Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 4, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1893 — Selling Cordage in England. [ARTICLE]

Selling Cordage in England.

The Cordage Trade Journal, of Jan. 15, reprints a couple of letters from “Fairplay,” of London, which indicate that the National Cordage Co., of the United States, is making bids for English trade and that the British manufacturers are getting scared. It appears that cordage, twine, etc., are made just as cheaply on one side of the Atlantic as on the other side, but that the National Cordage Co. (trust), because of its great capital, can buy Its raw materials —hemp, jute, flax, etc.—to mufch better advantage; that is, as one of the correspondents puts it, the Cordage Co. “has adopted advantageous means of squeezing better value out of the heathen- Chinee or some other fellow in the Philippines.” Conditions have not materially changed since McKinley left an average duty of about 2 cents per pound on rope, twine, etc. There was then no just reason for leaving any duty on cordage. The only apparent reason, justified by the fact that the trust has since made big contributions to the Republican campaign corruption funds, is that the National Cordage Co. would thereby be guaranteed the monopoly of the American market, to extort unreasonable profits from the American consumers. This the trust has done. In 1888 and 1889 the average difference in the prices of manila and manila cordage was 1.84 cents per pound. Since 1889 the difference has averaged over 3 cents. That the trust is making unusual profits is clear. It has been paying a dividend of 10 per cent, on its common and 8 per cent, op its preferred stock, while it has been paying exorbitant prices for new plants, nearly half of which it holds idle, besides paying big sums ($200,000 in one case) to outside manufacturers of cordage and of cordage machinery to keep their plants closed. The price of its stock also indicates great profits. Its common stock sold in 1891 from 73J to 104. At the end of 1892 it was quoted at 138, and Jan. 20, 1893, at 143 J. In December 1892. the trust voted to increase its capital from $15,000,000 to $25,000,000 both for the purpose of making its dividends look smaller and to make its stock a better subject for speculation in Wall street. The reason why the extra stock has not been issued, so rumor says, is because the large holders are waiting until they can bull the stock to the highest possible point—lso if possible—so that the common stock, after it is watered, will sell for about 100. And this is the kind of an industry that McKinley believed in fostering with protective tariffs! This is one of his proteges! If the next Congress carries out the will of the people it will remove all of the duty on cordage before next July.