Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-09-04
THE BEEF COMBINE.
The Big Four Fail to Obey a Sum-
mons Issued by the Committee.
A Confidential Clerk of Nelson Morris
Tells OF the Combination to Con-
troll the Price OF Cattle.
1t Was Combination to Keep Up the Prices
of Dressed Beef, and by which Regu-
late the Prices of Cattle.


and dressed beef merchants struck the
members of the senatorial committee
rather forcibly this morning. When
Senator Vest raped on the table, calling
Senators FarwelI and Coke to order, he
expected to see Philip Armour, Nelson
Morris, G. f. Swift, Frank Vogel and
John 3. Sherman, vice-president, gen
eraI manager and general superintendent
of the Union stock yards and transit
company march through the door and
take their seats previous to being put
through the mill by the InQuisitiYe sena-
tors But the heavy tread of none Of
these gentlemen disturbed the echoes in
the corridor, and down at the clerk IS
| desk no one could say that the gentle
men expected had been near the Grand
Pacific to-day.
Senator Coke drew his white hand
through his still whittier beard and
looked meaningly at Senator Farwell
| across the table. Senator Vest beng
chairman had a few remarks to make,
| but he concluded to reserve them for
while to see if any of the millionaire meat
merchants would appear later.
Harvey L. GoOdalI, publisher of the
Drovers' Journal and Daily Sun at the
! stockyards, was the only witness who
| had been summoned present. The sena-
| tors thought perhaps q quantity of facts
| about the Eeeat business could be OBJ
! tanned from the editor and he was
| placed on the stand. Mr.. Goodan did
| not have the figures: at his tongue S end
! and submitted Ashley c. Halliwell, an
| emplove, to the mercy of the senators.
In reply to q question by Senator Far
well the witness said that his estimate
| showed that the receipts of cattle at Chi
| cago during the last eIght months had
| been the largest IN the world, either at
| this or any other market. Previous TO
| this year the receipts of 1888 made last
! year the banner year of all before that
! time, but the Teceipts thus far for 1889
ran very much ahead of those of the
! first eight months of 1888.
4'Have you the tigures?' asked Mr..
| Farwel.
| s'Yes, sir. They are 297 900 head of
| cattle. -
s'Can you tell from what part of the
country these cattle came?''
"About twenty-five thousand from
| Texas, II 600 from Montana, Wyoming
and the Northwest, and the remainder
from the central states, Illinois being in
the lead. -
''Can you give any reason why the
St. Louis trade should not be increas-
| ing2at5S
ssSSxsI am unable to state unless it be on
account Of the fact that ST. Louis has a
I reputation of beng a little slower than
Kansas City and Omaha in getting bust
| ness. -
"How has business kept up at St.
Louis, Kansas City and Omaha?"
LAT Kansas City and Omaha business
has steadily increased, but at st. Louis
| the trade has barely held its own.
This brought Senator Vest to his feet
! in an instant. Said he:
"Do you never hear of the eveners
| combination?
The witness admitted that he had some
! twelve years ago.
Senator Vest-'' Well, did you not hear
| that a CLIQUE of Chicago shippers made a
| combination with some of the railroads
by which cheaper rates were obtained
from Chicago, and that by this the st
Louis business was ruined?
The witness had heard some talk OF
such things. The senator pressed him
harder and brought in the names of Mel
son Morris and Allerton and some Others
as having been parties to the evener S
81 combination.
II The examination over a recess until
o clock was taken. Before adjourring
however, Senator Vest made a state
ment. He wanted to let the people
know the exact object and purposes OF
the senatorial committees. He alluded
to the fact that Secretary Williams OF
the stock yards company was to have
been present this morning with list Of
stock holders of the company, but that he
had disobeyed the order of the senate.
81 do not know how the other mem
bers of the committee feel about it,
said he, ''but l for one am not willing
to close this examination here until
have learned what there is in this meat
question - Then he read list of names
including those mentioned at the be-
ginning of this article. Said he: ''Thi:
committee does not desire any trouble
with any of these gentlemen whom i
has summoned to appear for ex-
animation, but they are not here
although duly subpGnaed. These mer
are directly interested in the result OF the
inquiry and it is from them we can OBJ
tain our evidence. l will say now tina
they must be here and testify. There i:
no way out of it. -
The committee adjourned and wore
was sent to Messrs. Armour, Swift ct al
that they must obey the senatorial sum-
mons.
Charles E. Ingerson was the first wit
ness in the afternoon. He said tina
when he first went INTO the dressed
beef business there was twic,
the quantity of dressed bee
sold to Eastern buyers that there
Is now. Under the old system there wa
a great deal more competition. But of (;
1900 pound steer the witness believed
about six hundred and ,seventy-fiy
peuens of good beef. could be obtained
That class of beef would bring from
three and one-fourth to four cents
pound.
"'When in the last ten years were cat
tie the highest?''
sin 1882. They commenced going u
in 1881 and reached the high water mari
! June. 1882. A rapid decrease began il
1855, went lower in 1886 and reached tn
lowest figure in 1887. In 1888 there wa
slight improvement during the summe