The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 11, 1899, Page 1

The Call NO. 164 SAN FRANCISCO, SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 1899, PRICE FIVE CENTS. ROERS PREPARING TO FACE THE BRITISH ruger’s Forces Not Only Sur-| round and Bombard Lady- smith, but Are Also in Posi-| tion to Meet British Troops| Sent From Durban. ‘ K the British War Office Continues to| Suppress News of the True Situation of Affairs in South Africa There Is Re- newed Talk of “ Muddling” and Unpre-| paredness. W hile = in London, though meager, all points to one conclu-| sion. The Boers are endeavoring to surround Lady- | smith in such a way as to not only completely invest | he town and garrison, but also to be in position to | meet any British reinforcements that may be sent| from Durban. [ No fresh battles or even skirmishes have been re- | ported. There are signs that the greater part of the Boer forces are concentrating between Ladysmith and | Colenso. In this position Ladysmith is effectually cut | oif from all help, and at the same time the enemy is well placed to meet any British force advancing from Estcourt. The risk to the Boers is great in case of | retreat, as General White will certainly intercept them, unless they fall back in the direction of Twinta Pass and Olivers Hoek. If they should take either of these routes they must abandon most of their guns. The bombardment of Ladysmith continues. Prob- ably the Boers by now have several heavy guns in place, so that the British garrison may have to endure severe trials. The Boer shells are said to be bursting better than hitherto, and the fire of their big weapons is becoming more efiective. LONDON, Nov. 10.—The British War Office has received from 1 Buller the following dispatch : “CAPE TOWN, Thursday pigeon post from General White to-day the following: “The A few B e e S 2 Gene bombardment at long range by heavy guns continucs daily. casualties are occurring, but no serious harm is being done. “The Foers sent in to-day a number of refugecs from the Transvaal under a flag of truce. A flag of truce from Ladysmith | met them outside the pickets. When the party separated the | Boer guns fired on it before it reached our pickets. | “Major Gate of the Royal Enginecers was wounded to-day | while sending a message. | “The intrenchments arc daily growing stronger, and the sup- ply of provisions is ample.” ONDON, Nov. 11, 4:30 a.| graph Company reckons that the i 1.—Complete silence has|real delay in transmission is —_ ? : upon affairs in| about two days. It is evident, Sout British public | therefore, that the censorship is 1 be content with the ' responsible for the other two 1 s report wi days of delay which seems to be- [ ws to filter {all the dispatches. throug ( T I'hat Moreover the Daily Telegraph this no | announces that its ‘“‘inappro-| longer « ressure of work priated dispatch” from Lady-| or defc cables has been am-| smith, dated Monday, which the v ed € stern Tele-| War Office published on Tues- @*0904C404C 4040404040404 04040408040 404040 40+ 000400. . + o 1 [} S - D E [ o ¢ + 0 L o $ S hd * (e o ¢ + o 7 e o * * A lies open to a coup Q 2 afloat, on the way 3 + o 1t of the Lokal An- g ¢ ger s toward the Afghan- ¢ 0 a e 2 + B0 000 000000080 400005 604000 400t eieteieie Sedeieieg | P >0 IS . . . . . . . . . . . . v View of Barberton in the East Transvaal, Near Komati Poort. is the center of the rich De Kaap mining district, and in an advance by the British from The bold headland overlooking the town, 3000 feet high, is known as the Devil's Kantoor, and its top is covered with rich alluvial gold deposits. This important towr s “Delagoa Bay through K mati Poort would be their first objective point. [ B4 00040+04040460+00040+0+ 0+ evening, Nov. 9.—Have received by | better prepared.” a 5 | e O R S S S Y| REINFORCEMENTS 3 R R e e o MARSHALL ROBERTS, S e R e et S U e e o & . + kS * @ * @ + * e e . & 4 * 3¢ (4 * @ | * i€ & PY * + 1 L4 . ps ® 3¢ + % 9 L4 { + & ° 1 @ i Leading Members of the American Ladies’ Committee and Con- + | 36 tributors to the Fund for Fitting Out the Hospital Ship | ¢ for the British Soldiers in South Africa. ; day, was not delivered in Fleet| be the case. Certainly no artil- street until yesterday (Fridav\')l lery can reach Durban before No- morning. It is believed that the| vember 14, and without addi- War Office received further disfi tional guns an advance from Est- patches last evening, but nothing | court would be impossible. has been published. ;i No doubt, as Lord Salisbury At a banquet in the city of | said in a recent speech, England London yesterday