The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1906-05-07

| month, [ pulled out so as to go INTO bus-
mess for myself"
| There was another concern at about the
| same time, known as the Indiana Powder
company which had its headquarters at
| Terre Haute. II was started by George l..
| Rood. who had been a salesman for the
| Dupont and Hazard people, but had left
their employ when the pool refused to
make any contracts for services. Rood
got the coal operators into his powder mill
scheme. 1t had been the custom in coal
| mining for the miners to buy their pow
der of the operators at certain liked
price, which Is stipulated in the scale
agreement At that time the price of
| powder at retail to miners was slIo per
| key.
The powder and dynamite pools organ
| lied what was called the Great Northern
| Supply company 1t set out to supply
powder to miners at retail at N.5 per
keg This company, which was direct
creature of the pool, built magazines and
! started out wagons at Terre Haute, Bra
zl, and other towns IN the Indiana coal
district They flooded the section with
men who went into the unions and en-
i deaVored to persuade the miners TO Dreak
| their contracts with the operators
How an Indiana Company Fa:ed.
! LAS whole the miners were pretty
| loyal but after struggle OF about three
| years the Indiana Powder company found
itself pretty we'll hemmed in and only
| able to divide the trade in its town dis
trict Furthermore, it was Obliged TO meet
| a radical cut in prices made by TINS new
company, which was organized to XIII out
| the legitimate concern The Indiana com
| pany went the same way as its Birmng-
| ham associate and in about the same
time"
do you know the pool was behind
! this operation?e | asked Waddell.
Certainly ! know It," he said Il made
out most Of the papers, and stlll nave
/ many of the records. The black powder
| companies sold powder pro rata TO the
Great Northern Supply company | ship
ped the stuff myself. | was then located
| in Cincinnati and had twelve states under
my control. | was at the conference at
| which the whole plan was mapped out by
! my superors, and If this matter Is pro-
| tected by the statute of limitations they
will not take the trouble TO deny 1T.
| II this struggle mean and cruel as II
was, merely involved the crushing out
! of two unfortunate local powder mills. II
| would he bad enough, but 1t is evident
! the minute they were crushed out the
| prices was raised at every other MN IN
! the same territory, the operators ana tne
/ miners had to pay more for their pow
! der. and the public had to pay more Tor
| their coal. Almost at the very minute tho
| Birmingham mill captulated, the price OF
| powder in that vicinity went UP from
| 10 cents and the freight rate to 81 % plus
| the freight rate That merely was getting
/ back to the old rate. The same thing
| was done in Indiana, where the whole
| sale price was put up to {L2 and the
| retail price to the miners to sl15
Public Pays Expenses Of Warfare.
But that was not enough. 1t had cost
! the powder trust about 100000 to buy out
| the Indiana plant after the life had been
| beaten out of 1t. The trust had no notion
! of paying for its own warfare. On De-
| cember II, 1902, n meeting Of the pow
| der pool was held at the office OF the
! Latin and Rand Powder company in New
| York, and all concerns, including the
| newly purchased Indiana company, were
| represented. although there were few men
actually present At that time the an
| nual consumption of powder in this coun-
/ try was approximately 100000 kegs
year.
| To make up for the loss In the Indiana
| field In a single year required an addi-
| ton to price of cents a keg. There was,
| however, the loss In the birmingham
fight about as much more.
Price Boosted and Never Lowered.
The regular trust price OF sl2o per kes
! at the mill In quantity already had been
/ restored but the conference Increased the
i price all over the central district 10 cents
key and the public was assessed siVo'-
| 90 annually to pay for crushing out com
| petition al Terre iiaute and Blrmins-
! ham. and that payment was continued
every year and Is being continued To-
I day.
These two operations OF the powder
trust are probably within the scope OF
] statute limitations. and will not he made
| the subject Of prosecution. have cited
| them merely to show the way in which
| trusts work how cruel they are. and
| how completely an individual. operator,
| whether he lie running u powder mill or
| a sausage factory. is at the mercy of
| the great combination
| After typhoid fever pneumonia and
| otber nrostrafinp diseases. take HOOd'0