This blog, Jacob Ruppert: Ice, Booze, and the New York Yankees, is a continuation of my blog on Dr. John Gorrie, Fredric Tudor, and the Ice Trade. If you have not read it yet, it can be found at, https://historywithkev.com/2020/06/05/ice-trade/.

For my upcoming research paper, I am investigating the John Gorrie and Ice Trade of the 1850’s. For this blog I thought it would be pertinent stay on ice theme but expand my research until 1935. This led into unexpected territory. During my Gorrie research I came across the ice trade publication, Ice and Refrigeration. I start this research with a search query for the years,1895-1935 and Ice and Refrigeration. I typically start my research using HathiTrust Digital Library, https://www.hathitrust.org/, Internet Archive, https://archive.org / and Google Books, Project MUSE https://muse.jhu.edu/ , or Open Library https://openlibrary.org/.

During this week’s search I found in the January 1901, Ice and refrigeration, Vol 20, No. 1. (Figure 1.) an article title Jacob Ruppert’s Ice Plant in New York.

Figure 1.1901, Ice and Refrigeration vol. 20, Jacob Ruppert’s Ice Plant Jacob is in the center

The article stated, As early as 1878 he [Ruppet] realized the possibilities of the ice machine, …. that the natural ice would sooner or later be superseded in all large cities by ice manufactured…it continued, Ruppert built an ice plant of fifty tons capacity on Third avenue, to which he soon afterward added a second plant of 250 tons daily output.^[1] And in a May 1900, issue of The New York Times, I found an article titled, Municipal Ice Plants (figure 2).

Figure 2  . New York Times headline Mar 05, 1899, on Rupert’s Ice Plant. Photo Credit: The New York Times.

The New York times article mentioned discussed Rupperts new plant and its ice production capabilities as well as, and how this new artificial ice manufacturing will standardize the cost of ice. Additionally, states he spent, $1,500,000 to achieve an ice production output of 1,000 tons daily. Moreover, the article goes on to explain how Ruppert had already established an ice delivery contract to sell 300 tons a day to The American Ice Company. Furthermore, this article gave a production cost breakdown stating,

• 1,000 tons a day @ $2.50 = $750,000.
• Cost of Production equal 80 cents a ton = $240,000.
• Gross profit on production $510,000,
• Net Profit on investment (29 %) $435,000. ^[2]

In Addition, the article goes into great detail on how this plant will help breakup the Ice Trust.

Two things out of this article struck me:

• Who was The American Ice Company and how did they get such a big contract?
• What was the Ice Trust?

Now I must confess I know extraordinarily little about the history of American business. My initially research interested was on the influences Dr. Gorrie’s ice machine had during the post-Civil War days in the South until 1900.

Answers to my questions,

In short, The American Ice Company was owned by Charles W. Morse, as known as, the “Ice King” of New York^[3], and at one time he had controlled of 13 banks.^[4] Apparently his company was under the control of, or in conjunction with, Mr. Richard Croker. Corker was the “boss” of an organization called Tammany Hall^[5]. Prior to The American Ice Company, Morse started The Consolidated Ice Company which he later merged with additional ice companies he acquired to create The American Ice Company.^[6]

Now I have two additional question that need to be answered,

• Who was Charles W. Morse?
• And what is / was Tammany Hall?

As time limits me, I cannot discuss all of my findings to these questions, except, I must point out, Croker, and many of the Tammany Hall members owned stock in The American Ice Company, including the then mayor of New York City, Mayor Van Wyck. Wyck, owned about $678,000 in stock. Croker and his wife held around $250,000 in stock while along with assorted politicians. Two other prominent New Yorkers on the list, Charles E Murphy, and Peter F. Meyer. Murphy and Meyer had control of the key the New York docks, thus they could decide who and what vendors / ice suppliers they would work with.^[7] All of the participates mentioned, including Ruppert had created a strangle hold on the New York’s Ice market. I would call it ice monopoly. It was reported some artificial ice manufactures who were outside of this groups control were lockout or, pushed away from the city docks. This tight control of frozen currency came to a head in the spring of 1900, as it was reported the Ice Trust attempted a coup on the city ice business. The results of this action can were to double the price of ice. It went from 30 cents to 60 cents per hundredweight overnight.^[8]

At some point after public outcry the coup failed and the stocks of The American Ice Company, fell drastically. Not to worry, anticipating the fall out, Morse formed The Ice Securities Corporation, where he managed to maneuver its stocks weirdly, and withdrawn with an estimated fortune of twelve million dollars.^[9]

While investigating Morse and the Ice Trust I came across a few illustrations on the subject in the weekly magazine Harper’s Weekly. Figures 3 and 4 are cover illustrations issues with the Ice Trust. Figure 4 also indicates Tammany is part of. or perhaps a controlling figure of the Ice Trust. I have not have the time explain the significance of the illustration, but if you are interested to learn more on the cover in figure 3, you can read about it here, https://www.harpweek.com/09Cartoon/BrowseByDateCartoon.asp?Month=October&Date=6

Figure 3, Harper’s weekly. Tammany Ice Harper’s weekly.Vol.44. no. 2282, 09 15, 1900:857

.

