ital of £150,000, and was placed under the general superintendence of Thomas Hughes, the wellknown author of "Tom Brown's School Days at Rugby," after which celebrated school the colony was named. The company purchased 50,000 acres on the Cumberland plateau in Tennessee, having the refusal also of 150,000 more. The land was colonized mainly by English farmers, and was laid out in building sites, farms, parks, etc. It was in Morgan, Scott, Overton, and Fentress counties, and is rich in timber and fertile soil. A town was laid out, a hotel built, and a road seven miles long constructed to connect with the Cincinnati Southern Railroad. A saw mill and brick kiln were erected, roads and bridle paths made, and a park and a cricket ground were added. The plan of colonization adopted was calculated to establish a permanent settlement of sons of English farmers of the better class, in fair circumstances, and with a certain degree of culture. This plan illustrates an ideal kind of investment not generally followed by those having capital to expend; but in this class and such others as have been named all foreign investments were generally made until the movement we are now describing began. Indeed, it is probable that investments in land would have continued to be the only ones employed by British capitalists, had it not been for the fact that the Americans became alarmed at the extent of territory that was thus coming under British influence. The fear that this might possibly dominate at some future time to the disadvantage of American interests was probably the cause of hostile legislation being brought to bear in different States. The Alien Law of Illinois is an example which prohibits any sale of real estate to foreigners. It was designed to prevent the acquirement of farms in that State by a certain British landlord for rackrenting purposes. This statute was eventually evaded by having the ownership of the necessary real estate incorporated, and then acquiring the stock of the company, which legally is personal and not real property.

Books. During the summer of 1889, rumors were afloat that Messrs. Guggenheimer & Untemeyer, who had been prominent in several operations of the character herein described, had opened negotiations with some of the leading publishers of cheap literature in this country, with the view of buying outright the business as conducted in New York and Chicago. This scheme received some encouragement through newspaper interviews with the publishers named, including George Munro & Co., who, it is said, set their price at $1,250,000; John W. Lovell & Co., $500,000; John S. Ogilvie, $300,000; M. J. Ivers & Co., Hurst & Co., W. L. Allison, and Norman Munro, all of New York; and Rand, McNally & Co., and Belford, Clarke & Co. of Chicago. But the last-named firm went into bankruptcy in September. Samuel Untemeyer, the agent in charge of the matter, declared that he had in his control $10,000,000 wherewith to effect the purchase.

Breweries. In 1888 public attention was directed to the fact that an effort was being made on the part of a British syndicate to acquire possession of large brewing interests in the city of New York. A syndicate was formed in

London, and agents were sent to this country, who eventually succeeded in purchasing a twothird interest in the Clausen & Son Brewing Company, with the arrangement that the brewery was to be managed by its former owners, who were to retain one third of the net proceeds for running it. This contract was closed, and the property turned over to the English purchasers, Aug. 24, 1889. During the winter and spring of 1888-'89 further investments in the same industry were made, until by the close of the year, as is alleged, the amount of British money invested in this one industry had reached £6,676,000, or $33,380,000. Of this amount the John F. Betz & Son, Philadelphia, brewery cost £250,000; the New York Breweries Company, £930,000; the Union Hills Brewery Company, of New Jersey, £115,000; the Frank Jones Brewing Company, of Portsmouth, £1,300,000; the Detroit breweries, £1,000,000; the Washington Breweries Company, £161,000; the Chicago breweries, £1,000,000; the Bartholomay Brewing Company, of Rochester, N. Y., £970,000; the Voight Brewing Company, of Detroit, £185,000; the United States Brewing Company, of New York and New Jersey, £1,100,000; the Baltimore breweries, £190,000; the Peter Schoenhofen Brewery, of Chicago, £1,000,000; the Denver breweries, £200,000. It is interesting in this connection to show quotations of the stocks of these companies on the London market, as they stood at the beginning of September:

