Evening journal., 1915-08-21
SATURDAY AUG. 81, 1915
AMERICAN POTASH.

nOTASH is used in making soft soap; II strikes
your matches; helps meat blasts rock and
what Of most interest to the American farmer It is
the basis for fertilizers
The prospect Of potash manufacture in this country
particularly in California. and the protective tariff
duties which must Of necessity be given this industry
in the future it is not TO die aborning. give rise TO
the question whether this will the
price OF this article in the price of fertilizers
by the farmer Certainly not and for the best
sons-protecton will render the industry successful
and destroy the German monopozation OF the Ameri-
market potash
The German control of the world-market in potash
is classic example of the in which foreign
carels" "syndcates" get-together" organizations
operate Potash is found in Germany in practically
inexhaustible quantities AT time It was overpro
duced and profits we're cut of The Prussian Govern
ment owend several mines. other German States
interested and mining was carried on by private
enterprise Finally they all together and organized
a hve-year selling syndicate, which has been several
times renewed and which has formed an export
branch domestic distribution bureau, and carries on
educational advertising propaganda spending ST.
100000 annually to boost foreign sales It Is headed
by government official AT the time Of its organiza-
tion the syndicate put prices on a profitable basis
where they have since remained.
Occasionally an independent producer would sell
outside the syndicate then go in American manu-
facturers who avaied themselves OF such sales were
punished by being charged five per cent. more for
bagged potash than other American buyers They had
to have the potash. the supply controlled by the
syndicate, and there alternative
In June 1909, a syndicate to be formed
There little squabbe before they got together
and for two hours American buyers took advantage
the confusion and booked contracts for from two to
years at a S5 per cent reduction in price At
the end Of the two hours the Prime Minister Of Com
had stopped further sales. The Reichstag then
passed law declaring potash to be monopoly and
each producer entitled to a fixed percentage of the
total; II he sold more the oversae heavily
ed This tax caused the cancellation OF the American
contracts Since that date American buyers have been
utterly the mercy of the German syndicate pur-
chasing potash
II. at the termination of the European war, Ger
many finds that this country is manufacturing its own
OF that nation will be directed toward killing off our
industry Under free trade there would be period of
price-cuttng which might temporarily benefit the
farmer in the price he paid for his fertilizer but with
the destruction Of domestic industry, Germany
would again adopt the old price doubtless increase
il in order to make up for the losses the pricecut
ting campaign. And industry which gave promise
OF freeing us from German monopoly, reducing the
price of fertilizer and employing American labor al
wages which would insure large purchasing power Of
the farmers products would have many others. be
stned by the Democratic pet theory Of free trade Do
mestic potash is a possibty.-under the Republican
policy of protection home industries and not other
wise.