Democratic Sentinel, Volume 16, Number 25, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 8 July 1892 — New Sanitary Ware Trust. [ARTICLE]

New Sanitary Ware Trust.

When McKinley *hised the duties on sanitary pottery ware from 55 to 65 and 70 per cent, by putting duties on packing cases, the seven manufacturers at Trenton, with one at East Liverpool, Ohio, and one in Baltimore, practically had a trust, though each firm owned its own factory. Since duties were increased the manufacturers, some of whom have made millions in a few years, cut wages about 16 per. cent, after a long strike against a reduction of 10 to 40 -per cent. This method of doing business by “understandings” or “agreements” is not entirely satisfactory to the manufacturers, and on May 28 five of the big manufacturers at Trenton incorporated in one company with a capital of $3,000,000. Those in the combine are the Empire Pottery, Enterprise Pottery, Delaware Pottery, Equitable Pdttery, and Crescent Pottery. Column advertisements of the stock of this new trust in New York papers, say “these five companies manufacture and sell about 75 per cent, of the entire output of the famous sanitary plumbing ware made in this country. The earnings for 1891 will pay the dividends on the preferred stock (8 per cent.), and over 16 per cent, on the common stock, after providing for “the expense of management. The venders express the belief that the economies and improved System in the conduct of business that can be put in operation by the proposed combination of these . companies will still further increase the net earnings.”

The men who had their wages reduced ip 1891 must relish this kind of talk. Consumers who are acquainted with the “economies of trusts” will expect soon to receive another “revised” price list of sanitary ware, similar to the one issued in April, 1891, advancing the price of goods. These same manufacturers also announced that “the manufacture ot these goods requires skilled labor of the highest grade. ” It might be supposed from this declaration that these highly skilled laborers were receiving unusually high wages. In 1883, the Bureau of Labor of New Jersey collected accurate statistics of the earnings of workmen in' a representative pottery in Trenton. They are as follows: Average W orkmen. weekly earnings. llollow ware pressers Jio.SS Dish makers 16.55 Flat pressers 12.18 Handlers 9.1 s J Iggerers 17.10 Turners 12.19 The commissioner said “many of these workmen are among the most rapid operators in Trenton.” Many of the workmen have submitted to several reductions since 1883, making great inroads into their princely salaries. The “economies and improved system” of this new trust may be counted on to close down at least one of these potteries, or in some other way to throw 6ut one-flfth of these men. The dependence of wages upon tariffs is 1 demonstrated with remarkable, clearness in this industry. While duties have been going up wages have been going down. It is the object of a protective tariff, as explained in the Minneapolis platform, to levy duties on imported articles equal to the difference in wages at home and abroad. The duties on pottery not only cover this difference, but, in some kinds of ware, they are two or three times the total labor cost of making such ware in Trenton.