The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-06-18
WILL RECOMMEND
 ANTITRUST BILL Committee Finds No Evidence
 of Combination A SECRET ORGANIZATION "sons of Plato" In the Association of Seed crushers Is Regarded With
 Suspicion By the Special
 Legislative Committee.
A SECRET ORGANIZATION

Montgomery, June 17.-(Specia1.) 1.-The l fertilizer and cotton seed oil investigation committee of the legislature will recom- mend an antitrust bill and law pro- l hibting the use of ''hllers" in guano that 1 have no plant food, and report that while there semes to be an understanding be- tween the fertilizer makers that results in the control of prices so far as the com 1 mittee can say no combination has been discovered. There is no evidence of a combination of the cotton seed oil men save in an agreement that semes to have | been tried with but poor success to parcel the seed territory. A secret organization among the seed crushers, known as Sons of Plato." is regarded with sus- picion, as 1t does its work behind closed doors and initiation fees are paid by the | companies.
 | While there Is no evidence of an agree ment with the fertilizer people the com- mittee finds that there Is an implied un- derstanding, this being evidenced by the fact that prices of the same grade are the same all the time, no matter where manufactured. It was found that the Virginia-Carolina company sends out price lists to the other makers and that their prices are the general prices of the state There is an association known as the Southern Fertilizer company which seems to control prices though there is no evi- dence of combination.
 1t is shown that "fillers" used in ?. g. goods are made of coal dust, graphite, dirt and pyrites and that these are valueless as plant food and do not help the soil. | They should not be allowed the committee reports. There does not seem to be force enough In the employ of the state to in- spect all the fertilizers and for this reason some get by without examination. This | should be overcome by more help
 Text of Report.
 sTo the Legislature of Alabama: We, the undersigned joint committee of five. composed of two senators and three representatives, created by senate joint resolution No. 42, approved March ', 1907. hereby submit to the legislature of Alabama the following as our full and complete report of the proceedings had before this committed:
 This committee met in the city of Montgomery on the 11th day of April, 1907, and elected Senator M. l.. Leith as | its chairman, and summoned various wit nesses to testify to hteir knowledge touching the manufacture of fertilizers and as to whether or not there was any | agreement between the fertilizer manu- | lecturers to control the price of fertili- gers in this state; and further the com 1 mittee had before 1t witnesses who were | engaged in the business of what is known l as dry mixing of fertilizers. and also witnesses who were engaged in crushing ] cotton seed and manufacturing the by products of the same, and who are known l as cotton seed oil mill men.
 "A fter hearing the testimony of unite number of witnesses, coming from all | parts of Alabama, engaged In both the manufacture of fertilizers and of making | cotton seed meal and mixing the finished product. well as the testimony of the consumers of fertilizers, we find that there | Is not what we call an express agreement between the fertilizer companies of Ala bama and other states in the south, but an implied agreement to the effect that a certain grade of fertilizer should be sold to the merchants, to be sold to the farmer, for a certain stipulated price,
 "We further find from the testimony of the manufacturers. as well as from tho testimony of the merchants, that in most cases the price for the same grade of fer tilizer was the same, thereby showing some uniformity of action between the fertilizer manufacturers-whe an ex- press agreement or not. we unable to tell; but this committee believes that
 
 the fertilizer manufacturers of this and other states in the south. by which they l can absolutely control the price of fer tilizers.
 South's Agreement. 'We further find that in the south there is an organization known as the South ern Fertilizer association, composed of manufacturers of fertilizers throughout the south, but we find no evidence (and had xxyftp nf that associaton) that there Is trust of fertilizer manufacturers in this state, but this committee believes that this associa- tion influences and makes 1t possible for certain large fertilizer manufacturers to control the price of fertilizers in this state.
 "We further find, from all the evidence submitted, that the Virginia Carolina Chemical company (whose state manager Is MT E. R. Taber of Montgomery sends to all the fertilizer plants in this state a uniform price list, showing the prices of the different grades of fertilizers man. ufactured by them We further find that this has been almost exclusively the price of all fertilizers sold in this state. In very few cases do we find from the testi- mony that any fertilizer manufacturer or owner of a mixing plant has sold fertili- ger cheaper than is shown the price list issued by the Virginia-Ca Chem
 
 this report, and mark the same Exhibit A
 "FiIlers" No Good.
 We further report that after consid- erng and weighing carefully all the testI- mony submitted we find that there Is used in all low grade fertilizers such as what is known as S.2.2 and lower grades what is called a filler" which contains no plant food and has absolutely no ef- feet on the soil. We find that there are very few farmers in this state who really know that this filler is used in the fer. tilizer. The testimony shows clearly that in a ton of 8.2.2 fertilizer about 4OO pounds of this filler is used, and 1t Is sold at the same price as the fertilizer We find also that there are different kinds of filler used in this state by the different manufactur- CTS of fertilizer, some using sand. some coal dust some graphite, some dirt and some pyrites rock; all the witnesses testi- fly that this has no beneficial effect on the soil This filler is put into the fer tilzer to reduce the grade and to make weight and contains absolutely no plant food.
 This committee, In view of all th,s testimony, has prepared and submitted to this legislature bill by which 1t seeks to eliminate this filler. which is of no value whatever to the farmers of this