the Duke of| will “muddle through it,” and Cambridge, speaking of the war, | yet another illustration of mud- said: { dling has become apparent in the “We ought never to have al-|fact that gunnery . instructors lowed ourselves to be in the posi- | have only just arrived at Wool- tion in which the outbreak of the | wich arsenal for instruction in war foand us. I could cry (wer% train duties. the valuable lives which might| hurried preparations are being have been spared had we been |made to prepare the siege trains, | the fact that the men are at Dev- enport and the guns at Woolwich seems to show that the idea of the siege train was quite an aiter- thought. The Morning Post says: What will come of such muddling, ii we siege It is said that General Buller never expected to commence the campaign before Christmas, and | it now looks as though this would to turn it to advantage? Some radical reforms are still necded in our mobilization ments. | The statement from Ladysmith that the British guns don't reply to the Boer artillery because the concrete beds for the guns have not yet hardened is interpreted in some quarters to mean simply | that the British are husbanding | their ammunition, as the Boer | fire is only a trick to get the Brit- | ish to waste shells. | , Among the few items that have arrived from the Cape to-day is one saying that the Boers are planting more guns in the hills | surrounding Ladysmith. All the correspondents in the beleaguered town are safe, and anxious to reopen communica- tion. A gentleman who visited Nich- olsons Nek after the engagement counted twenty-five in killed and seventy in wounded. arrauge- (Continued on Second Page,) |no doubt that a Vast combination | News, Although | | ever come to fighting a foe able | s GIGANTIC syndicate, headed by the Seligmans, is reaching out to obtain ownership and control of | the leading shipbuilding concerns { of the United States. Intelligence ! received by wire from Washing- ton, Philadelphia and New York lealvcs has been formed to control the building of battle ships, armored cruisers and pro- tected gunboats, monitors and torpedo craft designed for the United States navy and also merchant vessel The feature of the news mos interest- | ing to San Francisco readers is the fact that the combine contemplates the ab- sorption of the Union Iron Works. The Call received the first hint of the big deal day before yesterday. Immediate inquiry at the office of the Union Iron Works did not then elicit clear confirmation of the story. Additional inquiries subsequently addressed to responsible parties in the | East brought the reply that the syndicate had practically succeeded in combining the shipyards of Cramp & Sons at Phila- Iphia, C. P. Huntington of Newport Va.; the Columbia Iron Works, Baltimore, the Bath (Me.) Iron Works and the Union Iron Works, San Fran- cisco. It is highly probable that other yargs of minor importance are involved | {in t e gel Early y eral scheme and consolidation. erday morning the local man- B T S e o R T Pa S ey A : i B R O N S ISAAC N. SELIGMAN. R O R CER SECER SO ] . | vised by wire of the proposed consolida- | tion. The advices contained the announce- | ment that the agents of the syndicate de- sired that Henry T. Scott should be the | manager of the Union Iron Works. | Yesterday Irving M. Scott was request- | ed on behalf of The Call to supply de | tails of the negotiations, but he asked to be excused from an interview on that subject. He did not deny or discredit the report, but advised that the facts for pub- lcation be obtained elsewhere. Some years ago the Seligmans, who are large owners of the stock of the Penn- sylvania road and the American Steam- ship Company, acquired a large if not a controlling interest in the Cramps ship- building concern. In order to render the investment remunerative in a high degree, steps have doubtless been taken to dull | the edge of competition in bids for Gov- ernment work. consolidation of all the competing enter- prises was suggested. When the recent bids for the construction of cruisers were excited. by an Eastern syndieate will not be com- mended in San Francisco. As the work in the East than here, and as the ma- terlals required for the building of a ship can there be suppied at figures lower than can be obtained in this city, the appre- hension comes that the Union Iron Works will be the first of the great concerns to suspend building operations when orders slacken up. value of the concerns admitted to the combine exceeds twenty million dollars. Figures of the capitalization are not available. The value of the Cramps’ plant and general equipment approxi- mates seven million dollars. The Hunt- ington plant at Newport News is ac- counted to be worth five million dollars. Last month there were 3500 men on the payroll of the Union Iron Works. Last Monday the company paid to employes on account of the October roll $160,000. The chief owners of the Union Iron Works are Irving M. Scott, Henry T. Scott and James O'B. Gunn. James V. Coleman in the settlement of the estate of his mother became owner of some of l the Deal. the stock and his two sisters, residing in | the East, also own stock of the works. The popular notion that George . Pres- cott is an owner of a large block is said to be incorrect. It is asserted on good authority that the Southern Pacific Company has no interest, either direct or remote, in the Union Iron Works. The ownership of the property is represented by ten thousand shares of stock. The Seligmans could not have gained control without the consent of the Scotts. The Scotts may retire from the ship- building industry in San Francisco with a sense of relief. In retirement they may enjoy immunity from the, attacks of the boodling and vindictive press Irving M. Scott has lived in this city thirty-nine years. His time has been chiefly devoted to the upbuilding of a great industry, which affords employment to thousands of men. Praise of his work from all parts of the world has been ac- corded. The success has not been achieved without the risk of great losses. On every battleship constructed he ac- cepts a risk of $5,000,000. Few millionalres are ready to take such chances. Most of the rich men prefer safe investments in real estate and Government bonds. ers of the Union Iron Works were ad- | ing the managers | i To accomplish this end a | published, the suspicion of a combine was | The absorption of the Union Iron Works ' of ship construction can be done cheaper | It is estimated that the consolidated | The Scotts have been shamefully har- ssed and maligned. In the recent muni- cipal campaign the elements opposed to industrial progress were active in assail- of the Union Iron C. P. HUNTINGTON. Works. The Scotts were charged with employing scab labor and resorting to in- | timidation to prevent the workmen from voting as they desired. As a matter of fact Irving M. Scott never sought to in- fluence his men as to how they should vote. The only way the men could judge | of Mr. Scott's choice of candidates was to | ascertain his sentiments as proclaimed on the stump. No one connected with the management of the Union Iron Works even thought of placing an impediment in the path of the men to the polls, yet a newspaper | concern which was purchased at auction for $37,000 impudently and arrogantly in- sisted that the 3500 men at the Union Iron Works should each have two working | hours to vote. A demand was made that | the Scotts should stand the loss of 7000 | hours. The demand addressed to men | who in one month alone had disbursed the sum of $160,000 to 3500 employe: The case of the Scotts is only one of | many. Leading men, the builders of the | State, the promoters of prosperity, the | | men who invest capital, brains and ener; in great enterprices for the betterment | of the city, are constantly assailed by | | vicious and irresponsible papers | In August, 18, when the Navy Depart- ment invited bids for the construction of three cruisers and two gunboats—the first vessels of the new navy—only five firms | responded. and of these one did not have | the requisite facilities, and the eontracts | went to the Columbia Iron Works at Bal- | timore, Cramps at Philadelphia and the | Union Iron Works in San Francisco. | These three yards practically constituted the private shipyard facilities of the | country for navy building, and not dne of | the elght navy yards had the requisite | plant to build. During the past thirteen | | years the number of private shipyards | capable of doing navy work has increased to over twenty, and three of the navy | | yards have good shipbuilding plants. *Jf the one hundred and odd vessels built or bullding since 1886 only four were built |in two navy yards; the others, including | | fourteen battleships and armored crus- ers, were the product of private ship-| vards fostered by a protective and liberal policy. In the early period there was a keen competition between the older estab- | lished firms and the new firms, that were attracted by the high prices paid for navy | work, and while the cost was high the | Government got a fair value, the indns- | tries attendant to ship and engine buiid- | ing were developed, and the work