Show A SAMPLE MONOPOLY 1 HOWTH RAIL TRUST MAKES 10 ON EACH TON OF PRODUCT of Oman iring the trust it advanced prices six dollars per ton ill ia 1830 theres minions million in III it the combination which controls tile lio production jn Iro and fixes the price of steel i raila is one of tile strongest it in the country unlike other combines it has 4 not been formed by tho the merging of ill nil the interests under ra a central dilt authority hority by a trust under tho the circumstances sti inces such a proceeding would have been quite impo impossible sible chic chiefly fly for the reason that steel rails are not tho the scle product of any of the mills dills concerned then too the makers of stoel steel rails are also very largely interested in tho the man of other products such as wire vire rods armor and other plates etc the rolling of rails is but one of several lines line of product in short each member of the he combine has such a largo large number of interests more or less closely bound up tip in that of rail production that any attempt to consolidate under a single management all these widespread interests is out of the tha question A steel rail combine accomplishes all the ends for which trusts have been formed in other industries the stipples siou of competition and tho the control of production and prices the combine is as at present constituted is composed of the following concerns opposite each is given its annual capacity in net tons as stated by james M swank general manager of tile the american iron and steel association net ket tons the illinois steel company laiSO carnegie bros co 0 the cambria iron company vw tho the company w abo coal and iron company conomo tito steel company gm told 1 www it will be sufficient to go back bach to 1850 to trace the history of this combine in that year there were eleven works producing steel rails as follows tile the north chicago the south chicago and anal the union and joliet iron works in Dlin illinois ois the edgar thompson steel works the cambria iron company the pennsylvania steel company the lackawanna coal and iron company and the scranton steel company in pennsylvania the troy steel and iron company in now new york the cleveland rolling mill company in ohio and the st louis company in missouri during the five years following four other fion companies added steel rail mills to their plants the worcester steel massachusetts the homestead steel works pennsylvania the southern iron company tennessee the springfield iron company Bli illinois nois and the Colo colorado coal and iron company to those these must joei amod macj tho the duquesne esna works imily ill in 8 3 anil and the maryland plant of the pennsylvania steel company com parly recently completed this makes a total of separate works which were in opie operation ration or have been built since byj of the fifteen works in operation in I 1 sa and 1667 1887 the following have ceased producing neing rails the st louis steel company the troy steel and iron company the cleveland rolling mills company the worcester steel works and the tha iron company during the paine eime period the other works have been consolidated as follows the illinois steel company absorbed the three illinois first mentioned tied car nugio bros co secured control by purchase of the duquesne ebne steel works aud and the steel and tile alie lackawanna Lacka wauna coal an and 1 iron company added to its original plant the scranton toa steel works this consolidation of interests was completed early in 1801 with the result that the steel rail combine now controls all the works making rails in the united states except that of the colorado coal and iron company whose annual capacity is only net tons several more or less bombina lions liona have been formed since 1880 to control production and fix prices but with varying success previous to the combine that tha tot of and 1887 was the most successful of allin the tha fall of 1885 5 an era em of active railroad construction was begun and continued throughout 1883 and 1887 As a result of tho the largo demand for rails the combine vas ablo able to force the arico ap to the importing point in spite of the fact that the duty wall then ly 18 per ton the ef effect act of these combinations on oil it ices is in the following tables giving tho the yearly price per ton rf of s beel eel rail at the mills in ia Perin pennsylvania sylvania or or of bessemer pig iron at pittsburg Pit since 1685 1683 1883 few 1887 17 aises W lw IM 1991 1801 steel sled ralls rails 2 WW suet za M 5 WS ri ff 9 MS iron 1761 milo 2137 2177 MIS 1713 17 13 WW isaa 1595 X difference au 1571 ILZ 1125 1290 bair the extent to which the prices of steel rails raile dative been beant by the comline combine is well iu in the above tables if it be the objects of trusts which suppress competition to secure the mies which are gained by unifying interests and lowering the cost of prodoc lon on and to divido the advantages thus mined gained between producers and cou umes this division dirisio il has not yet been made by tho the steel rail trust on the contrary the coul combine bine has not only appropriated nil all the I benefits to itself but it A has added to its profits by in increasing creating prices above tho lovel prevailing nader inder competition since tile the consolidation of interests early iu in not a ton of rails nas nag been sold bold by the eastham members of if tile hie combine at leea than VO 30 at the works or by the western in member ember the illinois steel company at lew less than 11 M these were the lie pricie agreed upon tipon at the meeting in philadelphia l a year ago the investigations into the cost of producing the various products product a of iron and i steel by the commissioner of labor show the enormous profits of tho the com combination combinas binal iou on page pae I 1 rs of Ws report tho the r commis says bays I tho department has been I 1 positively informed inton nod relative to tile tho cost of manias raila in several of the ve very ry largest it in the united states and a nd thero there is no shadow of a doubt iu in tile initial of the writer that in these establishments the actual cost of standard rails is and lins has been for some time within a few cents of twenty two dollars per ton at the works the facts on oil which mr wright based this statement ement wore w C re collected by liim him in 1889 ind and 1800 since kince then an important change has taken place not only have the prices of materials fall fallen en considerably but wages have been reduced from 10 to over I 1 II 11 I 1 per cent in the mills of all tile the of the combination tile these e reductions it have ve had tile the effect of deduc ing materially the cost of producing rails in fact well informed persons are of the opinion that the total cost of production of steel I rails is now below twenty y dollars per ton on oil this basis the combine is making a profit of not I 1 loss than ten dollars per ton lor for every ton of rails sold at the combination price under ordinary conditions this high rate of profit pro t would woul I cause new plants to bo be put in operation but such outside works as now have the machinery needed file aie either cither under agreements with dorith the combine not to engage in producing rails or realize that if they should attempt it the combine would at once cut cat prices and thus prevent them froni from competing the deteel rail combine therefore is it a monopoly of the worst character by keeping up the price of rails it prevents the railroads lail tail roads from making needed repairs and extending their lines this is clearly shown by the experience of the past year and when in spite of the combine au an era of railroad building begins ins the prices of rails is at olace raised to the importing point with the result that the cost of such extension is greatly increased indrea acil the high prices ruling in itiba and 1887 are a sufficient proof of this and the competition of foreign rails even at the high prices now ruling liere here is prevented by the duty of 1 14 41 1 per ton in short in its absolute control over production and prices the steel rail combine has a mortgage on future railroad extension with full power to foreclose it at any ti time me its it sees c es I 1 lit at |