Pacific Northwest Lumber Barons Push for Price Fixing
A secret meeting in San Francisco may spell the end of independent competition in the region's most vital industry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
John B. Denny, secretary of the Rainier Power & Railway Company, which operates the Western Mill, stated that a proposed combination of lumber shippers along the Coast would likely be perfected within the next ten days. A meeting was scheduled in San Francisco to finalize arrangements. The combine aims to limit the industry's output and artificially inflate lumber prices. Mr. Denny noted that some mills have been shipping at a loss, and he considers a pool the only method to prevent the lumber industry from falling into absolute ruin.
“Some of the mills have been shipping at a loss and none of them are making much more than expenses and he considers that a pool is the only thing that will save the lumber interests from absolute ruin.”
This 1892 move toward a lumber 'pool' echoes the historic tendency of Pacific Northwest resource industries to consolidate power during market downturns. Today, while the industry looks different, the tension between raw resource management and corporate consolidation remains a central theme in Washington's economic history.
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