The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, August 26, 1918, Page 8

Ao HE PRODUCER OF LIVESTOCK IS AT THE MERCY OF THE FIVE BIG PACKERS BECAUSE THEY CONTROL THE MARKET AND THE MARKETING FACILITIES. That /[' is what the National Nonpartisan league has held ever since its foundation. And those are the exact words of the federal trade commission in a letter to President Wilson submitted with their report of their investigation of how to free the people from,the monopoly of Armour, Swift, Morris, Cudahy and the Wilson Packing com- pany. The investigators, who comprise the federal trade commission, are William B. Colver, John Franklin Fort and Victor Murdeck, all men of the highest standing. Their report is a remarkable document—so remarkable that the news- papers have printed only a small part of it. The heavy advertising of the packing trust that you have noticed in the newspapers big and little has had its effect in buying silence. In its report, the commission speaks definitely of “the menace of concentrated control of the nation’s food.” This document, which provides a method by which producer and consumer could obtain just prices, is so epoch-making that the Leader is going to print it in full. In this issue is given the opening part of the report. The remainder will he printed week by week. Four recommendations were made to the president by his investigators. They are: 1. That the GOVERNMENT ACQUIRE, through the rallroad adminis- tration, ALL ROLLING STOCK USED FOR THE TRANSPORTATION OF 2. That the government acquire, through the railroad administration, the principal and necessary stockyards of the country, to be treated as freight depots and to be operated under such conditions as will insure open, com- petitive markets, with uniform scale of charges for all services performed, and’ the acquisition or establishment of such additional yards from time to time as the future development of livestock production in the United States may require. This is to include customary adjuncts of stockyards. 3. That the government acquire, through the railroad administration, all privately owned refrigerator cars and all necessary equipment for their proper operation and that such ownership be declared a government monopoly. 4, That the FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACQUIRE SUCH OF THE BRANCH HOUSES, COLD STORAGE PLANTS AND WAREHOUSES as are necessary to provide facilities for the competitive marketing and storage of food products in the principal centers of distribution and consumption. THE SAME TO BE OPERATED BY THE GOVERNMENT AS PUBLIC MARKETS AND STORAGE PLACES under such conditions as will afford an outlet for ALL MANUFACTURERS AND HANDLERS OF FOOD PRODUCTS ON EQUAL TERMS. Supplementing the marketing and stor- age facilities thus acquired, the federal government establish, through the railroad administration, at the terminals of all principal points of distribu- tion and consumption, CENTRAL WHOLESALE MARKETS AND STOR- AGE PLANTS, with facilities OPEN TO ALL upon payment of just and fair MEAT ANIMALS and that such ownership be declared A GOVERNMENT MONOPOLY. BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION HIS report, while dealing gener- ally with the problem of the meat industry, is more particu- larly a study.of the activities of the five principal meat-pack- ing corporations ‘(Armour & Co., Swift & Co., Morris & Co., Wilson & Co., Inc., and the Cud- ahy Packing company) in all fields, in so far as they bear on the production and distribution of food. This concentration of atten- tion is adopted by the commission because we are convinced that their power and influence over the production and distribution of food are dominant and because it is our judgment that UNTIL THEIR ACTIVITIES ARE CURBED AND THEIR CON- TROL IS ELIMINATED, ALL MEASURES LOOKING TO THE IMPROVEMENT OF THE FOOD SITUATION WILL BE RELATIVELY INEFFECTIVE. The pages which follow contain a summary of the evidence upon which our findings and recom- mendations are based. This summary shows: First—The magmtude of the large meat- packing companies, the extensive ramifications of their interests,and the instruments by which they have es- tablished and ‘main- tain control. Second — The na- ture of their combi- nation, with details of the various agree- ments and combina- tions. Third—The prac- tices of the combi- nation and their so- cial and economic ef- fects. Fourth—The rem- edy proposed. The detailed evidence, including hundreds of documents taken from the files of the packing . companies, about 9,000 pages of sworn- testi- mony, and many thou- sand pages of field re- - ports of agents of the commission, has been carefully analyzed and digested, and will be laid before the president as rapidly as the . various sections can be put in final form, Before proceeding to the findings of the com- mission it is desirable . to consider briefly some 7 charges. DON'T MISS READING THE REPORT ON THIS PAGE. BEGIN IT NOW, AND LOOK FOR ANOTHER INSTALLMENT NEXT WEEK. Calls on the Nation to Curb the Packers Market Control Must Be Taken by the Government, Federal Trade Commission Reports—Here Is What the President’s Own Board Says of the difficulties encountered in the 'investiga- tion, because of the light which will thus be thrown upon the facts and the conclusions to be presented. In the first place, the packers have important in- terests in fields where the commission’s inquisi- torial powers are limited, but which are neverthe- less of the greatest significance in connection with their activities in the food industry. Thus, for example, they are closely linked with a large num- ber of banks, trust companies and railroads, which connections are utilized, often unfairly if not il- legally, for the promotion of the packers’ inter- ests in the food industry. RESORTED EVEN TO PERJURY This would not be of vital consequence 1£ the officials of the packing companies could be relied upon to furnish accurate and reliable information, or if their records were kept in such a way as to reveal the true state of their affairs. At the be- ginning of the investigation the commission at- tempted to proceed on these assumptions, but it was soon demonstrated that the records of the companies, particularly as regards stockholders’ lists and other evidences of ownership, were con- Montana steers in the Clnugo stockyards. Out of matenal snch as tlus the packers took a profit of from 18 to 47 per cent in 1917, on their entire capital and surplus, and the Armour-con- trolled Eastern Leather company took a dividend and surplus of 63 per cent. PAGE mcm R S S mewh_mmwwmm R vmmmmwmmwmfls&umzm structed to conceal rather than reveal facts; that important documents had been removed from their proper places in the files, and that the reports of some of the most important corporations and the statements of their officials-could not be accepted. Thus, Armour & Co. in their report, attested by the vice president, Arthur Meeker, among other falsifications, omitted the company’s interest in the Chicago stockyards, amounting to $1,552,000, although the treasurer of the company testified that the transfer of this property from J. Ogden Armour to the company had been made prior to the time the report was prepared. That the omis- sion was wilful and part of a general plan to con- ceal the interest in the stockyards is evidenced by the facts that admission of. Armour’s interest was made only when the commission’s examiner .was on the point of discovering the' truth, and -that Arthur Meeker, on June 6, 1916, stated before the committee on the Judlcmry of the house of repre- sentatives that “the Armour people have no inter- est in the Chicago stockyards.” The commission is also in possession of docu- mentary evidence that a committee was formed by Swift & Co. to “coach” employes who might be called upon to testify or give informationmr to the agents of this com- mission and other gov- ernment bodies. , We know also that the five packing companies —Armour, Swift, Morris, Wilson and Cudahy— conspired together in the preparation of their an- swers to the commis- sion’s inquiries to the end that all should agree. As part of the evidence in our possession sub- stantiating this state- ter is submitted: August 2, 1917. McManua, YA D, White, J. M. Chaplin, L. D. H. Weld: Mr. Veeder informs me that he has, at different investigation) and Thomas Creigh and suggested to them that each firm prepare its own answer to the questionnaire received recen from Commis- sioner Davies and - that when the answers have been comp! we hnve a conference for of discussing objectionlhle things, " if which ‘might be: contained in the individual reports. - All of the zenflemen to ‘Mr. . Veeder whom - ~ ment, the following let- 9