In September the purchase was consummated in London of heavy brewing interests in St. Paul, Minn. But it was not alone in the United States that investments were made in breweries, for in August the London and Colonial Financial Company, a syndicate formed for the purpose of handling manufacturing and industrial enterprises, concluded the purchase of Davies's brewery in Toronto for $1,200,000. Nor was it only a Toronto brewery that was purchased, for during the same month Messrs. Gooderham & Worts sold their distillery in that city to an English syndicate for $6,000,000. The Peter Schoenhofen Company, of Chicago, after the sale already mentioned, was reorganized and incorporated with an increased capital stock amounting to $3,000,000. In August negotiations were completed for the sale of the breweries of Omaha for $1,500,000, and in the same month an English syndicate offered $660,000 for Henry Weinhard's brewery in Portland, Ore. August was, in fact, the month for the sale of breweries; at that time the Henry Elias brewery, in New York, having a capacity of 90,000 barrels a year, was purchased for $950,000 by a British syndicate.

Still another enormous London syndicate, having a capital of $100,000,000, invested as much as $40,000,000 in America, chiefly in breweries, including $7,000,000 for three breweries of

Pittsburg and Allegheny City not heretofore mentioned.

Celluloid. In July it was said that an English syndicate had purchased the great celluloid works at Newark, N. J., and that the same process of expansion of stock and reorganization, which had become familiar to the American public with regard to the breweries purchased by English capitalists, would be adopted in this instance. The celluloid works at Newark are the only ones of the kind in this country. They cover six blocks of ground, and employ more than 800 girls and boys. The works were established about 1875, and are believed to have made the fortunes of those who had owned them. The plant was estimated to be about $500,000. The alleged purchase was conducted with great secrecy, and members of the company owning the works declined to discuss the matter.

Cotton Mills. The extraordinary magnitude of these investments may be further gathered from the following circular letter issued by the agents of a London syndicate, which was mailed in New York Aug. 3, addressed to the president and board of directors of every cotton mill in Fall River, Mass.:

GENTLEMEN: It is our desire to secure control of the entire cotton-manufacturing property of Fall River and elsewhere, and we address you for the purpose of obtaining your views as to the probability of your shareholders or a majority being willing to sell or pool their stock upon a basis of mutual advantage. It is, of course, useless for us at this time to set forth our plans in detail. We are pleased to inform you that the Central Trust Company of New York has consented to act as trustee in behalf of both parties. Should the matter meet with your favorable consideration, we would thank you to advise us at an early date, and we will then confer with you personally in regard to details. GEORGE F. MELLEN,

ists.

EMERSON C. MCMILLAN, H. B. WILSON.

One of the members of this committee said the syndicate that had been formed for this purchase had already subscribed more than enough money to buy the entire cotton-milling industry of America; that, in fact, this was what was aimed at, and that operations would not be confined to Fall River, but would extend to Lowell, Lawrence, New Bedford, and the best mills in the country. As the Fall River mills alone had a capital exceeding $20,000,000, it can be seen what an enormous sum it would take to complete the avowed purpose of the British capitalMeanwhile it is to be observed that very much of the negotiation of this nature going on during the year was conducted in secret, and that it was impossible to gain accurate information as to actual purchases and particularly in regard to the cotton-mill industry. It was, however, known that large purchases of stock were made. in different mill corporations, and these were believed to have been made in the interest of the English syndicate. Meanwhile a formal proposition was made to many Southern cotton mills by a syndicate of English capitalists for the purchase of their plants with a view of combining their interests in one central trust company.