Figure 4, Hunting the Octopus” Harper’s weekly, 10 06, 1900, p.:429.

At this point in my research I reflected on a passage I read by Alfred D.Chandler, Jr. in his book In Scale and Scope : The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism. In it He stated, The essential first step in exploiting the new technologies of production— the step that led to the creation of the modern industrial enterprise—was, therefore, the investment in production facilities large enough to exploit the full potential of the economies of scale and scope inherent in the new or improved technologies.^[10]

This statement, along with Chandler explanation of “first-movers”, The first movers had other advantages. In the more technologically complex industries the first to install research laboratories and to train technicians were the first to become fully aware of the attributes and intricacies of the new products and processes, resonated with me as I was reading about the lives of such power players as, Ruppert, Morse, and the Tammany gang. Lastly, Chandler comments, the first movers were not only the leaders in exploiting the cost advantages of scale and scope, but they had a head start in developing capabilities in all functional activities—production, distribution, purchasing, research, finance, and general management..^[11]This statement fits well with the how Murphy and Meyer control the New York docks.

Addtionally, I found more articles on the Ice Trust, a May 13, 1900, report from The New York Times titled, To Fight The Ice Trade (figure 5).

Figure 5,The New York Times (New York, New York)13 May 1900, Sun Page 14.

November 11, 1909. an account of the Ice Trust Hearing (figure 6).

Figure . 1909 report of the Ice Trust Hearing in the Nov. 11, The Wall Street Journal.

I still need to do further research into the Ice Trust and the associate the hearings. Yet, my research has prompted more questions.

Questions:

• Was this lawsuit one of the issues that prompted President Wilson to start his The New Freedom campaign?
• Was it the catalyst for the 1914, Federal Trade Commission Act, due to the actions of scrupleless banking and businessmen like Morse and his gang?
• Was the early 1890 Sherman Act created because of, or impart of, the ice trade?

I would like to point out, when I started my research, I did not know of Ruppert, nor of the others mentioned. As for Jacob Ruppert, whom I first read about, as previously mentioned, was in Ice and Refrigeration. Further research demonstrated he was a highly successful New York brewer with multiple breweries (figure 7). ^[12]

Figure 7, Jacob Ruppert Brewer, 1914. Photo Credit: New York Historic Beer Series – Vol. 3.

My research also revealed Jacob Ruppert’s (1842-May 26,1915), Father Franz Maximillian Ruppert was born on Barvaria in 1811, emigrated to New York then started a brewery in 1850 from the bottom up, called the Aitken Braueri, a.k.a. The Turtle Bay Brewery.^[13] My finding also indicates Jacob the 2^nd sold the brewery in 1866, for $300,000. ^[14] Furthermore, he used the sales money to build an even larger brewery, Jacob Ruppert Brewer, which grew to become one of largest brewery in the country^[15] Brewers used a lot of Ice in the beer making process and before artificial ice manufacturing the ice was cut from the lakes, ponds, and rivers in bulk and ship to distributors, stored in vast insulated warehouse where it lasted until depleted from sales or melted away. Because, there was a limited number of natural ice business, like Fredrick Tudors, competition was little, and the prices for ice were nonnegotiable, especially in the summer months. As the temperature increased so did the demands for ice, thus an increased in price as the supply decreased.

Brewers like Ruppert, dreamed of making artificial ice, but perhaps not just to make ice for brewing beer, but to also make a fortune through illegal schemes. John Rupert had a son also named John, thus was known as John Rupert Jr. When his father died in 1915, he was in his early 30’s, he took over the business and it thrived, in fact it thrived so well he bought The New York Yankees, built Yankee Stadium, signed Baby Ruth, and many other great ball player to build a pennant winning team.^[16]

Figure 8 Marks, Ben. Beer Money and Babe Ruth: Why the Yankees Triumphed During Prohibition.

Above: An Associated Press photo of Babe Ruth and Yankees owner Jacob Ruppert, Jr., 1930.

Photo via Legendary Auctions

Additionally, Ruppert served four terms in the United States House of Representatives; representing New York from 1899 to 1907. When prohibition arrived to survive the Ruppert Brewery started to bottle milk products (figure 9).

Figure 9, New-York Tribune (New York, New York) 19 Jan 1919, Sun Page 12

This concludes my blog on Jacob Ruppert: Ice, Booze, and the New York Yankees.

I do ponder what Dr. Gorrie and his 1847, prototype ice making machine would have thought of the melted mess the “Ice King” and men like him, including both Rupperts had created?

