New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-05-19

Minas Geraes and Rio de Janelro by
agreement enacted similar laws. and
other laws were passed to restrict the
area planted in coffee
Got a Loan of $75,0Oo,ooo.
III was seen, however, that the tax
alone would not be sufficient to control
the supply and the price of coffee, ami
then came the opportunity Of the great
European and American interests that
made the handling OF coffee their prin-
clpal business. In June, 1906, these in
terests. it is charged arranged to loan
the state Of Sac Paulo $4,000, 900, to be
used in maintaining the price Of coffee.
OF this sum S15.OOOO00 was supplied at
once, j. Henry Schroeder & Co., of Lon
don, furnishing $l0,OOO,OOO and the Na-
tional City Bank, Of this city, furnishing
| Sj,0000O0
Theodor Willie n Co.. OF Santos. were
| made the agents of the bankers in Bra
I'll. and it was provided that the entire
amount of the export tax collected by
Brazil should be paid over to Willie <:
Co. for the repayment of the loan. which
bore interest at 3 per cent. There was
an additional payment of $751;. 800 COM
mission to the bankers
| In 1908 more money was needed. The
former plan for loan of $4,000. 900 was
discarded with only S15,OOO,0OO of the
money raised and provision was made
for new S15,0000O0 loan. Under this
second loan, il is alleged, the foreign
| bankers and merchants were made the
absolute arbiters of the coffee markets
Of the world.
The money II is set forth, was sup
Piled by j. Henry Schroeder & Co, the
| SoCictc Generate, OF Paris. aud the
! Banquc dc Paris, Of des Pays Bas, and
a committee was formed, consisting Of
Or. Pau'o Da Silva Prado, OF Sac Paulo:
! NJ. lie Nicomte des Touches. of Havrc;
the SOcicte Generate, OF Paris: Herman
SiclCken Of New York; Theodor Willie
Of Hamburg, and Baron Bruno Schroed-
er, representing J. Henry Schroeder G.
Co, to fix the price the world should pay
for coffee and the amount that should
be meted out each year.
The committee at once began opera
lions by buying up coffee and storing ii
in the various ports of the world. on
September 80 1909, they had upward
of 100000 bags in storage, while the
price went UP. Since that time about
100000 bags Of the stored coffee has
| been marketed. and they now have be-
tween 100000 and 100000 bags in
storage Of which $4,000 bags is that in
the hands of the New York Dock Com
pany that the government seeks to seize
and throw on the market
All the meetings of the committee were
held in London. The records of the
business transacted included in the en-
hibits filed by the government show that
the price of coffee to be sold in this mar
ket was fixed at various times at prices
ranging from - cents a pound in 1910
TO - cents n pound in January. 1912.
The immediate effect OF valorization. -
says the governments brief, was 70
withdraw from the natural course If
| commerce more than ten million bags OF
coffee, and thus TO reduce the available
supply and increase its market price,
and hence the price Of coffee was not
| materially reduced even by the enor-
nous crop of 1906-O7. Shortly there
after the prices began TO rise, and con
| tinued to rise, although In the season OF
! 19O9-'l0 the production exceeded the
consumption by more than one million
! bags, with the result that. whereas wh 7
the scheme OF valorization was adopted
! Rio No. I was selling in New York at
about ~ cents a pound. 81 is now selling
at 14%t cents a pound.