Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1906-07-19
ICE MEN REFUSE TO ANSWER
Keep Their NOtths Shut When Asked Per-
4 ,tinsntl Questions By ElabEuEh.
sM IcE IS scNacLR TNAN IytR BIToRE
Manager Of Peoples Company De-
cIihes TO sGy whether re Hss
other Good Reason for
Raising the Price.

Refusals to answer questions a. to the
prohtableness of the ice business con-
fronted County Attorney slabauEh Wed
nesday morning when w. r. Wood, man
ager OF the Peoples Ice company was
being examined, in the alleged ice trust
investigation. AS there is no process by
which the county attorney can compel
witnesses to answer no response was
secured to several questions.
Mr.. Wood said his company was selling
ice to the residence trade at 30 cents
hundred pounds and to the commercial
trade at $500. Last year the price to res
idence trade was q, 30 and s. cents a hum
bred and Is cents to commercial trade.
At these prices he said profts last year
we're "exorbitahtly low The shortage
today is the greatest, in his opinion. that
has ever existed In the United States.
Have you any other reason why you
sell ice az the figures you get this year, at
30 cents a hundred7''' he was asked. "
Mr.. Wood refused 10 answer. 2Tt
Gould you make any pront at IS cents
q hundred7" a r' e sa.a Sc
He also refused to answer this question
but volunteered this explanation;
when the crop is short we are entitled
to get what. can for it" g
Gould you not sell to residence trade at
20 cents a hundred and still make enough
money to warrant you in purchasing and
selling Of ice7" The, witness said he did
not care to answer. a..
Mr.. Wood said he did not consider 50
cents unreasonable as they could get that
for all the ice they had. He said II his
company should cut under the prices of
the others they would get, more trade than
they could supply and would soon run out
of ice.
Denies Any Combination.
|. Mr.. Wood said there was no combine
ton or agreement among the dealers as to
price. He said his company heard that
the other had raised the price, the lnfor-
nation coming to them through their
drivers and people calling up by telephone,
SO they increased the price, too.
A. II. Dickey Of shackleford a Dickey
also denied there was any combination
among the dealers. He said his company
bought all its ice from the Peoples Ice
company and fixed its own price. They
do not supply the retail trade, but sell
only at wholesale. Last year he said his
company paid from 31.2b to $3.50 a ton
for ice. At the first part OF the present
season he said they paid the Doe COM
pany 81 a ton, but are now getting most
Of their product from the Peoples Tee
company for $3.50 ton. The shrinkage.
he said, made It cost them $3.50 a ton by
the time they got It.
The reason for the advance in price,
he declared, was due to the scarciety Of
it. He said his company did not get q
third as much this year as usual. Mr..
shackleford went up north to see II they
could do better up there, but he found 1t
would cost them s2.65. and Mr.. Dickey
said, counting the shrinkage. it would be
cheaper to buy it here. Last year he said
his company lost $4,000, as other COM
panies reduced the price so cents below
what they could sell 1t for probably.