Evening star., 1928-06-12
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

all details of marketing including ad-
yertising, freights and duties.
The World War put stop to that
cartel and all other international car
tells. but since the war they have bzen
reorganized. even more effectually than
before. In 1925. the German producers
organized what Is known as the Ozrum
cartel electric iamps) with the partici-
patton OF the chief producing companies
OF Germany. France. the Netherlands,
Great Britain. Italy, Japan and the
Scandinavian countries, and it Is re-
ported that some American investors
hold stock in the European companies
and so profit by the monopoly which
| holds up prices here on the electric sup
plies, In spite OF our laws against COM
b!nations In restraint of trade. Our
foreign loans sometimes support foreign
cartels, 10 the direct loss By American
consumers of their products
The above case of electric supplies
Is cited In this detail, as 1t Is typical
OF how the cartels operate throughout
the world. They existed long before
the World War. but they are gaining
prestige and power in Europe and Japan
| since the war, beyond our general COM
prehension.
The first cartel, which was organized
In 1901, included flVe OF the greatest
aluminium producers In the world--one
Swiss, two French. one British and one
American~~and these five companies
produced nine-tenths of the aluminium
| IN the world. It controlled both price
ana production. But 1t was overthroWn
In 1903 by outside competition, made
possible by Its greed for quick. extor-
tionate profits
Another important cartel was that
OF steel tubes, organized In 1905 and
1900 That included Germany. Great
| Britain, Austria Hungary and the
United States. Among the best known
T,rc~war carteis was that Of Boray Con-
solidated, involving producers OF Great
Britain, the United States, Germany
France and Austria.
Later carteis have covered steel car
nine OF calcium and potash.
"
Germany has always led the world
In it's encouragement of the cartel
monopolies. The chief difference be-
| tween the pre-war and post war devel-
| opments In the international field Ia
| that while before the war the cartel
was merely on economic movement TO
deal with a particular industry, since
the war IL has come to be looked upon
as means for readIusting the whole
| economic structure OF Europe. II not OF
the entire commercial world, and to put
an end to the competitive era by sub
| stituting worldwide system of man
aged production and distribution.
In contrast with the magnitude of
hiIeh o scheme. with It's formidable start
throughout Europe, certain schemes TO
| dump surpltises OF American crops onto
| Europe, 10 as 10 limit the supply at
nome, appear puerile In smallness or
| vision.
There exist In the United States
| many large cooperative organizations
| handling food producta~-~as, for example,
the fruit associations Of the Far West,
| and the butter organization OF Mime
sofa and elseWhere~~~hnt IL is pointed
out by the Department OF Commerce
| experts that none OF these are COM
binations In restraint OF trade, but that
| they are pooling their products 10 mar
ket them economically, and not In con-
| fiiet with the law,
| Yet the promoters Of the international
| steel cartel make similar claims, declar~
| Ing that II does not fix prices, though
II does control world production. and SO
under the economic law Of supply and
/ demand does fix prices, II expires by
limitation April l. 1881,
| SO, although the world may never be
| conquered by the sword when IL comes
| under The rule Of universal eartels cons
| trolling the essentials OF living -cartela
| which already demonstrate that they
know no national boundaries, nor d.
vision OF racfs~~then indeed will human
| ity be anaayed What will civilization
| do about thatP The United States has
made internal monopoly illegal, and by
| protective tariffs has barred out unfair
competition. VIII the products Of for
| eign carteia he dumped upon our shores,
or will tariffs and Rdieta against mos
| nop0iies at home or abroad, meet the
| new deVelnnments7
scepsnsh.. 1874 yApaal v. celllaao