Semi-weekly herald., 1907-11-25

/ SlClllanS.
Mr. Fraseh organized company
with capital furnished by his employ.
ers. Messrs. Rockefeller. Flagler. Hark.
, ness. Rogers and other members OF
the Standard Oil company, and while
the Union sulphur company OF Lonisi.
ana has no direct relations with the
} Standard Oil company the stockhold.
, ers of both are the same. With this
capital Mt Frasch put up a plant with
a capacity of thousand tons a dav
of sulphur which comes to the sur
face in liquid form. is run on on
the ground, and solodines into enor-
nous blocks. Some of these blocks
weigh 10000 and 10000 tons. and these
enormous masses are broken up and
are shipped to market by the Southern
Pacific railway and on barees through
the bayous to New Orleans. where
IT is sent TO New York and other At
lantic ports by steamer
The development OF the Louisiana
| deposit has been sad thing for ST
ely, and cause the importations from
that island to the United States to be
much reduced that the Sicilian com
pany was compelled to shut down n
considerable proportion OF its works
and discharge some 5000 employees.
The consequence was n strike in An.
gust last, when $4,000 Sicilians stop
| ped work in the sulphur mines and
threatened to destroy the property Of
the company. The managers insisted
that they could not afford to mine
| sulphur for which there was no mar
ket, and the strikers retorted that
work must be furnished to all of the
| men or none Of them would go into
the mines. In order TO prevent a ca
tastrophe the government of Italy in
tervened and organized what is known
as the Consorzio Obligatorio. which
agreed to advance from the royal
treasury whatever funds were neces-
sary to continue the full force of so.
600 miners at work under their former
wages and take the sulphur produced
rs security.
The Anglo -Sicilian Sulphur company
of London. owned by English capl-
talist, controls all. the sulphur mines
of Sicily. and is therefore monopoly.
The government OF Italy through the
Consorzio Obligatorio. has become
partner of this monopoly and the in
terests of the two are identical to n
certain degree. The accumulation of
sulphur under the new arrangement
las now reached ABOUT 400. 900 tons.
and there being no demand for that
surplus. the Corsorzio ordered the ship. |
ment OF large quantity on consign-
ment to the United States. where the
consignees were instructed to dispose
of 1t Oh the best terms possible This |
plan, will. of course. demorallze the
market and compel the Union Sulphur
company to reduce its prices to meet
the threatened competition.
The first step in the war was the
shipment from Sicily to New York OF |
n cargo of 5000 tons of sulphur about |
the middle of October, and the Louisi- |
ana Sulphur company. hearing OF II |
appealed to the government q the |
United States for assistance and pro |
lection. Mr.. Frasch and his attorne,s |
came to Washington and filed = sem- |
orandum with the attorney gs1eal. |
They represent that the Sis4aaal mo-
nopoly. supported by the MILAN gov
ornment, entered into a conspiracy
with its agents in the United States to |
get rid of its surplus of 100000 tons of |
sulphur. more or less. by dumping 1t |
upon this market and selling 1t for |
any price they eau get. This surplus. |
II is represented, actually belongs to |
the government of italy which has
advanced nearly two million dollars |
TO the company. because the latter
cannot reduce its production without |
depriying a large portion of the popu- |
lation of Sicily OF their earnings and |
the actual necessities of life.
Mr.. Frasch and his attorneys called |
the attention of the attorney general |
to section 73 of the Wilson tariff act
os 1904. which has never been repeal |
ed and which reads: THAT every com
bination, conspiracy, trust agreement, |
or contract is declared to be contrary
TO public policy. Illegal and void, when
the same is made by or between two
or more persons or corporations. either
OF which is engaged in importing any
article from any foreign country into
the United States; and when such
combination, conspiracy, trust. agree
ment or contract is intended to oper-
ate in restraint of lawful trade. or free
competition in lawful trade or com
nerce or to increase the market price
in any part of the United States of
any article or articles imported into
the United States"
The attorney general has been un-
able to afford the Louisiana company
any relief and will not take any ac-
ton. He cannot prevent the Con
sorzio obligatorio from dumping its