Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1900-01-15

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lions, one for cut and n for wire
nails, got together and put this price
up to $1.20. These associations pooled
and the wire nail people Contributed
financially to enable the Cut Nail As
ISOLATION to keep control of the mar
ket, especially in the payment of sub
sides to keep idle the large number
of cut nail machines" the Iron Age of
December 8, 1896, tells us. The asso-
Citations regulated the amount of nails
offered for sale each month and the
price at which they should be sold.
Understandings were had with Cana
dian manufacturers; nail machine
makers were subsidized not to sell to
those outside the associations; jobbers
who did not cut prices were given re-
bates.
Prices were advanced almost stead
lily for one year. BY May, 1896, wire
nails were selling at 1910 in Chicago
and 1885 In Pittsburg. The pool held
together until December, 1896, when
prices broke more than one cen per
pound.
Home Prices More Than Twice Ex-
port.
On December 8, 1896. the Iron Age
said that high prices of cut and wire
nails had reduced consumption from
over 5000, 900 kegs in 1891 and 1892 to
less than 5000, 900 in 1895 and in 1896
to probably "far less than in 1896, not
withstanding the fact that a large
amount of nails had been exported into
foreign countries at less than half the
price that the American public paid for
their nails"
1t is often difficult to ascertain the
exact export prices. In November,
1896, however, it is a fact that the price
to foreigners was 81. 80 while the price
to Americans was 1910. At least one
dealer bought a large quantity of nails
at export prices and after shipping
them to Amsterdam and back and ray
ing freight and other charges both
ways, made a handsome profit while
underselling the trust in its W mar
ket. He, however, was boycotted by
the trust and was thereafter unable to
buy nails at any price either as an
American or a foreigner. The exports
for the fiscal year 1896 were 28, 762, 1877
pounds.
Trust Formed in 1898.
Agreements were broken and patched
up in 1897 and 1898. In April, 1898, the
American Steel and Wire Company, of
Illinois, was formed with $24, 600, 900
capital. 1t contained IA mills. Z of
which constituted the Consolidated
Steel and Wire Company formed in
1892 with $4,000, 900 capital. This trust
was not large enough to fully regulate
production and prices. 1t was swal-
lowed up by the new American Steel
and Wire Company, a New Jersey cor
poration formed on January 10, 1899,
with 800, O00, 900 capital, $780, 900 900 Of
which is Z per cent. cumulative pre-
ferred stock. This trust includes
practically all of the wire, wire-rod and
wire nail mills of this country. The
value of the 26 plants and other prop
erty absorbed is about $40, 000, 900,
which, eve admitting the SIS, O0O, 900
other capital claimed, would leave over
$50, 000, 600 of water. 1t owns it's own
sources of supply. It's monopoly con-
ditions and advantages were thus set
forth in March, 1899, by it's President,
Mr., John Lambert:
ut will not be necessary to make
any further purchases, for the reason
that we have all the producing capacity
that we need. 1t has been our policy
to SO fortify ourselves that we are
practically independent, or, if you
please, to put ourselves in a position to
take the ore from our own mines,
transport it in our own vessels, convert
it into pig iron in our own furnaces,
roll it into steel billets in our own steel
mills, roll 1t into iron rods in our own
rod mills, and finish it in our own mills
into plain and barbed wire and all the
different kinds of wire used not only
in the United States, but all other coun-
tries where wire is used. In this way
we have succeeded, as we W n of
the best ore mines in the Mesaba
rangs. We have our own coke mines
and coke furnaces; so that you will see
that we start at the bottom and have
all the profits that there are from ore
to finished material. Our business ia
entirely satisfactory and the company
is doing very we'll"
The trust has a monopoly of the
drawn and barb wire business, but has
considerable competition in rover
fence wire. 1t also does a large bus
mess in copper wire and copper cleo
trical goods and in fencing, poultry
netting, baling wire and bale ties.
The actual output, in 1898. of all the
plants now in the trust was: Wire
rods. S26.S40 net tons; drawn wire.
1.130,124 net tons; barbed wire. 275.-
91S net tons; wire nails, 6.551, 1877 kegs;