Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1901-10-23
BRITISH STEEL TRUST
An American Forming a Com.
bine Of the British Steel
Companies.
Capital Of s2oo,ooO,ooo Said to
Be Represented in the
Trust.
----- --
John R. Bartlett. the Prime
Mover in the Concern. an
American.

| London, Oct 23.-An all-British iron
and steel combination with capital of
$200000,000 is being negotiated by an
American promoter to stop the invasion
OF British territory by American manu-
| facturers.
The new combination will include the
| largest iron and steel manufacturers in
Great Britain. and will control the man
ufacture of rails in-the United Kingdom.
The American organizer is John r.
Bartlett, who effected not long ago the
combination of the oil manufacturing
trade and won the confidence of large
and practical intelligence IN conducting
financial operations. He visited, during
the spring, nearly all the important iron
and steel works in the United Kingdom,
and, after looking over the ground and
meeting the masters of this enormous
Industry, submitted to them plan for
erecting a combination of their busi-
ness interests.
He attributed the depression in the
iron and steel trade to three general
causes. First, old machinery and OLD
methods of doing business with lack
OF systematic department for keeping
those in the trade informed regarding
the organization of their principal COM
petitors. Secondly, injurious competition,
by which manufacturers We're bidding
against one another in the purchase OF
supplies and the sale of products, there
by increasing the cost of production and
the expenses of management and mar
keting. Thirdly, aggressive competition
from the United States and Germany IN
home and foreign markets for which
British manufacturers were themselves
to blame in allowing the Americans and
Germans to surpass them In technical
skill and Industrial organization.
He suggested as remedy the console
dation of the iron and steel industry OF
the United Kingdom into single COR
poration for mutual protection and de-
tense against the overwhelming foreign
.competition: the benefits which would
he derived from the substitution of
single corporation for thirty or forty
different managements he described In
detail.
..AI02lRaI0dllOH,
evolve a Capitalization of management
by which the work would be done most
cheaply for the market, home or Tor
leien, to be supplied. 1t would elimt-
nate hurtful competition in the purS
chase of supplies and the sale Of pro-
ducts and bring about the adoption OF
the best and most economical metnous
of manufacture, thereby improving the
IL = ~
quality, reducing the cost, and increas-
ing the profits without raising the
nrices for consumers. 1t would secure
for the benefit OF the whole trade the
practical knowledge of the leading men
in it, would reduce the expenses, lessen
risks secure the adoption of uniform
system of accounting, increase the
morale Of the business. and make the,
securities Of the consolidated company
a more profitable investment than the
existing securities Of separate con-
Germs. IS
These proposals were accompanied by
a preliminary memorandum of the
scheme of combination, which was
worked out with precision and PAINS
taking care. A financial syndicate
would be formed to underwrite and
furnish all the cash required for the
successful organization of the amalga-
mated company, each vendor having
the privilege of Joining 1T.
The value of the tangible assets OF
each vendor would be ascertained by
values on a basis OF willing seller and
willing buyer. The earning power OF
these assets regulating the value of
goodwill would be obtained by taking
the average annual profits of the last
five years and deducting therefrom the
interest of per cent on the value of
assets and multiplying the result by
five for goodwill. In this way they
would be valued only by such profits
as were in excess OF the amount Of in
terest which the capital invested in
assets could earn. Elsewhere the total
capital of the combined company would
be the value of all businesses valued
this way, with the addition of such
further cash working capital as might
be required. 1t would be divided into
debenture, preference, and ordinary
shares and the owners businessey
would be paid for in securities or pro-
porttonately in cash, as the stock might
be taken by the public.
II