The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-05-21
CONTRACTORS
EXPOSE GREAT
CEMENT TRUST
California Combine Shown Pact
of Organization to Hold
Up Prices
Canadian Manufacturers lntimi :
dated by Big American
Merger

I've will sell yOn cement TO be dis
posed of in British Columbia AT 1915
n barrel.
eve will sell you cement 10 be dis
posed of in China for SI.5o barrel.
1--WE VIII not sell you cement to be
price,
This was the answer given to a Cali
fOrnia contractor who journeyed TO
British Columbia to get bid on the
state contract for 100000 barrels of
cement and for which the California
cement trust bid sl75 a barrel. a pro-
hibitive price. according 10 state En-
gineer Ellery-
Masses OF evidence that the California
cement trust is able to mulct builders
and additional proof that it is but a
part Of national organization of &C.
ment manufacturers. formed to keep up
prices. hava been gathered by inter-
ested contractors. Through the intimi-
dation Of foreign dealers it also be-
comes international in scope.
WESTERN CEMENT TRUST liking"
George Cameron. son in law Of NJ. II.
de Young. who took over the Dingee
properties at Santa Cruz. is declared to
be the king" Of the cement trust in the
west An organization known as the
Association Of Licensed Cement Manu-
facturers" was formed on the Atlantic
coast during February. and about that
time Cameron was in the east. Immedi-
ately on his return the price of cement
scared in California and the combine
was formed.
The California contractor who sought
10 import Canadian cement for the state
contract. following the rejection Of the
trust bids by State Engineer Ellery, en-
deavOred TO negotiate with the Van
couver cement company of Vancouver,
b. G. He met absolute refusal to enter
the California market. the Canadian
company declaring that it would be
ruined by American firms If it should
DO 50. The contractor wrote to his
agent in San Francisco as follows:
The Vancouver cement company will
not under any circumstances, enter
into competition with any one of the
cement factories in the United States.
When we started discussion of the sub
5ect the first question Of the treasurer
OF the company was 4 OF v ltlGn HldIhGl
do you desire this cement2' Unless he
knew exactly where the cement was
going he was not ready to discuss the
subject at all. We had. therefore, TO
inform him that We would probably re-
quire cement for oregon or California,
Whereupon he dweIt at length on the
situation in the cement business on the
Pacific coast. His factory is working
only about six months of the year. as
II
and the northern provinces is so small
that a six months output is sufficient
COMPANIES ARE INUNDATED
The Vancouver cement company is
trying hard TO find other markets, but
say that If they enter the United States
the companies there viii begin cutting
prices in the British Columbia market
and make life very hard for the Van
couver company, endangering their
position here very much indeed. They
tried il once in Washington and the
two Puget sound factories Immediately
declared war, but il was smoothed over
when the Vancouver company agreed to
leave the American side alone
LAS TO prices, they will export to
China for approximately $3.50 a barrel,
but in British Columbia they demand
s2.75 a barrel or more. when they can
get IT..
State Engineer Ellery said yesterday
that he was still after the cement trust
and had determined absolutely not to
pay the price for the state contract de-
manded by the combine.
III put up class A steel buildings, -
said Ellery. IF / can not do anything
else. rather than build with concrete at
trust dictated prices have several
strings to my bow that / have not un-
fr7-1 nd I ID r7nf RI. L.
them known: but I do not intend to
give up. and I do not expect to have 10
bow to the trust"