Document davMb9Q0pQYX5En5KqB94QMDe

-uxy 3, 1380. AMUSIHG BMIH1SCSHCB3 Of JQfflT T. LEWIS 4 BBOS. COMPAffT About 1882 to 1884 there wee a white-lead pool formed 'by the Chicago and 81. Louie oorrodere. I think thoae In tht pool wart Shipman, 3t. Louie, UaoBlrnwy, Collier and Southern. Colontl lichardeon, Preiidant of the Collier Company, and Mr. Bueton* Secretary of that Company! ware'moat deeply interested in it. At the meetings of the offleers of this pool mlnotea ware signed by Joseph L. MaoBirney, aecrataty, from Augart, 1839 to 1886. Sometimes they were preaided over by Messrs. Polaiftr, Ore** or Hookwall. Mr. Tehie, who was a young man in the affloe of the MacBirney Company at the time, sent weekly reporta of aalea to the pool olerk, Mr. Voltman. of St. Loula. The oompanlea reported to the pool their annual alaa of dry and lead-in-oil made during the year, and their lntereat in the pool waa to he increased or deoreaaad, year after year, according to their increase or decrease in aalea. Qierefore about 1884 Mr. Button, being unable to lnoreaae the aalea of the Collier Company in the Western territory, and dealring a larger percentage in the pool, determined to unload all hie aurplue lead in Philadelphia. He eent some act ire aalemaen here and apread the report that he intended to runthe Lewitea out of business. He offered the Collier brand at a eery muoh reduced price to a number of our leading Jobbers, among them Geo. 5. Wethorlll 4 Co. and lieaara. Chipman 4 Hlee. Our Lewia Company felt the only way to ope with thia waa to ahip the Collier lead baek to the Western territory and thereby break pricea made and held by the pool. Our Mr. Oeorge T. Lewie, who waa wary aotlTe at that time in \ our business, went to a few people, eapeolally Ceo. D. Wetherill 4 Co. and Messrs. Chipman A Mice, and induced thaen to buy several hundred tone of Collier lead at the lowest possible price for our aooount, although he wae not to be known in the matter. Mr. Lewie drew up a oontraot for theee gentlemen to haTe eigned between their respective houeee end the Collier Company. 0007-SWP-000004684 N11602 1 had forgotten-sxaotly the wording of the oontraot, and got Hr. I let, under dato of E*s^ir It* 1929 to giro mo tho purport of it, and I quota from his letteri "We mads a oontraot with ths Colllor Tbita Load Co. for 100 tens of white load. I rather think Mr. Caorga T. Law la got up this oontraot. It raad Just like this: *100 tons of Collier's bast whita-load ground in oil. paokages as wantedt to bs delivered in part or whole during the year, or countermanded at our option, with protection against dsollna In price.' So you see we war* not bound In any way at all to take the load If w* didn't want it, but Mr. George T. Lewis said ho would tatso the 100 tons, and whan 1 asked him what be would gl t o mo for it, he said '26jf a hundred more than you paid.' I aold him the lead. To ordered ona or two lot* delivered to Georgs T, Lewis and the Collier .people come over to see us and raised a rumpus and said they would not deliver us any more lead. I said Mou will deliver whatever we want during the year, unless we countermand it, as that is the contract,' and than they told me about selling to George T. Lewie. I told them there wae nothing in the oontraot to pro hibit ua from eelling to George T. Lewie, and that Lewis wan good pay, rad that was what we wanted. They made dulte a little complaint about what Lewis waa doing, and I told than that the matter wae between them end the White Lead people, and ttu<t they would have to go over rad talk to Lewie about it, ae it was none of my business whatever. I don't remember now just what was done, but there wue something fixed up tome way In which we countermanded the balance of the order that had not been taken." Mr. Lewie made a similar contract with Geo. D. Wethorlll A Co., and as they were a little more satire than Mice he had . them prepare a circular quoting Collier lead considerably lower than their priest? delivered free' at all main points in the Western territory. As Mr. Iloo explained, this brought the Collier people to their seneee and they smtsrwireo and asked ua to tell them 100 tons of their lead. Mr* Lewie replied he was not selling it in ton lots but only in 100-lb. lots. This brought a oontrorsrsy whioh lasted same weeks, and as X rmaember