Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1888-11-23
Bound to Sell Beef.
Interesting Testimony Before
the Senate Committee.
PHIL. ARMoUR's VIGOROUS TACTICS

How He Wiped the Earth with Boycott
and Captured Akron, O.-"Big Four"
Proceedings in Other Places-The Local
Butcher Had to Go or Be Manageable
Charges of Railway Determination and
Combine" Methods Denied.
ST. LOUIS, Nov 23-The senate cattle
trade investigating committee met again at
IL O'Clock yesterday morning. The first wit
ness was 7 L. Leonard, of Saline county, one Of
the largest importers Of cattle in Missouri.
He said cattle markets were paralyzed by
the control the dressed beef men had secured
There was no competition in the market be-
tween buyers He advised system of local
inspection which, he said, would make in
Vulnerable markets instead of two, as at
present
Levi Samuels, a wholesale butcher of New
York, formerly an exporter, testified that
with the exception of one or two towns in
the east all the beef sold there is dressed
beef, and the local butchers have quit
slaughtering or buying from wholesale
slaughterers. The western dressed beef men
had gone into the eastern markets and offered
their beef lower than the local butchers
could buy cattle and slaughter them. When
the western men had secured control they
put up the price high enough to justify their
loss previous to obtaining control
A W. Hillyard, of Midland, Tex, stated
that about a year ago he was negotiating
with the proprietors OF a beef refri gerator in
Ell Paso to supply them with cattle, but me-
gotiations fell through because the Ell Paso
people were closed out. The Southern Pa
C fic railroad refused to supply cars for trans
portation of the dressed beef to Los Angeles,
having contract with the Chicago people,
which compelled them to exclude the Ell
Paso people.
Richard Gray, general freiget agent Of the
Pacific system of the Southern Pacific Rail
way company, was examined at his own re-
quest. He wished to place on record a de-
NAL OF the statement made by Mr.. Hlllyard
and anotheer witness with reference to the
companys refusal to furnish refrigerator
cars at Ell Paso. This statement could not
be true, as the company never had any re-
frigerator cars in its equipment. The com
pany had never refused to furnish box cars
to any one when it had them. In reply to a
question by Senator Cullom the witness ad-
mitted that his company had refused to
accept cars from other companies and COM
PEELED shippers to transfer goods from the
original car to Southern Pacific car, but
qualified this statement by saying that the
Southern Pacific had only done this when
the car offered was unfit to go over the steep
grades and around the sharp curves Of their
road.
George Beck, of Detroit, butcher and cat
tle-dealre for the last thirty years, testified
that the dressed beef organization had been the
means of crushing out all butchers through
out the east and concentrating the cattle
business at Chicago. The dressed beef men
had been at Detroit with their meat only one
year, consequently the fight in that city was
new. About year ago witness and others
organized an association in Detroit and put
up signs, No Chicago beef for sale here
They were occupying premises owned by one
Of the Big Four" a Mr.. Hammond, who or
dered them to remove the Objectionable
placards, promising TO keep Swift and Ar
mour out of Detroit but saying he could not
keep Nels Morris out, because he was already
established there. This was what indicated
to witness the existence of a combine
Warren Buckmaster, a retail butcher of
Axiom, O., testified that in 1887 the labor
unions of Akron passed resolution to not
buy meats of Armour & Co. In few days
Armour sent down a load OF meat and
undersold everybody. The Armour concern
/ opened Two stores in the heart Of the city
and actually gave away the best meat in the
/ land. The result was the signing OF an
| agreement by the Butchers associations TO
/ give preference to the house of Armour &
/ Co, the latter agreeing to close their retail
| establishments in Akron. Armour & Co.
then placed local agent in Akron, but in
/ stead of closing their two stores they sold
| them 10 local butchers to be run, to tha great
detriment of the trade. Witness bought
now from Armour Co. At present con-
sumers get their meat cheaper than before
| Armour & Co. came in.
Senator Cullom-Are you in correspond
ence with Armour & Co.'S agent at Akron
! nowi
Witness-Yes; wrote him telling him l
was coming here to testify before the COM
| mittee
Senator Culom-Why did you think it
necessary to do that!
Witness-Well. he wrote to me asking me
about it. I'm not here in Armour's interest.
John Duff, of Detroit, a butcher Of twenty.
six years experience testified that he was
met at Cheboygan six years ago by Armour
meat and closed out OF the market there At
twenty-six places in Michigan outside Of De-
troit the Armour meat was cent per pound
higher than in Detroit. Ia those towns the
butchers who six years ago were well-to-do
are now bankrupt
Attic night session of the committee C. Cas-.
sidy, an East st, Louis commission man, ex
platned the difference between Chicago and
St Louis as cattle markets on purely bust.
ness principles aud claimed that if st Louis
did the right thing the cattle question would
come out all right 1t was all nonsense tC
call the big -Four" of Chicago robbers. They
are business men, and their mission in life
WIS to make their capital invested earn from
6 to Z per cent, and they were succeeding in
doing So The talk of combine was ridic
ulous 1t was purely a business proposition
Mr.. Cassidy made very free with the digni
fed senators, and his examination afforded
much amusement for the spectators