Shingle Shippers Meet in Tacoma
Shingle manufacturers and dealers meet to discuss stabilizing prices in a failing market.
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.
Those shingle manufacturers and dealers who attended the meeting at Tacoma on Thursday say that the report of the proceedings was incorrect in many particulars, and that it was not the purpose of those present to engage in a fight with the manufacturers' association. Henry Carstens, of this city, who was the secretary of the meeting, gave the following account: In the view of the people who called the meeting, it was conceded that the prices of shingles were very near demoralization, owing principally to the light demand from the East, and possibly also to the lack of co-operation in methods here. It was almost unanimously the opinion of those present that a high price could hardly be maintained, and it was suggested that a uniformly low price, adhered to, would be better for the industry at large than a nominally high price, impossible under trade conditions. The acting chairman of yesterday's informal meeting appointed a committee of three to draft plans for an organization to consist of such firms as sell entirely in the East and named the date of the first regular meeting Wednesday, April 4, at Seattle. Pending this meeting it was unanimously agreed that no quotations lower than $1.45 on clears and $1.00 on stars be made.
“A fair price on shingles is not possible until fewer shingles are made or more are wanted.”
This meeting highlights the late 19th-century struggle to stabilize the timber industry, which was the backbone of Seattle's early economy. Today's tech-driven market dynamics contrast with these old-school attempts to artificially fix commodity prices through manufacturer cartels.
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