The Strong Trade Position of Manufacture 75 



business, instead of bidding against each other to secure 

 trade, work in various ways to maintain price. Note the 

 advantageous position in manufacture for co-operating 

 with each other. 



In 1900 there was an average of from seven to eight 

 workmen to each proprietor or firm. Many firms employ 

 from 50 to 100 workingmen. Steel and iron show ah 

 average of 333 wage-earners. It is seen that only a few 

 of the men engaged in manufacture have anything to do 

 with determining price. The fewer that need to be 

 consulted the easier, as a rule, to form price agreements. 

 To this it can be added that where the object is to get the 

 higher price the assent of not more than a majority of 

 the proprietors of a group, sometimes not more than a 

 half dozen, would be required for the fixing of prices. 

 The business sense of the rest would operate to bring 

 them into line. 



Furthermore, the few men of each group who decide 

 what price shall be are located in the large towns and 

 cities in easy reach of each other by steam or electric 

 roads, telephone and telegraph. How near manufac- 

 turers are located to each other is indicated by the fact 

 that about half of the value of manufactured products 

 in 1900 was returned from four states — New York, Penn- 

 sylvania, Illinois and Massachusetts. 



Now as to the way of co-operating or coming to under- 

 standing. These range all the way from a mere practice 

 of conforming to the price charged by others, with no 

 expressed agreement, to legally written documents to sell 

 at certain rates with heavv fines for all violations of 

 agreements. Many times, associations are formed with 

 officers and bv-laws the more surelv to hold individuals 

 to contract. Still closer unions are formed by placing 