Dry Goods.-About the middle of September it began to be said that a dry-goods trust was being formed, backed by British capital; and to include among other well-known firms those of

Hogg, Brown & Taylor, of Boston; R. H. Macy & Co., Stern Brothers, B. Altman & Co. and Simpson, Crawford & Simpson, of New York; Brown, Thompson & Co., of Hartford; Sibley, Lindsay & Curr, of Rochester; Callender, McCausland & Troup, of Providence; Campbell & Dick, of Pittsburg; Adam, Meldrum & Anderson, of Buffalo; Forbes & Wallace, of Springfield, Mass.; Dives, Pomeroy & Stuart, of Reading, Pa.; Denholm, McKay & Co., of Worcester, Mass.; and Alma, Bigelow & Washburn, of Salem, Mass. Excepting the New York firms, those mentioned were already in a trust or organization called the Syndicate Trading Company, established about 1881 by A. Swan Brown, of Hogg, Brown & Taylor, dry-goods merchants of Boston. The object of this company was to purchase dry goods in large quantities on account of the stores that had shares in it, and divide the goods so purchased into suitable lots for each house, by which means the benefit of larger discounts was obtained. From the number of Scotchmen connected with the company, it grew to be generally known in the trade as the "Scotch Syndicate," and the success of the enterprise induced Mr. Brown to undertake a more complete organization in the form of one jointstock company, backed by English capitalists, leaving the names and management and names of the stores as before. A curious part of the enterprise was the establishment of an immense dry-goods depot at Chicago, which would be the distributing point of the syndicate. This may be called the first practical application of the theories advanced by Edward Bellamy in his romance "Looking Backward."

Grain-Mills and Elevators.-Late in July it was announced that a British syndicate was negotiating for the purchase of the Pillsbury and Washburn mills at Minneapolis. It is said that this purchase is only one of an enormous investment on the part of two London syndicates-the City Contract Company, (capital, $50,000,000) and the Trustees' and Executors' Company (capital, $37,500,000), the Lord Mayor of London being the president of the latter company. Among the properties involved in the investment made, which is said to have been $50,000,000, was a chain of elevators from the Minnesota and Dakota wheat districts to Chicago, flouring-mills at Minneapolis, and breweries in Chicago and the East. The elevators included the 76 Star elevators of Minneapolis, the G. W. Van Duzen system of elevators of Rochester (90 in number), and the Cargill Brothers' elevator system of Minnesota and Dakota. These were in addition to the Pillsbury and Washburn flouring-mills of Minneapolis.

Illuminating Gas.-Early in May a step was made by English capitalists toward the purchase of gas interests in the United States, by the acquisition of the greater part of the stock of the Citizens' Gas-Light Company, of Brooklyn. The English syndicate thus purchasing was known as the International Gas Company, and possessed a new patent process for the manufacture of gas from water and crude petroleum oil, which had met with much success in London, and was about to be introduced in Paris. The head of this company in this country is Charles G. Francklyn, formerly connected with the Cunard

Line of steamers. The same syndicate also purchased a ruling interest in the Union Gas-Light Company of New York.

Iron.-On Sept. 10 at Hokendaugua, Pa., on the occasion of the annual meeting of the Thomas Iron Company, the statement was made that an offer had been made to the directors to sell the works to an English syndicate for $3,500,000; and the offer of the syndicate was accepted unanimously. The stock of the company was divided into 40,000 shares of $50 each, whose last quoted price was $70. The syndicate's offer would bring the value of this stock up to about $87 a share. The same syndicate negotiated the purchase of the Otis Steel Company, of Cleveland, Ohio, and at the same time were negotiating to buy the immense foundry and machine works of J. H. Bass, in Fort Wayne, St. Louis, and Chicago, the largest of the kind in the country; and also valuable iron-mines in Alabama. It was said that these purchases were part of a well-matured scheme in England to secure control of all the most profitable American iron and steel enterprises, with the intention of forming a trust in those industries. The Thomas Iron Company was established about 1856, with a capital of $325,000. Since then it has paid its shareholders about $3,800,000 in dividends, and has increased its capital stock to $2,000,000. Besides the interest in the industries just named, it was said that English capitalists were negotiating for all the principal iron works in the Republic of Mexico, except the Durango Iron Works, owned by an Iowa company.

