The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1902-05-09
THE BEEF TRUST AND OTHER
TRUSTS. %,A

IhUSlS. &.y,I
A prelude to Rev. Thos Hamblys
Sunday night. y
One week ago tonight declared
from this pulpit that I believed
that we had great beef trust in
this country that was mercilessly
making itself rich off of what the
laboring man could not do without,
meat to eat. No man cam
work unless he is fed and the better
the feed, and the larger the supply,
the better work will be performed.
It is an impossibility for laboring
man to supply his table with meats
at from Is cts to Is cts per pound
when he draws only from one dollar
and a quarter to one dollar and fifty
cents per day for his wages. This
beef combine like all other associa-
lions of capital is merciless, and
cares not where the violence of it's
pressure is felt so long as they make
their own inhuman gain. The fact
is that the parties to the combine
control $3.50, 900, 900 of the $500, 000,-
600 meat trade of this nation and
they have the meat business just
where they want it, provided there
is no federal interference. When,
the president of this nation ordered
an investigation of meat conditions,
the pac kers thinking him to be in
sincere invited the proposed pro-:
ceedings. Since they find that:
President Roosevelt is following
unt1inchingly his duty as he sees it,
in the protection Of the working
men and their families and that
threats unsophistry avail anything
with him the packers are trying to-
elude an inquiry into their methods
and claim that the suit is being
brouhgt on for political effect. In
the meantime they are busily en-
gagged in hedging up the way of the
government in getting at the inside
facts in the case. The attorney
general of Missouri called on the
butchers of Kansas City to get evil
dence. They quietly informed him
that they could easy show that a
combine exists, but that no butcher
in that city could afford to take the
stand and testify against the trust.
The attorney general declares that
he will be compelled to ask the
court to make them appear
in evidence in the suit. !
Here are some of the charges to
be brought against the trust. +
1.-THE allegation that the packers
have had among themsel yes a profit
sharing and expense-sharing organ
izaton, not formed by incorporation
but partaking of all the features of a
trust according to the statues.
The allegation that by secret
verbal and written agreement the
big packers have restrained whole
sale and retail meat trade have dis
crimated between patrons, have
"bulled' and "beared" markets for
personal gain and irrespective, of
what the statutes provided. The
allega ton that in combination the
big packers have accepted, demand
ed and forced discriminating rates
from the railways Of the country
to the injury of similar interests
not in the combination.
The allegation that the 60 called
''credit agreement is no more nor
less than a trust agreement to con-:
troll the meat market Of New York
and other large cities.
The allegation that territory is
divided among the big packres for
stock buying and meat selling pur-
pose, and that trade is not only re-
strained but competition Destroy
ed
1t is pleasure for the American
citizen to know that the independ-
ent newspapers of this country;
papers that are not beholding to
trust interest, and there are not many
of them, are fighting the tendency
to trust organization with the ten
atiousness of death grapple and
will keep up their running fire and
artillery bombardiment until the
power of the trust in this country is
broken. The fact is that t. here is
not a thing in ordinary use among
the people manufactured by trusts
that has not risen in price almost