The Spokane press. [volume] (Spokane, Wash.) 1902-1939, 1904-12-22
Pacific Coast Combine Trying to Drive
Inland Cracker Co.. of Spokane, Out
of Business--PriCes on Crackers are
Gut and a Boycott Against Spokane
GroCers is Threatened.

Driven to extremes by the of the independent
Inland Cracker Company the cracker trust has naugur
ated frantic suicidal designed to drive the Inland
people out of business and force the and consum
ers to buy trust made crackers and 'sweet goods
The has merged into life and death struggle
through the cutting of prices by the trust in effort to
force the Inland company into ruinous competition but
far the Independent cracker has been victorious
and still holds the bulk Of the local trade
The tactics resorted to by the cracker trust of the
character have been adopted in other fights waged
by greedy monopoles against the independent concerns
Budozng, threats to ruin the retailers and underhanded
attacks have been made.
The latest phase of the fight by the trust against the
Inland Cracker company developed after visit to Spo
kane recently of the manager of the trust H. Wttenberg
of Portland.
Manager Wttenberg to Spokane to force the gro
into agreement to buy only trust made goods lie
insisted that the dealers must buy solely of the Washing
ton Cracker company the trust in Spokane but
the grocers refused to bind themselves knowing full we'll
that if the trust succeeded in driving the Inland company
out of business, the retailers and would be
at the mercy of the trust and would be compelled to pay
the costs of the expensive warfare.
Following two days conference the trust manager
declared he would force the dealers to handle the Wash
ngton Cracker company's trust goods by cutting the
prices and advertising them to the consumers
Following out this plan the trust ordered the Washing
ton Cracker company the price three pound pack
ages of soda crackers to the dealers that the latter
would be forced to sell at Is cents package The regular
Inland company rather than do business at great oss
has steadily maintained that price The superiority of the
Inland companys goods has enabled that to keep
up the regular price.
The trusts bills the crackers to the retailers at Is
cents for three pound packages and at the end of the
month rebates 3a cents 25 percent each package
making the package to the grocer at II cents This
price is 20 per cent below the cost of manufacture and is
made in the hope of forcing the Independent company to
suffer equal loss The loss to the Washington Cracker
company s of made good out of the trust fund
By advertising the packages at Is cents the trust forces
the grocers to sell at that price Any grocer refusing to
sell the lower price does get the rebate and threat
ened with boycott by the trust.
Some of the largest dealers have been threatened with
boycott if they do not refuse to handle the Inland
goods But despite the cut fully so per cent of the
local cracker business being done by the Inland Cracker
company The consumers and retailers realize that should
the trust succeed in wreckng the independent company
the prices would be put up to higher figure than be-
fore and that it would be them who would be called upon
to suffer in the end.
The trust in this territory known as the Pacific Coast
the trust in the territory is the Inland Cracker company
To those dealers who handle Inland goods the trust
makes the threat that when victorious will refuse to sell
to them except at ruinous prices Several grocers have
already been refused goods by the concern because
they handle the independent goods also.
We in this fight to stay and win, said Secretary
F. W. Kiesing of the Inland Cracker company today
eve will not try to meet the trust at the game of selling
far below cost We hold the bulk of the trade as the deal
know the prices are cut temporarily to drive us out
The consumers find goods satisfacory-we give
the best that be produced and we are still able to do
business