TRUST BUSTER WANTED.

Lyttelton Times, Volume CXXII, Issue 15511, 11 January 1911, Page 2

TRUST BUSTER WANTED.

(St Petersburg correspondent New Orleans “ Times-Democrat.”) Privy Councillor Miller's special commission, which has been sitting a.t intervals, soon will resume its inquiry into those new but already gigantic trusts whch, formed on principles borrowed from America, are already bound up with the Empire’s economic life. The alleged depredations of Russia’s trusts have been twice before the Duma, and the fact was then elucidated that this country, alone of great states, is still without legislation regulating industrial combines. The function of the Miller Commission is to prepare the raw material of a trust law. To-day trusts, big or small, handle practically every necessity of Russian lifo, regulate output and fix'prices as they will. They are the subject of furious polemics; some ’‘Zemstvos,” or County Councils, have even petitioned St Petersburg to dissolve and henceforth forbid them absolutely. But, despite opposition, some have attained dimensions elsewhere unknown outside America. MET AT. TRUST THE STRONGEST. Thus, the most powerful trust in all Europe is the Russian combine known as “Prodameta” —a coined word from the Russian “prodat,” to sell, and “metal.” Its capital and the capital of the subject combines, taken together, are about £IB,GCO,OCO. Prodameta is composed of five separate trusts, each representing a branch of the iron or steel trade, the only branch excluded being roofing iron, which is controlled by the independent trust “ Krovlia.” Most of the Russian metallurgical works were financed originally by France and Belgium, and the real forces behind the trust are the Pm-is Societe Genernle and the Banque

de Paris of Pays Bas. Operations arc directed from Paris. Prodameta started in South Russia and afterwards absorbed the relatively unimportant, metallurgical works of the Baltic provinces. With the great Polish ironworks it had a desperate fight. The Poles refuted to come in. Prodameta immediately lowered the price of rails and girders by 25 per cent, and announced that it would inundate Poland at the new rates, 'flic most important Polish works, the Huta Bankowa, first surrendered, then six other works followed, and all signed an undertaking henceforth to take no orders at all, but merely to execute such orders as were allotted to them. ‘When this was accomplished iron and steel prices were advanced The high Customs tariff protects the trust against foreign competition. Some of the trust’s operations caused trouble. In order to shorten the supply, it closed down altogether the flourishing Strakowice works in the Polish province of Radonv and threw 7000 men out of employment. SOFT COAL COMBINE. The second greatest combine is the coal trust, known as Produgol (the Russian “ ugol ” means coal). Produgol gained its grip at the time when political strikes in the petroleum industry had increased the demand for stone coal. Within a few weeks the organisers had got into the combine 45 per cent of the Russian coal output. The anthracite mines (mostly in native hands) were left outside. A number of largo railways—notably the Kieff-Voronezh and Moscow-Kazam —fought the trust, but ultimately had to come in. The State railways alone refused to stand the dictation of the trust and to pay its high prices. These made contracts with the noil-trust mines. But these mines proved unable to supply enough coal, and the Government finally had to buy English coal. Produgol, after a flourishing butbriel career, is now in difficulties owing to reckless management. It squandered millions of dollars on paying subsidies to mine owners as compensation for shutting down. As a result of the trust’s high prices, the outside nines now are overwhelmed with orders. A report issued in August shows that the once flourishing and still gigantic trust suffered a net loss on the working of the preceding eighteen months.

RUBBER TRUST THE “TRIANGLE.” This lias not been the fate of the Treugolnik or Triangle, as it is called from its trade-mark, the Russo-Ameri-can rubber trust. This trust has a capital of £1,800,000. It controls the far hous Prowodnik works, almost the only Russian factory of any kind wh ise wares may be bought all over the European continent-. The Triangle dictates to the market, and lately it ordered its provincial satellites to taise prices from 15 to 30 per cent. Its operations grew rapidly. Two years ago its capital was only £1,000,000. In 1907 its annual business was £3,600,000; by 1909 it had risen to £6,100,000. Its profits in the last year were £790,000. The great steamer companies of the Volga, the Caspian Sea and the Black Sea are all united in combines. The headquarters of the Black navigation sea trust is Odessa. The Caspian Sea amer trust has doubled the petroleum freight rate and reaped big profits. It is perpetually at war with its employees. The Volga steamer trust lias aiso raised the tariff. All these trusts have one point of differentiation from their American models. There are no known personalities behind them. There exists no Russian Rockefeller or Morgan. Owing to the absence of restrictive legislation and to the high import tariffs, their formation bas called for no particular skill. All that has been needed in money to kill competition ; and that has mostly come from the financiers of Western Europe.

OTHER MINOR COMBINES. These metal, coal, rubber and navigation trusts are the combines of which most is heard, but there are other trusts of which perhaps more is felt. Practically everything a Russian eats, drinks, or wears, as well as the material for his house, is now controlled by trusts. Some of these trusts are relatively small and local in their operations, but they are none the less masters of their local market. This is owing to. the fact that railroad freights are fiigh, so that an industry in one province can often put up prices without fear of competition from a province only a few hundred miles off. These local trusts tend to spread. In Odessa there is a salt trust which has raised prices 50 per cent. Odessa is also the headquarters of a preserve trust-. The centre of the spirits trust (for raw soirits only) is at Kazan, in East Russia. Elsewhere flourish flour trusts, a leather trust, and a match trust-. The match trust lately reduced the price of matches to crush its rivals. Such are the combines which are the subject of Privy Councillor Miller’s commission.