The great West. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1889-18??, 1890-06-27
The Beef Combine.


senate report No. 500, from the Sc
lect committee on the transporta-
ton and sale Of meat products. 1t
contains 615 pages, and is filed with
a mass of facts and testimony, that
shows up the grinding and merciless
methods of the beef combine.
The committee was composed Of
Vest of Missouri, Chairman: Plumb,
of Kansas, Cullom of Illinois. (who
was excused and replaced by Far
well. Henderson, Nebraska and Coke
of Texas. Testimony was taken in
the cities OF st. Louis, Chicago,
Washington, Des Moines, Kansas
City and New York.
Over 100 were examined who were
engaged in the raising and selling OF
stock and the handling of beef pro-
ducts. Several who were sub.
penied refused to appear.
Mr.. Vest is deserving OF great cred
it for his untiring efforts to thor
oughly sift the matter. Mr.. Vest
represents st. Louis and as this city
though tie workings OF the combine
has lost considerable trade III live
stock he was determined to show it
up.
The combine is composed OF the
four firms OF Armour & Co., Swift &
Co., Nelson Morris & Co., and Ham
mond & Co., with establishments in
Chicago, Kansas City, Omaha, and
St. Louis.
A stenographer took a verbatim
report of all the testimony; and while
those connected with the combine,
lodged. and refused to answer ques-
tions that would show up the true
conditions, yet their equivocations
carried with them evidence enough
to acquaint one with the true state
of. affairs.
These beef men like the Minneapo-
lis mill men deny that their profits
are large, and from their figures it
would appear that they are strug-
ling to keep out OF the poor house.
S. B. Armour head of the Kansas
City concern, gave figures by which
it appears, that on a Texas steer
weighing 1000 pounds, for which he
pays $25, his profit is thirty-eight
cents, and on a corn fed steer weigh
ing 1 200 pounds, for which he pays
$45, there is a net loss OF 1927.
p. D. Armour filed statement
which shows that of 34O,649 cattle
killed by Armour & Co., at Chicago
in 1889 there was but a profit OF
81 % per head.
But just in the same way as the
"GREAT WEST" showed up the prof
it's Of the elevators of Minnesota, by
publishing an advertisement taken
from a London financial Journal
the commission makes use of like
circumstance in relation to the Beef
Combine as the following quotation
taken from the report shows:
'sSince the adjournment of the COM
mittee, and in the immediate past,
G. H. Hammond & Co., whose place
Of business is Hammond, Ind, 20
miles from Chicago, with branch at
Omaha, Nebr., have sold to an Eng
fish syndicate, and the London pa
pers publish valuable information as
to the profits of beef packing in this
country.
The property has been sold to Eng
fish promoters, and the American
company converted into an English
limited liability association, whose
securities have been placed on the
market in London. The shares of
the new company were offered on
March 6, 1890, and have been taken
without delay.
1t appears from the advertisements
in the London papers that
The American company had a cap
ital OF $2,475, 900, as stated by the
Chicago Tribune. This has been in
flated in the English company to
Sc, 100000, consisting of $1,7OO,-
900 in 6 per cent. mortgage deben-
lures, $2,35O,O0O in 8 per cent. cum
ulatiye preference shares, and 3d.
100000 in ordinary shares. The
prospectus undertakes to show that
the new company can pay 6 per cent.
on the ordinary shares, and still
havea surplus OF more than $40, 900.
This showing is based upon a state
ment OF the American company's
profits for the last three years, taken
from the books by the new COM
pany's auditors, Price, Waterhouse
& Co., of London.
This statement is that the profits
for these years were, respectively,
$40, 212, $685. 62, and $715, 666.
1t will be seen that the profits OF the