Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-04-10
A HARDWARE COMBINE
All the Leading Jobbers in the
United States Formed In
to Trust.
The Aggregate Capital Will Be
$40. 600. 900 To Control
Trade.
ORGANIZATION Expects to Be Able
to Govern Entire Hardware
Traffic.

Traffic.
New York, April 10.-Authoritative
announcement of consolidation of the
great hardware jobbing interests of the
country in a combination capitalized al
| 1920. 900, 900 will be made by the Iron
Age, the organ of the industry, in it's
current issue today.
The consolidation embraces:
Simmons Hardware Company at St
Louis.
Bindley Hardware Company of Pitts
burg.
William Bingham Company of Cleve-
land.
supplee Hardware Company Of Phil
adelphia-
/ Pacific Hardware and Steel Company
of San Francisco.
MARSHALL Wells Hardware Company
OF Duluth.
Bigelow & Dowse Company Of Bos-
ton.
| Van Camp Hardware and Iron Com
| pany of Indianapolis.
George Tritch Hardware Company OF
Denver.
Janney, Semple, Hill & Co. of Mime
apolis
| Besides those named there are forty
other houses, representing nearly every
| important trade center of the country.
Negotiations are still pending, with
other houses, and it is expected there
will be further accessions to the num-
Der already enrolled in the combination.
| Several names have been suggested
for the consolidation, such as the Inter-
national Hardware Company, National
Hardware and Metal Company, Inter
national Hardware and Metal Com
rany, and there is little doubt that one
of these will be chosen.
The organization not being technical
ly completed there has been no formal
choice of officers. 1t is purposed that
the officials shall be as follows: e. c..
Simmons. president; John Bindley, vice
president; and w. d. Simmons, chair
man of the executive committee. There
will be a board of directors, consisting
Of from twenty-five to thirty persons,
representing the different sections of
the country. There will also be an ex-
ecutive committee Of nine.
The financing OF the company is at
tended to by Moore & Schley Of New
York, and George B. Hill & Co., Of
Pittsburg, Pa. 1t is intended to incor-
porate under the laws of New Jersey
with capital of $4,000, 000-s400 00,-
600 preferred and $S0,0O0,000 common
stock. The preferred will be a s per
cent cumulative stock, preferred both
for liquidation and dividends. The gen
eral headquarters for buying and SELL
ing and transportation of goods VIII be
in ST. Louis. The eastern headquarters
will be in New York city. The members
of the executive committee residing in
the east with Mr.. Bindley will manage
the eastern business of the corpora
ton. a.
The eastern Office will have charge of
the finances and Of the auditing and
insurance OF the company, as we'll as
the general direction of all the houses
in Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York
and New England. The general buying
for the company will be from the st.
Louis headquarters, where the larger
contracts will be placed. but the small
er buying will be done by the local
houses.
The principle OF home rule will be
recognized in connection with the local
houses, who will make their own selling
prices, except SO far as this may inter-
fere with the buying department or the
expressed wishes Of the manufacturers,
which it will be the policy of the COM
pany to respect. Each house will be
held responsible for the results of its
business, and II these are not satisfac-
tory the house will be closed up.
Apart from the fact that the COM
pany naturally expects to purchase
goods on the most favorable terms, In
view of the large volume they will han
which will be escured as the direct re-
suit Of the combination. Among those
the following may be mentioned:
All the houses constituting the COM
pany will be in a position to avail
themselves OF cash discounts. A mutual
insurance fund will be created, and the
sums which would naturally be paid by
the companies for insurance under the
present system will be paid into such
fund
1t is estimated that at least $100, 900
per annum will be saved in the matter
of catalogs.
1t is intended to continue the present
force of statesmen connected with the
various houses, so that existing per-
sonal relations between wholesale and
retail distributors will be preserved.
There may be gradual transfer of
statesmen from territory that ia over
worked at present to other territory,
where the salesmen's efforts can be
more advantageously expended.
THREATENED DEATH FOR LIBEL.