The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-04-11
THE RETAIL DRUG
TRADE WAR IS ON
American Syndicate Increases
Capital $25, 100000
STOCK IS DISTRIBUTED
Pennsylvania Railroad Has 10000
Names on Roll of Shareholders.
steel Making Places America
in First Rank of Nations

/
for the control of the retail drug trade OF
this city and ultimately of the country,
of which l wrote few weeks ago, is on
| In earnest. The American Druggists syn
dictate, of which Charles H. HUM of Min
neapolis is the head, has increased its
capital stock from $500, 200 to 81, 600 ,000, of
which $4,000 900 is to be held as treasury
stock.
1t has also decided to form and incor-
porate a subsidiary company to take an
interest in and furnish capital to men,
bers of the syndicate who are in active
competition with chain systems of cut
rate drug stores throughout the country.
The syndicate, which has enrolled as
members and stockholders 1900 druggists
and more than 1000 doctors, was organized
in 1905 as a cooperative buying and dis
tributlng concern. Besides its purpose
as a buyer it has also tried to fight the
so-called local drug trusts. which operate
chains of stores in different sections of
the country. 1t has already started and
operated for year a manufacturing COM
pany. because it was unable to buy GER
tain goods at prices 1t thought were reas-
enable.
Just what steps the other aspirants for
the control of this lucrative business will
take remains to be seen.
More than $1,000 names are inscribed on
Pennsylvania scroll of stockholders.
This not only shows an increase over last
year, but constitutes a new high water
mark On November last Pennsylvania
had 55,337 stockholders. Only one other
corporation in the United States can boast
of a larger total, namely, the Steel corpor-
alton, our sole 81, 600, 600 900 enterprise
Among the railroads. Atchison, it may
be learned with some surprise, comes
next to Pennsylvania in the matter of
stockholders. In the last month of 1909
1t had total of almost 24,0O0. New York
Central and New Haven each approached
the 1900 mark, while Union Pacific had
fully 1900, there having been a decrease
In II months of more than 1000 Great
Northern was on its way to 5000, st.
Paul to 1900 and Southern Pacific to
1900. The industrial list included almost
$1,000 American Telephone stockholders,
nearly 1900 for Western Union, IL, 900 for
the sugar trust, 1900 for Swift & Co.
and 11,000 for Pullman. While there has
been no aggressive buying by the public,
1t is probable that stockholders lists are
considerably longer at this moment than
they were when we last received official
returns from corporations.
had a rather interesting talk the other
day with Fred Coogan of Pittsburg, who
Is an enthusiast on the question of the
steel industry.
In 80 years American steel has placed
the United States at the head of the ma
TONS said Mr. Coogan. Despite the
higher cost of labor in this country. we
sell steel in England much cheaper than
the English steelmakers can sell it, and
incidentally, much cheaper than we do
sell II at home. But there is no part of
the world to which American steel and
American machinery have not gone. and
as long as this country can make the best
steel for the least money its supremacy
among nations will be complete That
the United States has sacrificed quality
for quantity in the past is only another
reason why the future of steel is full
of promise, for the future will add quality
to quantity.
THE future of iron and steel in America
depends, of course, upon the iron ore to
be found here.
Ihe Lake Superior district, which now
furnishes so per cent of the ore used in
TINS country, and which is nearly all con-
trolled by the trust will continue to fur
nish this great proportion of the whole
demand until 1850. This estimate made
by Edwin c. Eckel, a leading mineral au-
thority, presumes the steady increase in
demand which has been shown for the
past 20 years. But the great deposits of
IRON ore in the southeastern states. from
virginia to Alabama, have scarcely been
touched. When the Steel corporation took
over the Tennessee company it added q
per cent to its holding of ore reserves
not to mention the immense coal fields
which it then acquired
The farmers are not getting all the
benefit OF the high prices of cotton. q
III. Thompson of Tuscaloosa, Ala. a cot
ton planter in recent letter to a New
York paper says:
DO you know that small crop is
caused by unfavorable weather, and costs
40 per cent more for labor in endeayorine
by repeated ploughing to save as much
as possible? Some years ago, when cot
ton was sold at to cents, mules cost
$40 per head. Now they are $500. Corn
sold at so cents then, the price is now
so cents per bushel. Meat has doubled-in
fact everything appertaining to raising a
crop has advanced. So in all southern
states outside of Georgia, North and
South Carolina, the planter has, even
with 15-cent cotton, made no money
Extra labor and short crop have offset
high prices. AS to the gamblers; the
parties who speculated in cotton were
students of the situation and bought be-
fore the world realized the situation. Had
they been wrong they would have lost:
as it is, the combined spectators profits
may amount to $50 900, 900, while they have
advanced the value of cotton $3.50 OOo, 900,
which In the main goes into the hands of
the southern planter some 100000, who
on account of small crop and extra cost
deserve it. And the cost is distributed
among 1000 900, 100000 consumers, or an
extra cost of % cents per head for year
for their cotton cloth.
when cotton is low the planter calls
the exchanges gamblers; when it is high
the spnners calls them gamblers, when
virtually the exchanges are only build
ings which register the price the world at
large is willing to buy and sell a certain
article for
Under the head, "A Tip For the South"
the journal of Commerce says:
There passed through New York city
few hours ago q families of Holland
Catholics bound for farming lands in
Minnesota, the heads of them having been
induced TO qiut the over-crowded Dutch
districts for finer opportunities in Amer
lea by Bishop McGolrick of Duluth; each
male adult in the party brings with him
cash In no instance less than $500, and
n one or more cases approximating &c.
0O0 They have left Holland because
conditions there no longer hold out to
the average farmer anything more than
bare living and because conditions in
Minnesota hold out promise of imme-
date profits from farming and ultimate
independence.
The leader of these Dutch immigrants