The Savannah morning news., 1902-04-10
A HARDWARE TRUST
LEADING JoBBERs OF COUNTRY
ENTER COMBINE.
ST. LOUIS is HEADQUARTERS.
SAID TO INCLUDE Two-THIRDs or
THE TRADE.

The Combine Is Capitalized at $780,
C0O,O0O. and includes simmons
Hardware Company of ST. Louis,
BindIey Company of Pfttsburg, the
BfnSham of Cleveland, supply of
Philadelphia, Pacific of San Fran
cisco, Several other Big Concerns
and Forty Other Houses, Including
All the Important Trade Centers.
New York, April 9.--Authoritative an
nouncement of a consolidation of the
great hardware jobbing interests of the
country in a combination capitalized at
$12OOO0,0O0 will be made by the Iron
Age in its current issue tomorrow. The
consolidation embraces the Simmons
Hardware Company at st. Louis, Bind
ley Hardware Company of Pittsburg,
William Bingham Company of Cleve-
land, Supplee Hardware Company of
Philadelphia, Pacific Hardware and
Steel Company of San Francisco. Mar
shall-Wells Hardware Company of Du-
luth, Bigelow & Dowse Company of
Boston, Van Camp Hardware and Iron
Company of Indianapolis. George
Trtch Hardware Company of Denver,
Janney. Semple, Hill e. Co., Minneapo-
lis, and forty other houses, represent
ing nearly every important trade CEN
ter of the country. Negotiations are
still pending with other houses, and it
is expected there will be further Access
sions to the number already named in
the combination. The Iron Age Will
say:
Several names have been suggested
for the consolidation, such as the In
ternational Hardware Company, Ma
tional Hardware and Metal Company
International Hardware and Metal
Company, and there is little doubt that
one of these will be chosen. 1t is pur-
posed that the officials shall be as fol-
lows: c. Simmons, president; John
Bindley, vice president, and w. ID.
Simmons, chairman of the Executive
Committee. There will be a board of
directors consisting of from 25 to 80
persons, representing the different Sec
tons of the country. There will also
be an Executive Committee of nine
The financing of the company is
attended 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 a capital of 1920, 600 000---S40, 000, 900
| preferred and $S0,0000 900 common stock
The preferred will be 6 per cent.
cumulative stock, preferred both for
liquidation and dividends. The gem
eral headquarters for buying and SELL
ing and transportation of goods will
be in st. Louis. The Eastern head
quarters will be in New York city.
viii Recognize Home Rule.
1.-THE principle of home rule will be
recognized in connection with the To-
cal houses, who will make their own
selling prices, except so far as this
may interfere with the buying depart
ment or the expressed wishes of the
manufacturers, which it will be the
policy of the company to respect. Each
house will be held responsible for the
results of its business, and If these are
not satisfactory 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
handle, various economics will be Sc
cured as the direct result of the con-
soldation.
"As at present constituted, it is es-
timated by the company that they
embrace something like two thirds of
the distributing efficiency of the job
bling trade of the country in the hard
ware line They are content that the
other third should remain competitors,
as 1t is not intended 70 monopolize
the jobbing business