I hope you have enjoyed this blog and thanks for taking the time to read it,

Kev

Works Cited

Bottle, Bay. Jacob Ruppert Brewer, N.Y. 10 25, 2016. https://baybottles.com/

Bradley, Robert L., and Roger Donway. Reconsidering Gabriel Kolko: A Half-Century Perspective. The Independent Review 17, no. 4, 2013: 561-76.

Chandler, Alfred D., Jr. Scale, Scope, and Organizational Capabilities. In Scale and Scope : The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, by Jr. Chandler Alfred D., 14-46. Cambridge, Massachusette London, England : Harvard University Press, 1994.

Glaeser, Edward L. (Ed.), Claudia Goldin (Ed.). Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America’s Economic History . University of Chicago Press , 2007 .

Harper’s weekly. Tammany Ice Trust. Harper’s weekly.Vol.44. no. 2282, 09 15, 1900: 857 .

Hemenway, David. Prices And Choices: microeconomic vignettes. Cambridge, Mass : Ballinger Pub. Co., 1977.

Malone, Dumas, American Council of Learned Societies. Charles Wyman Morse . In Dictionary of American biography, Vol. 13, by American Council of Learned Societies Dumas Malone, 239-242. New York London : Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934.

Marks, Ben. Beer Money and Babe Ruth: Why the Yankees Triumphed During Prohibition. 03 26, 2014.

New York Historic Beer Series – Vol. 3. n.d. https://www.heartlandbrewery.com

Pringle, Henry Fowles. The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography, Volume 2. Archon Books, 1964.

Rothbard, Murray N. The Origins of the Federal Reserve.The Quarterly Journal of Austrian Economics vol. 2, no. 3, 1999: 3-51.

Steinberg, Steve, Lyle Spatz. The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees. University of Nebraska Press, 2015.

Times, New York. Extent of Ruppert’s Plant, Consoldation Meant 60-Cent Ice. The New York Times , 05 06, 1900: 19.

Times, The New York. Ruppert’s Big Ice Plant. The New York Times, 03 05, 1899: 22.

—. C.W. Morse Dead: Former Financer. The New York Times, 01 13, 1933: 15.

—. Fight The Ice Trust. The New York Times, 05 13, 1900: 14.

—. Municipal Ice Plant. The New York Times, 05 13, 1900: 14.

Tribune, New-York. Ruppert Plant To Manufacture Milk Product. New-York Tribune (New York, New York), 01 19, 1919: 12.

Weekly, Harpers . Hunting the Octopus, Harpers weekly, 10 06, 1900: 429.

Williams, Hermann Warner, Preston Remington, Alan Priest, and A. Hyatt Mayor. The Bequest of Jacob Ruppert. The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin 34, no. 7 , 1939: 166-174.

1. The New York Times Mar 05, 1899, Rupert’s Big Ice Plant, p.22 ↑
2. The New York Times Municipal Ice Plant. The New York Times, 05 13, 1900: 14 ↑
3. Hemenway, David. Prices And Choices: microeconomic vignettes. Cambridge, Mass: Ballinger Pub. Co., 1977. 162. ↑
4. Times, The New York. C.W. Morse Dead: Former Financer. The New York Times, 01 13, 1933: 15. ↑
5. ↑
6. Henry Fowles Pringle, The Life and Times of William Howard Taft: A Biography, Volume 2. Archon Books, 1964.p.267. ↑
7. Glaeser, Edward L. (Ed.), Claudia Goldin (Ed.). Corruption and Reform: Lessons from America’s Economic History. University of Chicago Press, 2007. ↑
8. Ibid. ↑
9. Dumas Malone, American Council of Learned Societies. Charles Wyman Morse. In Dictionary of American biography, Vol. 13, by American Council of Learned Societies Dumas Malone, 239-242. New York London: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1934.p.240. ↑
10. Alfred D. Chandler, Jr. Scale, Scope, and Organizational Capabilities. In Scale and Scope: The Dynamics of Industrial Capitalism, by Jr. Chandler Alfred D., 14-46. Cambridge, Massachusetts London, England: Harvard University Press, 1994. P. 34 ↑
11. Ibid. p. 34. ↑
12. Bay Bottle, Jacob Ruppert Brewer, N.Y. ↑
13. Steve Steinberg, Lyle Spatz. The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees. (University of Nebraska Press, 2015),12. ↑
14. Bay Bottle, Jacob Ruppert Brewer, N.Y. ↑
15. Steve Steinberg, Lyle Spatz. The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees. (University of Nebraska Press, 2015),12. ↑
16. Steve Steinberg, Lyle Spatz. The Colonel and Hug: The Partnership that Transformed the New York Yankees.(University of Nebraska Press, 2015) ↑