Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-28
INSIDE OF The POTASH DEAL
Chairman Bradley Of the Board Of
Directors Gives Out Secrets.
WAY TO MANIPULATE MARKET
Twenty-Tivc MuIioUs Of Dollars Iu'
VoIvcd In the scheme ny which
syndicate was 90 control
Output.



NEW YORK.. Nov. g.-lspeolal rclo-
gram -Robort s. Bradley OF Boston, who
il chairman Of the board OF directors OF
chemical company, has arrived from Ger
many lie talked about the potash dtfu-
Guilty In Germany, which recently assumed
such an acute phase as TO neccssitato the
sending OF q special investigator over
there.
THE potash business has been controlled
! by a German syndicate for more than
thirty years." said Mr. bradley. 'Fhls
control has been exercised not only over
| the production OF the commodity, but Its
sale In all the markets Of the world. II
has been tho custom 20 reform such
syndicate for a period " five years and
the latest syndicate expired by Limitation
at midnight OF June 80, 1909.
! For months before attempts had been
| made to form a new syndicate. / had been
/ In Berlin FOR some time investigating and
preparing 70 buy potash In case an oppor-
tunity was offered. BY midnight OF the
day mentioned, the delegates representing
about sixty mines, who had been IN session.
had failed to come 70 an agreement This
caused an open market at the moment and
1 Immediately made contracts running two
years. together with an option to run
year on a future contract period OF five
| years This covered the entire requirements
, Of the American Agricultural company for
several years At 1880 o'clock that same
morning the president issued an edict call
/ ing a meeting OF the delegated for o'clock,
when new syndicate was formed. This,
Of course, closed the opportunity to buy
potash at less than syndicate prices.
stirred Up the Delegates.
| 1.-THE contracts / had made were reported
OF course to the new syndicate and the
news caused some CONSERVATION among tho
delegates, because the prices were about
30 per cent below the prices that had been
ruling.
'In August they sent representatives over
to negotiate for a compromise of my con-
tracts, but without result The next month
delegates representing about sixty Amer
J lean manufacturers went to Berlin and OBJ
4 tanned a duplication of my contracts In
| consequence of their holding contracts
made with one Of the SchmittmRnn mines,
whereby the latter guaranteed to these
American manufacturers the same price
that my company might obtain. Schmitt-
mann was therefore legally bound to give
these manufacturers the same terms l had
obtained. SO that now, instead Of a matter
OF S6OOOOOO being involved, there was
$25.OOOOOO
"Geheimrath Kempner and Herr Bielman,
other directors Of the potash syndicate,
came over the following December We
volunteered to meet them half way and
divide the difference between the syndi-
cate prices and the contract prices, be-
cause they presented a draft Of an imper-
ial potash law which had been introduced
into the Bundesrath. This bill imposed an
export duty on potash that would counter
veil the prices mentioned in our contracts.
Negotiations Called OFF.
"They accepted our offer on principle
, but In figuring out the prices they raised
them sufficiently to coupteryeil all the ad-
vantages left on a halfway compromise
! basis. We then broke OFF negotiations
Secretary Knox made very strong. EN-.
phatc protest to the imperial government
through Ambassador Hin, and the potash
bill was subsequently Withdrawn.
Immediately thereafter the United State,
and Germany completed a commercial
treaty which gave Germany the benefit OF
( the American minimum.
"In May in the following year the Reich.
stag published a potash law more drastic
and more damaging in it's effect on Ameri
can products than the original Bundesratl
bill which had been withdrawn at the pro
test of this government, But at the samt
. time Ambassador Hill received assurances
] from the German foreign office that tn,
3 law, as finally amended, would not in
- validate, impair OF effect the American
8 contracts.
Notwithstanding this assurance al
G shipments Of potash after the law wen
A into effect were taxed S22 a ton over tn
y contract price. This made the price o
{ muriate Of potash t42 a ton, instead Of 81
c The law imposes a duty in the form Of
3 penalty tax for production over the al
5 lotted quota OF a mine, and as the tw
4 mines which hold the American contract
Q are the only ones. which Overproduce, tn
= tax affects only American contracts an
Y this is therefore absolutely discriminator
Y against American citizens"
EAGLE a GREAT HEN AND DID