was di- vided all over the country to big and small yards. In 189 the first disturbing | | tactor appeared with the Newport News | Company, which underbid the other yards | so greatly on the contract for two battle- | ships as to indicate that an understand- | ing between the several builders was ab- solutely necessary for their common good. and subsequent bids tended to prove the | | correctness of this belief, culminating a | | year ago in the charge that the principal | | shipyards had formed a trust for the pur- | pose of regulating prices. The Newport News, Bath Iron Works, Lewis Nixon and the Unfon Iron Works were named as constituting the trust, and while the of- ficials of the several firms indignantly de- njed the existence of such an organiza- | tion the Navy Department nevertheless | took alarm and prepared to overcome any | attempt to gouge the Government. A fur- | ther, almost positive, proof was furnished | B o o0t ebebedede | an understanding between | ders are hardly to be consid. BIG COMBINE ABSORBS THE UNION IRON WORKS Gigantic Eastern Ship-Building Syndicate Or- ganized by the Seligmans Effects ‘Cramps’ Yard, Philadelphia; Huntington’s Plant at Newport News; Columbia Works, Baltimore, and the Works at Bath, Me, Also Join the Twenty Million Dollar Trust D R T S HENRY T. SCOTT. B R B S e R GRCaR SRS D A i S S SN SO S S DO S—-0-0 oo CHARLES H. CRAMP. a week ago, when the bids for six cruisers were opened, and The Call pointed out the suspiclous fact that three of the bids were 0 close to one another as to indicate the several firms. These coincidental bids were as follows: Bath Iron Works, $1,04 Union Iron Works, $1,041,900, or only 250 higher than the Bath offer, and the bid of Lewis Nixon, Elizabethport, was $1,039,966, or $1934 less than the highest tender. The Columbia Iron Works’, Baltimore, bid of $1,116,000 was a fair price, but it was §74,100 above the Union Iron Works, ahd exon- erates that firm from the s fon of be- ing a member of th he other bid- ered, as they elther lack the experience or the facili- ties, and will therefore not have any standing with the Navy Department. The news of the actual formation of a shipbuilders’ trust does therefore not come as a surprise. In April last seven shipbailding firms around the corporated under the name of t can Shipbuilding Company,” w tallzation of $30.000,000, and on the company announced contracted to build steamers and Or:tober 21 it had twenty-three bar 000. e firms not in the tru two steamers to order and one to sell, and it is clear that 1 will have a great advar 1al build- e That a s hould be formed among seaboard is therefore quite natural. The Cramp yard is only such in fame, as Charles Cramp and his brother and other rela- uves are entrusted with the affairs of a | huge combined capital in which the Penn- sylvania Rallroad, bankers and rolling mills are largely represented. The Bath Iron Works is likewise an aggregation of New England capital; the Newport News is one of Collis P. Huntington's enter- prises, aided by ‘foreign capital, and the Union Iron Works firm of this city is like- wise composed of shipowners and others with capital or influence, represented by the Scotts. These four firms, which em- brace the largest in the country, would, it combined, make it unprofitable for smaller builders to compete, yet it is pos- ble that Lewis Nixon and the Columbia Iron Works may be taken into the fold, as the representatives of these firms have great influence in Washington. There is still another yard to be, which, if it is not already enrolled in the combina- tion, would furnish a lively opposition when ready for work. It is located at Camden, and a vast amount of money is being expended upon buildings, tools, dock and piers. It is named the New York Shipbuilding Company, has capital to back it, experienced men to run it and will begin early enough to bid on the bat- tle ships and armored cruisers to be con- tracted for next year. This new trust is a serious matter for independent builders, for they cannot hope to compete for such work as the combine wants. The workmen will be less independent than heretofore, and must be content with such compensation as the trust may offer. The individual ower of each of these great firms has gfien felt in the past; they have influenced legislation, disapproved or sanctioned ap- pointments of bureau chiefs and sent ob- noxious Government inspectors to sea or other duty, and now that they have com- bined, one agent at Washington will have but little difficulty to bring about the con- summatlon of any wish or demand from the trust.