Show IS THERE A WHOLESALE COMBINE When this paper published the first article on the local gro cc y trust and announced that the wholesale houses of Ogden had refused to sell the Smith Grocery company any groceries and Mr I Smith had refused to obey the demands of the local grocery com coin i believed he could from wholesale bine because he buy groceries I houses housos notwithstanding the threats of the local grocery combine and when Mr Smith finally announced to this paper that he got down on his knees and promised to be a good dog because he dis discovered covered that he could not buy groceries unless he did promise to tobe tobe be good and stop advertising any reduction on the prices established by the tho combine this paper did not believe it possible for the wholesale houses to tulle take a 1 stand of that kind This paper promptly took the matter up and addressed something like letters to wholesale houses of this country explaining the conditions in Og Ogden don den as follows A local grocery combine exists ests in this city and an effort is being made to discipline one of the grocers of this city who refuses to be governed by br the prices made by the local organizations This paper wants to know if your concern will sell to this grocery store in Ogden Ogdon notwithstanding the fight between the wholesale houses and the local grocery combine on ono one side sido and the tho offending mem member member ber on the tho other side When the answers began to arrive this paper was much sur surprised surprised though amused at the frankness of the Salt Lake wholesale houses in admitting that an agreement existed between the Salt Lake and the Ogden wholesale houses that the Salt Lake wholesale houses wore to stay outside of the Ogden field and the Ogden whole wholesale wholesale sale houses wore were to stay outside of the Salt Lake Jake field and that the Salt Lakers had no desire to take any hand in selling to the offend offending offending ing Ogden grocer A wholesale house in Pocatello called us up by telephone and said that they would sell solI the tho goods but we asked them to please answer our letter in writing and send us their prices The Poca Pocatello Pocatello tello house promised to do so the next day but two weeks have rolled by and no reply has been received A Denver wholesale house intimated that it was a violation of the antitrust laws to refuse to sell to the offending grocery and that they would not violate any such law and would gladly offer to sell but that the payments would have to be CASH DOWN which was equivalent to refusing to sell Even Eyen n a number of wholesale houses east cast of the Missouri river liver most respectfully declined to take a hand in the Ogden affair and refused o receive any orders from any offending member of the local trust Sonic Some of the Salt Lake wholesale houses refused to answer our letters but called up the Ogden wholesale houses by telephone for POINTERS on the proposition Of course there is no such a thing as a trust among the whole wholesale wholesale sale houses There is not even an understanding in regard to prices territory or division of the field The foregoing facts prove proe there is no such thing at all There is no more of a wholesale trust among the wholesale grocers than there is a 3 retail trust among the retail grocers It is just one of those things that happen every once in awhile that no one can account for or explain Heavens be praised praise ed cd no one would charge Fred J Kiesel d Co with having e an un understanding with any other wholesale hou house e Think of Ezra Rich Richardson Richardson ardson manager of the Ogden Wholesale Co having an n understand understanding ing with anyone else as to whether he should otTer offer to sell goods in Salt Lake City or whether the Salt Lake man should sell in Ogden Then rhen there is our friend Campbell of the Campbell Wholesale Gro Grocery Grocery cery company wo would d anyone suspect that he would join a combine com combine bine In fact all these mon men are above suspicion and yet after read reading reading ing the tho foregoing can anyone doubt that all these things happened without an understanding Sounds peculiar does it not when you say there is no trust there is no combine there is no understanding among them or be between tween them It just happened that way and the local loca grocery peo people Peole le as well as the local wholesale people are laying awake nights trying to prevent these things from happening The tears that our local retail and wholesale grocers are shed ing are said to be so large that it requires one complete handkerchief er chief of the largest size to absorb each tear that dro drops s from their sympathetic eyes Is there no ill in which tile the way anguish of these local grocers can be assuaged Still there is no sign that the worry and trouble of trying to escape from the existing conditions has taken any fat from the tho anatomy of the grocers The scales testify that their weight is increasing Oh Ob pshaw There is no hest everybody knows that |