New-York tribune., 1921-06-15
Buffalo Brick
!. Ring Disclosed
By Unter1nyer
Monopoly Affiliated With
National Combine Boost
ed Prices 800 p. c.. First
Day of Hearing Reveals
Raid Precedes Admission
O.her Supplies Controlled;
--. Eight Material Dealers Re-
fuse to Waive Immunity
Fro,n q Stnfr corresnondent

II From q Stat Correspondent
BUFFALO. June lathe Lockwood
committee opened it inquiry into the
acute housing shortage throughout the
! western part OF the state to-day with
whose price fixing operations are said
to have brought about complete paral-
ysis of home building in this region.
Samuel Untermyer, chief counsel to
the committee, concentrated his efforts
in the initial session here ON local
brick monopoly, which was shown to
have been affiliated with a national
body exercising control of the country's
brick business by allotting jurisdiction
of operations.
While a manager of the Buffalo
. group manufacturers was on the wit
ness stand his Offices were raided books
and papers seized and brought to the
hearing room. Confronted with this
evidence he admitted the price fixing
activities Of his organization operating
under the name of the Queen City Brick
Company. 1t was testified that the
manipulations of this group boosted the
price of brick 800 per cent within
period of four years, the increase jump
ing from $3.50 thousand to S26. Dur
ing this period, witnesses said, the pay
of labor increased only 40 per cent.
~, Eight Refuse to Wave Immunity
I Eight big dealers in building ma
terials, members of the Mason Build
ing Material Dealers Association. re-
-, fused to waive immunity from criminal
prosecution when Mr.. Untermyer put
Lyman c. Walrath, president of the
Acme Brick Company. the only firm
rot in the Queen City organization,
hut whose prices were uniform with
the latter group.
, The plea of each that they would
not sign q waiver before consulting
their counsel, brought a clash between
Mr.. Untermyer and Edward r. O'Mal-
ley. former Attorney General of the
State, who demanded to be heard in be-
half of his clients. Mr.. OMalley was
,silenced by Chairman Lockwood, who
threatened to have him dealt with by
the sergeant
Numerous witnesses told Of the COM
,nlete cessation of building operations
1n this district because of the high
,cost of materials. Chief among these
a9as Charles Mosier, vice president of
the statler Hotel Company, who re-
lated how the erection of the new
Hotel Statler here, $5,500,000 project,
has been completely stalled by the
~oXorbitant bids of the supply men. He
added that sand and gravel had
dropped from S2.15 to $198 within the
last week, which he attributed to the
Lockwood committees activities. The
circumstances attending the scarcity
of loans for building operations were
similar, it was testified, to the condi-
tons in New York City.
1t was through Charles B. Reinhardt,
sales manager of the Queen City Brick
Company, that Mr. Untermyer uncov
cred the complete control exercised by
this concern over the brick business
in this district. Reinhardt also de-
clined to waive immunity and was the
only one of the eight men who did
SO who was permitted % testify. IN
fastening its grip on the business the
Queen City Company absorbed three
brick manufacturing plants and
scrapped three others. One of the
latter was transformed into a golf
course.
Fixed Prices for All Concerned
Z form the Queen City Company were
S ~" Fllcott Brick Company, the North
Collins Shale' Brick Company and the
ooun Deichier Brick and Tile Com
pany. According to Reinhardt, the
e Queen City earns no money, merely
3 acting as conduit or medium for the
q output of the stock of the three firms
named, AS sales manager Reinhardt
said he fixed the prices to be paid the
the rate at which it was to be sold
TO the builders
These admissions, however, were
only obtained when he was confronted
g with the books and papers Of the
81 Queen City company, which had been
IS seized by the committees agent while
Reinhardt was on the stand. The book
. keeper Of the firm was also brought in
y under a subpoena. He said the concern
E year on a capital of $500; that for
n n1erly the brick people put out 25,000,-
q 600 brick year. and that subsequent
6 to the organization of the combine the
output was reduced to 10,000000 a
Is year.
i The minutes of the Queen City or
& sanization showed the price being
boosted every few months, so that
s from $3.50 thousand in 1916 it was
& & brought to $26 in 1920; The price OF
b the product now is SIS at the yard
Is and s22 delivered. This figure is said
e t. be higher than in any other section
"a OF the state.
Is Reinhardt couldn't explain how it
4 was that the prices of the Acme com
y pany the only firm not in the combine,
8 were uniform with those of the Queen
City company. He insisted that he had
r no dealings as to prices with the Acme
y concern. There were intimations in
h Mr.. Untermyer's questions of some ar
b rangement between the two companies
u Renhardt at this point admitted that
Z his group of manufacturers was affili-
& ated with the National Brick Manufac-
turers' Association and that the latter
IS organization allocated the districts
within which certain groups of makers