New-York tribune., 1920-12-04

the expense of shipmen. this way
up to about $4,000.
This, he said. was enough to pur-
chase the barges. The excessive
charges, he said. tend to boost the
prices on broken stone, cut stone, sand
gravel. ice and other products. IL
1916, he added. the brick makers only
pad II cents u thousand for hauling
while now it costs As cents.
Melton went even further He said
in 1917 he could have barge load OF
bricks handled for SIS from Breakers
ls,~nd, about five miles above Albany
competitor coming into the market
the, he said, drove the price down "a
$25 and then SIS. The new company
could not stand the slashing and weul
ont of business
Now, said Melton, the Cornell people
are charging so cents a ton for the
hauling Of bricks and make their own
calculations as to how many tons are
on barge: The average p-:ce for a
barge now has risen from SIS TO $500
Testimony as to the activities of the
Contractors Protective Association was
given by Thomas f. Mclaughlin, sec
retaIy Of the organization, who ap-
peared with ths associations minutes
Mclaughlin said there were forty-seven
members IN the organization, ccmpris-
ing eXcavating, sand, trucking and
house wrecklng contractors.
In addition 70 the price-fixing oper-
atlons of this organization, as reveal ed
by the minutes read nc yesterday s
session. there appeared an account also
Of two delegates from the Hosting
and Steam Shovel Engineers Union
going before the association with a
plan to force all non-member contract
ors to join the association by the re-
fusal of the union TO furnish shovel
engineers. One of the delegates men
toned was Matthew McConville, Of the
Hosting Engineers Union. The min
utes were put in evidence.
William K. Hammond, 2 brick manu-
facturer. testified that the total brick
production from fifty of the larges st
makers in the vicinity Of New York
was sold by three or four agents
Among these, he said, we're the Greater
New York Brick Company, Barnes. Nc
Namara 4 Morrissey and Emmons &.
Roberts. He said uniform prices de-
pended upon economic conditions. lie
said That the brick companies we're
only making about 10 per cent OF their
normal output"
"How can you maintain that there
are no combinations whereby produc-
ton is kept down and prices regu-
lated: - asked Untermyer. "You wont
sell to any dealer outside of your as
sociation, and if 4 certain manufacture
er sells brick TO dealer not in the as
sociation that would be violation Of
the association's bylaws, wouldn't it ?"
Yes"
The hearings will be resumed next
Tuesday morning IN City Hall
PaIrolman stephen w. Birmingham,
attached to the Clinton Street police
station, was suspended from the Police
Department yesterday by Acting Conn
missioner John A. Leach because Of
testimony involving him given before
the Lockwood committee
Birmingham is said to be a nephew
OF Charles j. Kelly, chairman of the
board Of directors of the Building
Trades Employers Assoc ation. 1t was
testified before the committee that he
had been employed by Robert 2. Brin-
dell's Building Trades Council for du-
ties in connection with the councils
compensation bureau.
Birmingham was said to be receiving
$4,000 year for this work At the
time OF his alleged connection with the
council it was stated tnat he had been
given six months leave from the
Police Department on the basis OF his
presentations that his wife was i'll
and he had to accompany her to a
health resort.