A Trial Furnace by Morris A. Shirts

Author:Morris A. Shirts
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Deseret Book Company
Published: 2020-06-23T16:15:12+00:00

Cedar Tithing Office

1,305.36

31 Oct 1855

Harmony Tithing Office

105.57

19 May 1855

Parowan Tithing Office

1,837.23

19 May 185554

Over time, stockholders withdrew for various reasons. Matthew Carruthers, David Barclay Adams, David Stoddard, Alexander Easton and Thomas Cartwright left the community, either withdrawing their stock or letting it lapse as a bad debt, since they probably had not paid for it anyway. Most withdrew because they did not have the resources to pay their pledges in full and could not continue to pay interest on the amounts they still owed. Withdrawals were routinely granted to shareholders who found themselves in financial difficulty or otherwise unable to participate. For instance, when Matthew Carruthers and others withdrew from their participation in the company on 10 November 1853, the minutes record that “It was motioned and seconded and unanimously voted that the above named persons be released from their subscription on stock, with permission to dispose of and transfer the several amounts of stock which they now have in the company, to any stockholder, or to the company.” As President Snow affirmed, the “real capital was bone and sinew.” Good will toward the company would not be judged solely by the ability to contribute money, although men who were able to pay would be expected to fulfill their commitments. Those who could not were charitably released.55

In September 1854 the board of directors of the Deseret Iron Company heard through J. C. L. Smith that some Parowan residents wanted to buy stock as a group but objected to paying back-interest on stock that had been available since 1 January 1853.56 The original constitution required that the holders of “all unpaid stock” would be required to pay 10 percent interest after 1 January 1853, even though it was unclear whether interest also accrued on unsold shares of stock. At the next general meeting, 1 November 1854, the board discussed the same problem and amended Article 8 of the constitution as follows:

Be it resolved that the 8th section of the Constitution of the Deseret Iron Co. be so altered as to read, that 10 per cent shall be the rate of interest required, to be paid on all unpaid stock from this date only until otherwise altered by the Co.57

There are no other entries in the minutes to indicate whether the Parowan group went ahead with the stock purchase (see app. 6 for summary of known shareholders).

Trading at the Company Store

The Deseret Iron Company store made a significant contribution to the regional economy. Iron factories in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Missouri routinely operated company stores. Snow, Richards and possibly other iron company administrators were familiar with the concept and David Barclay Adams, the new furnace keeper, would have known about it as he had recently arrived from Iron Plantation, Pennsylvania.

The Maramec Iron Works, Maramec Spring, Missouri, which had been successfully smelting iron and manufacturing iron products for 23 years, provides a good example of a pioneer company store.

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