market was firm, with
scant offerings at $4.57h@4.62h, ac-
cording to brands. Soft Spanish was
unchanged at 916 lis Sd in London.
Arrivals at this port were 1000 tons
bullion from Tampico; exports from
this port, $50 tons to Hamburg. I'm
ports of cad during the week ending
March 2 were 2,SO6 tons; exports for
the week, 1874 tons"
Few see these quotations. Very few
understand them. The great mass do
not know anything about them what
ever. Figure out the pounds, shillings
and pence the London, quotation for a
long ton of 2,240 lbs, and it makes the
price of lead in London $500 per 100
lbs, as against $40 in New York
S1.10 more in New York than London,
or a difference of $1,000 per ton of
1000 lbs.
Yet, some is exported and must go
at the price in London. Please note,
some is imported. also; this is brought
here and exported without payment of
any tax duty.
The kernel of it all is that about
twenty men are managing the matter
of prices of all the lead consumed in
the United States and have been doing
so for sometime-with the aid of the
government. Not a pound is sold with
out the concurrence of those men, and
it is held as firmly and nicely as could
be. 1t is managed with consummate
skill.
Most likely many will say, at first
thought, sit is nothing to me if there
is a duty on lead" Such people do not
know how this material enters into the
cost of SO many things. Thousands of
men are working with this material,
which costs 80 per cent. more than it
~should-30 per cent. artificial value.
We pay this artificial price, but the
government does not get it. Ut
amounts to about SIS, 200, 900 a year, ex-
torted from the + merican people.) 1t
enters into the cost of every house
built, and of a thousand and one things
which people do not know that lead
has anything to de- with.
This lead combine has arisen and is
q result of the tar-f on lead. 1t could
not exist without his tariff. 1t is the
very protection q Il trust or combine
brought into exiatefce by the govern
ment's action.
The same may be said of lumber, and
of many other articles manufactured
by trusts.
Truly it may be said the commercial
element is predominating in affairs of
government in an unwonted degree.
Evidently there is some reward for
the fiat frying process in the past and
aiken eye on the future.
Under the tariff law one can import
lead, make it into pipe, re-export it,
and get the duty RENTED. But one
who makes it into forms not capable
of being identified, although for export,
cannot get the duty RENTED. Thus
one citizen can have, while another
cannot have frna trade in tho sauna