Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1906-12-29
A BIC ICE CROP
President Of the Trust Will
Not Promise Any Reduction
He Adds That the Trust is In the
Business for Money and for Nothing
EIse-Then He Explains About
That 9 Percent Dividend Declared
TO Stockholders on Preferred Stock.

New York.-In face of the fact that
the ice trust is under investigation
by Atty. Gen Mayer, the president OF
the American ice company, Wesley
M. Oler, said recently that present
indications are for the best ice crop
in years, but that he did not believe
.l...1 i.ss ..-.,.ll .l.-a.--i.it- ol,nanar than
II was last summer, adding: "Ihe
American ice company is in the busi'
ness for money. They are not in 1t
for anything else than that, and 1t
ought to be plain to any one
Mr.. Oler said to reporters that while
it looked like fine ice crop this year
he did not care to deal in futures, and
in the second place the weather is al
together in the hands Of Providence.
On Dec II, he said the company
started to harvest at Portland and
Bristol, Me-, and on the day before
Christmas they gathered the first OF
the Hudson river crop at Green
island
In the event of a bountiful crop"
he was asked, you hold out no hope
to the consumer that ice will be
| cheaper next summer
81 do not he replied He refused
to discuss the report that the COM
pany had experienced great difficulty
in obtaining enough men TO harvest
the ice crop last year, or whether
there is a scarcity Of labor this year.
1--WE shall gather all the ice we
can" he said, "and will store it as
fast as we can gather it,"
The storage capacity in Maine, he
said, was 100000 tons, and on the
Hudson and other places in this state
| 100000 tons.
Granting that you can and will
store more than twice. the amount
than is required" he was asked, you
cannot say that the company will sell
ice cheaper than when they were
short last year?"
81 have already answered that ques-
tion," said Mr. Oler. 81 have said
that no cheaper ice will be promised
The price of ice is fair now. We de-
liver ice to the house at 80 cents a
hundred and never raised the price
Of this to the housekeeper. That is
fair dealing and there is no reason
to think that the public has cause
for complaint"
Mr. Oler was told that it did not
seem consistent to the consumers
when asked for cheaper ice, to have
the trust cry shortage and on top of
this declare dividend to its stock
holders of percent on preferred
stock.
There IS where all the newspapers
that are pounding us and do not give
rs fair show have made mistake"
he answered. There has been a divi.
| lend OF IA percent on the preferred
| stock That 8 percent was the first
! dividend that has been declared in
-FOUR years. If the company cannot
make -proht of little over Q per-
cent annually it ought to go out of
business.
rs 1t to be understood, Mr.. Oler.
that while the company was putting
up the price of ice last year 1t was
making profit that reimbursed it for
three years of loss?"
The ice trust head looked surprised.
There has been a small surplus at
one time or another that had not been
divided" he explained. "The com
pany has not charged bit too much.
1t is in business for profit, of course:
who in the mercantile world is not?"