The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-14
NOT BENEFITED BY TRUSTS
Cordage Experts Before the Indus
trial Commission.

j. NJ. Waterbury Says Tint Losses
Have Bcep Incurred by CombinR-
tion Independent Concerns MAX
ing Money when Conservative.
]. NJ. Waterbury. formerly President
of the National Cordage Company.
called the Rope Trust, from its incsp-
tion in 1887 until ii failed in 1898, and
now President of the Waterbury Rope
Company, an independent concern, tes-
titled yesterday before the Industrial
Commission as to conditions affecting
the industry.
Mr.. Waterbury's testimony was prac
tically along the same line as that of
Secretary Grimwood. of the American
Cordage Association. who appeared be-
fore the Commission several days ago.
Mr. Waterbury said that he, with sey-
eral other officers of the old National
Cordage Company, was practically
ruined in 1893 in an effort to hold up the
price of TIE company's securities on
the open market While the panic at
that time was responsible in great
measure for the great shrinkage IN
values. Mr. Waterbury said thai he did
not believe that the manufacture of
cordage was an industry that could be
easily centralized. The experiences OF
the National Cordage Company. and
later of its successor, the United States
Cordage Company. showed this, and at
the present time there was TO organiza-
ton that had exclusive control Of The
cordage industry.
The independent concerns were MAX
ing money where they We're run on
conservative basis. The Cordage As
sociation accounted in great measure
for the good understanding among com
peting manufacturers and for the alb
sence Of ruinous competition that in
former years was the bane of the in
dustry.
Mr.. Waterbury thought that no lesis-
Iation prejudicial to trusts should be at
tempted. Only combinations that were
beneficial to the community would
succeed. and those which attempted TO
make more than fair profit on their
products would be killed by the COM
petition excited by their own greed.
There was a natural law, he thought.
which should be allowed to dispose Of
such problems.
Mr.. Waterbury considered The tariff
on manufac-.Ee of hemp Indispensable.
Without such protection the English
cordaee manufacturers would use this
country as a dumping ground for their
inferior and surplus products, which
would be put on the American market
at a price lower than cost, thus in
juring the home industry beyond
measure. England being a free trade
country, the American manufacturers
were in the habit Of disposing of their
surplus product in just such a manner
at a price 10 per cent below cost Re
move the barrier to retaliation by the
British manufacturers and not only
would the home manufacturer be in
jured, but through him the consumer
who. while perhaps paying no more,
certainly would be supplied with an in
ferior quality of the product.
Gideon f. Holmes, Treasurer and
General Manager of the Plymouth Cord
-srss= company, an independent concern.
did not think that in the case of the
cordage industry. at least. a combina-
tion OF manufacturers would crowd the
individual establishments to the wall
In fact. while the Plymouth company
had been in several of the early combi-
nations, the concern had made more
money out of than in them. Labor in
the Plymouth company's shops received
today the same as it did twenty years
ago, while the purchasing power of
money, he thought. was greater. The
company also erected model tenements
FOR its employees. which they leased at
"A nominal rental Besides this, many
OF the more Industrious and economical
OF the employees owned their own homes.
William K. Filter. President of the
Edward H. Filter Company, also an in
dependent factory, testified that his
company manufactured IS per cent of
the output of the country and had never
entered 2 trust. He thought it would
be most disastrous to the cordage busi-
ness Of the country if the tariff on man
ufactures of hemp imported from the
Philippines were removed. Labor in
that country was so much cheaper that
81 the tariff were removed a concern in
the islands could ship the manufactured
proiuct to this country and undersell
the home product, the freight rates on
manufactures Of hemp being but little
more than those on the raw material