St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-04-09
THE BEEF TRUST.


Will you please publish the names of the
firms constituting the big Four beef COM
bine. and state their mode of operations?
Mankato, March7. j.
The four slaughterers and shippers
who are popularity supposed to consti-
tute the 'iBig Four combine are the
firms Of ARMOUR, SWIFT. HAMMOND
and MORRIS, although each and every
one of them denies being connected with
any sort of trust or combine. We
are in possession of no evidence to con-
trovert their avowals; and the assOcia-
ton of their names in this connection
arises from the popular impression that
the harmonious relations which prevail
among those who would naturally be
rivals and competitors in business are
suggestive of secret understanding
and combination, whereby they pool
their business. Whether there is an
actual beef trust or combine in exist
ence we are unable to say; but for all
practical purposes there had just as
well be one, for the four big slaughter
ing firms we have mentioned operate in
such harmony they are just as powerful
trust.
We cannot speak definitely of their
mode of operations, because big bust
ness firms usually have business sense
enough to keep their operations secret
from the public. The best we can do
is to guess at their mode of operations,
with the full knowledge that whatever
methods they adopt are for the purpose
of keeping down the prices of cattle on
the hoof or of keeping up the price
of dressed beef. We do know, how
ever, that the four firms now accused of
being members of the beef trust or
combine were several years ago the
members of an association whose meth
DDS of operation are described in HUD-
SONS book. 1.-THE Railways and the
Republic" and that it was then they
laid the foundation of their immense
wealth. Their mode of operation at
that time is thus described by HUDSON:
"a notorious case of individual discrimina-
ton arose under the operation of the trunk
line pool on live stock, i'll the rebate given ID
the Chicago 'eveners.' Between 1875 and
1879 the trunk lines carving live stock from
Chicago to the East paid single firm a re-
bate OF SIS on every car of live stock shipped
to the East. The consideration for which
this favor was granted was that the firm I'M
dertook to even up the percentages of the
various lines forming the live stock pool;
that is, If one road obtained under the Or
binary workings of the pool, less than it's al
lotted percentage of the traffic, the firm was
to ship enough stock over its line to restore
the balance. A concern with an assured ad-
vantage over all competitors of SIS per car
on business of some hundreds of cars a
week might well undertake to perform this
service. 1t is clearly shown that this firm for
a long time enjoyed an advantage over its
competitors that no energy or economy of
theirs could overcome. If the trade was pros
porous the favored firm made SIS per car
more than its rivals; if the trade was I'M
profitable it lost SIS per car less than they.
Not only so, but it had the enormous advan-
tage of collecting the same tax on every car
of live stock that was shipped by its rivals.
In short, it was assured by the combined
power OF the trunk line pool an advantage
which in the course of year or TWO would
guarantee 1t great wealth: and, on the most
charitable explanation of the agreement that
wealth was given to it by the railways out of
the higher rates which they were enabled to
levy on its competitors by the pooling COM
bination of which it acted as an agent 1t is
to the credit of the trunk line pool that il
abolished this outrage upon justice and
travesty upon business principles in 1879.
but not until this profitable royalty upon the
live stock transactions of the country had
raised the favored firm to a commanding
place in that trade''
A rigid enforcement of the interstate
commerce law now prevents the big
Four' from enjoying the benefits of
freight discrimination. Of course they
possess the power that concentrated
wealth always brings, and are thus en-
abled to freeze out small competitors.
In addition to this, they utilize all the
waste material, turning it into glue,
bone dust and fertilizers, and thus in
crease their profits from 80 to 81 per
head on the bullock. 1t is also probable
that in supplying the various markets
with dressed beef they are governed by
some understanding as to prices or a
division of territory.