The evening times., 1900-03-29
THE OCTOPUS IN GERMANY.
Trusts in Soap and Safetf Fuses Al
ready FormeG

Ttuuf FOEsheWS
Consul General Richard -Guenther has
transmitted to the State Department from
Frankfort an interesting report on the
soap trust in Germany During the sum-
mer of last year, he writes, trust OF the
soap manufacturers of the sRhenish prov
inces, Westphaiia, Olde9buEg, and Bremen
was formed, with the abiect of establish
ing uniform prices for Soft soap. The in
tention was to extend the trust so as to
embrace all the German manufacturers OF
soap, and soon those of Hesse, Hesse-Nas-
sau, and the Palatinate joined, and uniform
prices were also established for hard soap,
which resulted in an advance OF about IA
per cent over former rates
In the endeavor to force all manufactu-
rers to join the trust, certain methods
were employed which have been made the
subject of legal proceedings. 1t is al
legged that manufacturers who did not join
were boycotted.
Essential raw materials for the manu-
facture of their products are palm oil and
potash lye. The number of importers OF
palm oil and of manufacturers of potash
lye is limited, and efforts were made by
the trust to enter into an agreement with
them not to sell to soap manufacturers who
were not members.
These efforts were directed mainly
against the association OF soap manufac-
turers OF Stuttgart, who proved important
competitors. The association was invited
by the trust to join, under favorable terms;
on its refusal it was threatened that it
would be deprived of raw materials. In a
circular of the manager of the trust II
was stated that for the suppression OF
competition a remedy had been tried which
promised to be entirely successful. 1t was
soon demonstrated what was meant, as
all palm-oil dealers refused TO sell TO the
Stuttgart association, although many OIL
the firms comprising the association had
for years dealt with them. Some OF these
palm-oil dealers stated openly that the
soap trust had prohibited them TO sell to
the Stuttgart association.
The same method was tried with refer
ence to potash lye, but was less successful,
for the association succeeded in making
contracts covering the year 1901. Com
plant has been lodged against two OF the
directors of the trust with the prosecuting
state attorney at Stuttgart, and the decis-
ion OF the court will be Of great interest.
Concerning the safety-fuse trust in Ger
many, Consul Brainard II. Warner writes
from Leipzig:
The eight safety-fu manufacturers oi
Germany and the one Of Belgium, at a
meeting in Berlin on the goth OF October,
1899. formed what may be called a safety
fuse trust. which went into effect on the
LIST day of January, 1900. These manufac-
turers have been compelled to take this
step in order to protect themselves as a
result Of competition. The idea OF pooling
their interests was not a new one with
them; indeed. they were only perfecting a
plan which was started in 1880. when they
entered into an agreement not TO sell
fuses except at uniform prices. First one
manufacturer and then another broke the
agreement in their effort 10 secure orders,
until in 1893 the manufacturers declared
war upon each other with the result that
fuses were in many instances sold below
| the actual cost of production.
This state of affairs practically con-
tinued until the 1st of this month. when
as / said before, the new trust went into
effect. Now, fuse manufacturers are con-
| fident that there will be return of good
times and OF their ability TO make hand
some profits whereas heretofore they have
| been compelled TO run their factories at a
loss.
The trust does not fix the market prices
| for fuses in all countries In the United
| States, Mexico Italy, Africa, Russian Po-
land and England they can be sold with
out regard to the prices which have been
! fxed by the trust, This is. Of course, in
order to allow German fuse manufacturers
to compete with those Of other countries
As an immediate result OF the formation
of the safety-fuse trust. the prices in Ger
many have advanced about % per cent
/ since the first of the year"