Patent Leather.-During the summer English syndicates were in negotiation for the purchase of the patent-leather manufactories of Newark, N. J., where 95 per cent. of the capital invested in the industry is concentrated. There are in the United States twenty-six factories that put enameled and patent leather upon the market. Twenty-three of these are in Newark. The total capital is about $5,000,000 and they employ about 4,000 men. The manufacture dates back fifty years, and has grown from an annual production of 3,000 hides to that of 350,000, with a market extending all over the world. With the attempted purchase of this industry the following circular was made public, a pattern, it is said, of those employed by the agents of the British capitalists in their purchase of different interests. The circular was to be filled out by each firm and returned to the agent:

GENTLEMEN: In reply to your inquiry as to the purchase of my tannery, located in this city, I will say that I will sell to you, at any time within ninety days from date, my entire plant used for the tanning of patent, enameled, and other leathers. This includes all my real estate connected with the said tannery, consisting of ...., worth in open market ....; my buildings thereon, consisting of ...., cost to erect in 18.. $....; my machinery, consisting of and all parts now used in my said business not above enumerated, cost $...., worth $.... my chattels thereon, consisting of goods manufactured, unmanufactured, and in course of manufacture, to be taken at valuation at time of sale, and all other chattel property now in or about said tannery and used in said business, worth $....; material for tanning, consisting of

and all varnishes, coloring-matter, etc., and all other material, tools, implements, fixtures, drying-racks, byproducts, or anything else used in or about said tannery premises for the manufacturing, saving, or hand

ling of the product of the said tannery, for the sum of $...., to be paid to me in cash within sixty days after the contract of sale has been signed. The said sale also includes the good-will and trade of the said establishment; and I agree and promise not to resume the said business, directly nor indirectly, nor directly nor indirectly hold stock in any corporation engaged in said business of tanning or manufacturing patented or enameled leather such as has been manufactured in my factory in the past five years, in the United States or British America, for the period of five years from the date hereof, nor consent to or permit another to use the said name in any way connected with the manufacturing of japanned, patented, or enameled leather.

My sales for two years have averaged $.... The gross cost of material, labor, and incidental expenses have been $....

Schedule of property of....
Real estate, about $....

Machinery in good condition, $...
Stock on hand:

Manufactured, $....
Unmanufactured, $..

Outstanding accounts, $....

Profits, net, 1886, $..
Profits, net, 1887, $..
Profits, net, 1888, $..

During July and August a movement was on foot in New England and New York in the interest of English capitalists for the purpose of purchasing the entire tannery industry of those sections. It was said that $10,000,000 had been pledged by English capitalists to obtain control of the sole-leather tanneries in Maine, Massachusetts, and New York, and that if this venture proved a success the syndicate would have $50,000,000 more at its disposition for the purpose of extending its control so as to embrace all the tanneries of the country. By Sept. 1, it was alleged, the syndicate had secured control of twenty-three tanneries in the States named, while those of Pennsylvania had been offered for sale to the trust.

Sugar. Among the various rumors that concerned the establishment and methods of the great Sugar Trust, one that exhibited a certain amount of authenticity was to the effect that its final conclusion would be to fall into the hands of an Anglo-German syndicate, which aimed to control the sugar markets of the world. It was said that English investors had been buying up every sugar-trust certificate they could obtain, and had made large offers for blocks of these, evincing anxiety to obtain all the stock they could. The general plan contemplated bonding, for a short time only, the principal plantations of Cuba, the Philippine Islands, the Island of Java, and the Mauritius, which would thus place the main sources of the raw supply under the control of the syndicate. It was alleged that the capital required to accomplish this gigantic scheme was $100,000,000.

Various Industries.-On Aug. 29 the statement was authorized by H. H. Warner, manufacturer of medical specifics, of Rochester, New York, that he had agreed to sell out his business for £1,000,000. The interests involved included the Warner proprietary medicines and also a yeast business. Late in August the San Diego (Cal.,) Water Works Company sold out its business to an English syndicate for $1,400,000.

William L. Scott, the Pennsylvania millionaire, who owns nearly all the stock in the Spring