The Corvallis times. (Corvallis, Or.) 1888-1909, 1902-07-26

/ Portland, July 24.-The Oregoniar
says: Cheap ocean freights between Eu
rope and Portland are responsible for the
liveliest salt war that has ever been wit.
messed on the Pacific Coast. Four ships
are now en- route for Portland from En.
rope with salt cargoes, and a fifth is dis.
charging ia the harbor. The amount o
salt included in the cargoes OF the fee. OF
five vessels is approximately 5000 tons
and it has precipitated a merry wal
| fraught with great interest and profit for
salt.consumers of the Pacific Coast. Fol-
the past few years the salt business ofthe
Pacific Coast has been in control of the
Federal Salt Company, better known as
the salt trust, an organization which has
control of the outpnt of all the salt OBJ
tainab1e for Pacific Coast territory. The
owners of the salt mines were paid nom
ina1 figure, said to be about S5 per ton,
for the product, and under the benign in
fuence of the trust the price to consum-
ers steadily mounted to SIS and S28 per
tom
While Portland importers have brought
on the war and attendant drop in prices,
it was Seattle dealer who opened the
ball. Had he been possessed OF the nerve
and staying qualities of the Portlanders,
salt would have declined last winter.
The China Mutual steamers were coming
out from Europe with hardly enough
freight to keep them in ballast trim, and
in order to secure cargo, made very low
rate on lot of 5000 tons Of salt from Liv-
vised of the move, and, before the con-
| signment reached its destination they bluf
fed the Seattle man into selling to them,
preferring to take it at nominal figure
instead of fighting it with lower prices.
On arrival, the Seattle consignment was
laid away in the warehouse, and the
| price of salt still remained away up in
! the air. It was held at such outrageous
prices that Portland importers saw an op-
portunity to make some money, and the
British bark Sierra Estrella was laid on
at Liverpool to load a consignment of
1900 tons for Portland direct.
Soon after the vessel sailed, the cargo
was sold to several Portland wholesalers
who had been at the mercy of the trust
So far as known, no effort was made by
the trust to get hold of the Sierra Estrel-
las cargo, but about the time the ship
was due last month the trust suddenly
announced a sweeping reduction OF SS
per ton in the price of salt. It is report
ed that even this cut was hardly deep e.
nough to cause the Portlanders to lose
much money $50 when the Sierra Estrelia
began dischargiug this week, more dras-
tic measures were decided on. Yesterday
the Federal Salt Company made tile an
nouncement that further reduction Of
Sc per ton would be made today, total
of SI4 per ton sliced off the price in about
80 days. While this of itself will depre-
ciate the value of the Sierra Estrella's
cargo about $40, 900, it is apparently on
ly preliminary for the fun which is to
follow.
The British ships John Cooke and
Foyledale ara now winging their way out
from Liverpool, with about three times
as much salt on board as came on the
Sierra Estrella, and the French bark
Grande Duchesse Olga is coming out
from Hull with a cargo of the saline sta
pie. There is rumor to the effect that
after the sailing Of the Foy1eda1e in June,
an agreement was effected between the
American salt trust and the British salt
trust to stop shipments to the Pacific
Coast, under threat of an American inva-
sion of the British salt trade. Before the
truth or falsity of this rumor was appar-
ent by actual transactions, new factor
appeared, and it is this new factor that
promises to IN AXE more trouble than any
thing that has yet happened.
The German ship Herzogin Cecelia,
with cargo OF salt from Hamburg, sail
ed from the German port June 2S, for
Portland, and her cargo Of about 1000, tons,
| instead of coming to Portland importer
to take the risk Of fighting the salt trust,
is still owned by the German salt trust,
which is about as well equipped fnanci-
! ally as the Federal Salt Company. When
| the big German ship reaches Portland
with her cargo, the opportunities for in
tensifying the conflict will be very much
improved. In fact, local importers are
already figuring OH a problem which
might be presented in this language: eff
13OO-ton cargo of salt causes reduc-
ton of $l4 per. ton in the price, how great
a reduction will be caused by the arrival
of 1000 tons more OF English salt, and an
equal ameunt of German salt2''
Meanwhile stocks of salt are large all
over the Pacific Coast. The Federal Salt
Company has, in addition to thousands
of tons of American salt in California
warehouses, oyer 10000 OF foreign salt
which is kept off the market in order to
hold prices up. The stock men and large
consumers of salt are very much pleased
with the outlook, and trust that the
white-winged dove of peace will keep far