it, finally broke up the Western pool and reaulted in the Mational Lead Trust in 1887. My reoolleetlon Is that soon after this Mr. Bockvell and Mr. Carpenter sai last, Mr. Bookwell ae ohalrmaa and Mr. Car^ater aa secretary to talk over the situation. We had several meetings in lew fork. 0007-SWP-000004685 in whioh Hr.Tulaifer ana very motive in trying to establish prices that would be --satisfactory to both the East and the West; but for some month a a could coma to no agreement. Finally through Hr. Bradley'e intimacy with Hr. Pratt, of tha Standard Oil Company, tha purchaaa of the Pittsburgh factories was accompliehed; and soon after St. Louis, Colliar, Southern, MacBirney and Shipman vara acquired; thereby forming the Rational Lead Trust in 1337. At that time the moat active members in the newly formed Rational Lead Trust vara Uaaara. Bradley, Pulsifer, Alexander Suitoni Banmar, of the Beams r-Bosmaa Co.| Bockwell; and HcSelvey, of Armstrong A Hofelvsy,, The newly fomsd'Jational Lead Trust was anxious, of course, to hare prieaa uniform and they frequently called meat lags, chiefly in Jew Tork, inviting out aide corroders, such as ouraalves, tetherill and Ur. Colgate, to attand. Hr. Samuel Colgnte was then head of the Atlantia White Lead Works and was a very forceful man. The nestings took up considerable tine, and little was ao- oompliaihed. Being a Junior nember of the firm X was delegated to attend these meetings and 1 remember eery well on one oooaslos, after a few .days' talk, that Ur. Samusl Colgate rose and in his strong, foroeful, stasssering voice said; "I do not propose to be a tall to Ur. Pfeifer's kite." and then left the room, ^ after whioh the meeting of oouree adjourned. ~ Ou Lewie firm incorporated on August 9, 1838, under the name v"John T. Lewie A Bros. Company," elapiy adding the word "Company" to the old title , "John T. L*eie A Bros," end I became aeoratary. Soon aftor that overtures were made by the letional Lead Trust to pur ohaae our plant, and thoeo who waro delegated to make the inspection were Hesars. Btamer and Bradley. Ur. George Lewie was alao quite an Intimate friend of Ur. Pratt's, and I think Hr. Pratt rather lad him to believe that tha Trust was ao strong that outsiders would have hard ledding, and was instrumental in inducing Ur. L*t to 0007-SWP-000004686 sell Cm'S. Therefore, on April 30, 1889 we agreed with Mr. Bradley to sail to the Standard Oil Company (not to the National Land Truat 1 oar entir* business of white load, oxides, llnaood oil and painters' color*. I was alaotod Praaidant of tha Lewie Company June 80, 1839. On Saptanibar 21, 1889 I aooompaniarfllr. Georg* Lewie to Hew fork and delivered to I.:r. Bradley in paraon stock bald by th* individual member* of our firm and * moaived cheofca from the Standard Oil Company, to tha order of eaoh member-far the amount of his Interest, whioh I personally figured. - Aa 1 under itand it, the Standard Oil Company, or th* membersof the Standard Oil Company who were nagotitating thi* business, turned our stock in to the National Lead Trust four for one, thereby making a very hand acme profit end vastly increasing the liability of tho Hational Lead Truat. Soon after thi* Colonel Thompson vat elected President of the national Lead Trust. On December 8, 1891 I wa* mad* a Director of the National Lead Trust. It sat during Colonal Thompson'a administration that the press reported the etook itaua of the National Lead Trust as an amount out of all bounds. X think it stated ninety millions, or soma figure which oaused a tremendous slump in the market, It was at that time that Colonal Thompson felt he must re duo e the amount of otook and font the National Lead Company, which ms incor porated in New Jertey in 1691. By tha manipulation of tho load plants I am under the impression that tha Standard Oil Company mada a very large eoa of money. One of the iad feature* waa that Colonal Thompson told me''he was induced by hia intimate friend. Colonel Payne, to pay two dividends on the etoox of the National Lead Truat against hie better judgaent. This of eoura* was to enable certain holders to ell out to an advantage. He told me that when Colonel Paynemade application for a further dividend he positively refused, end this earned a break in a life long friendship which was never healed. 0007-SWP-000004687