The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1905-10-28
BEEF TRUST TO FORCE
UP PRICE ON LEATHER
Absorption by Beef Trust of
United States Leather CON-
pany Means Costlier Shoes.
Consumer Must Pay the Cost
of Purchase and Now Poor
Footwear Is in Order.

F00tWear Is IN OrQer.
New York, Oct. 27.-Not content
| with holding in it's grasp the beef
supply of the entire country, the
dominant forces in the Beet Trust
have now succeeded in acquiring
control of the Leather Trust, and
from now on every man, woman and
child must submit to the extortion
of of this trust, through the added
price on every pair of shoes that
they wear.
The Central Leather company,
| which is the new name for the Leath-
! er Trust, and which controls both
the United States Leather company
| and the American Hide and Leather
company, has just succeeded in float
ing in New York $9,0O0,0O0 more
of securities, and through action re-
Gently taken by them the public
must meet the interest on this vast
sum by paying from twenty-five to
! fifty cents pair more for every
pair of shoes they buy.
This is not the fault of the manu-
facturer, the jobber or the retail
shoe dealer, but of the trust which
| controls the hides from which leath-
er is made and the trust which con-
! trolls the output of the leather mar
| ket.
Trusts Growing Greed.
Not satisfied with the Is per cent
duty on all foreign hides, which
keeps out South American skins, the
trust, made even more greedy by it's
enormous profits, has at recent
| meeting decided to reduce the cash
discounts formerly allowed it's GUS
toners, to dispense entirely with the
! "dating" or time allowance former
ly allowed on their bills, and to give
no discounts at all on bills running
sixty days.
This action, taken at their recent
meeting at the Hotel Manhattan, this
city, operates as a very real hard
| ship to all the shoe manufacturers
of the country, and is destined to
| drive out of the business entirely
many small manufacturers.
The only relief from this con66 tion
| is an effort being made by the Shoe
! Dealers Association to have the duty
of Is per cent on foreign hides re-
moved u Observation-Disclosures
I partial relief.5 The Wholesale shoe
! dealers of New York are much
! alarmed at the situation, and ex-
pressed themselves freely to rep
resentative of the American yester-
day. ....
Mr. Smith of the firm of Lawrence
& Smith, said :"Yes, it's so. The
advance in the price of leather is a
sort of sympathetic move, in COM
mon with all the other trust pro-
ducts. They have got us by the
throat; and we are powerless. There
is no advance in the price OF kid
and sheepskin, but calfskln and COW
hide, controlled by the cattle kings
has gone up.
Discriminate Against L. S.
| "a significant fact in this conenc.
tion is the resolution passed by the
trust magnates, that their cut of the
discounts and dating shall not ap.
ply to foreign trade which is the
rankest form Of discrimination"
Frank H. Lockwood, of the firm
of Powell & Campbell, said: 1.-The
Leather Trust has succeeded in keep
ing upon the tariff list leather. which
carries duty of Is per cent and
bars out desirable product from
South America and other countries
Who gets the Is per cent? No one
but the Leather Trust, and the wear
er of shoes has to pay for it.
Mr.. Patterson, of the firm o1
Morse & Rogers (Mr. Morse is presi
dent of the National Shoe Dealers
| Association) said: "The Beef Trus
controls the situation absolntel,
through it's control of the Leather
Trust
For Tariff Reform.
T. M. Brown, of the Manhattan
Shoe company, said: II am chair
man of the committee for the Middl.
States of the Shoe Dealers Associa
tion, and next month we expect tt
make determined effort to hav,
the iniquitous Is per cent tariff or
South American hides taken off, 81
that we may have some relief from
the extortion of the Leather Trust
Shoes bought by the poor, which
formerly purchased for dollar ar,
now $1.173, and those which 1 sole
Tor dollar pair now cost me abou
that. There are plenty of hides, bu
they are often held back to make ;
fictitious price,"
Mr.. Merritt, of Merritt, Elliott 6
Co., said: II admit that the cos
OF shoes depends absolutely on tn,
cost of leather, and that the Leather
; Trust, so called, has the power t,
regulate the price of leather"
Milton J. Meyer, of M. J. Meve
& Co., said: "There is Just on,
thing about 1t all. The price OF leath
er goes up and the man who wear
the shoes has to pay for it, one wa,
or another. Either he has to pa,
more for his shoes, or else ne has t.
accept an inferior shoe that, will no
last as long"