The labor world. [volume] (Duluth, Minn.) 1896-current, 1904-07-09


the refrigerato SorIca rsren tai charges.
thus col lected are xhorb tant and*in@th est
aggregatef5 amour a. fab bilious. sum ach
year, a"tsuffi clients IS Senable Armour
the wholesaling* Of fruits and produce, to
sell such goods at the same price that
they would cost. competitors because they
reba ties on all goods shipped by them
selves and their competitors
Nominal Head Of Beef Trust.
~ This Is great; Gorpo ora believed 70
beef trust, is actively and energetically
engaged in the wholesaling of ali perish
able food products that require refriger-
oh serve for moment the enormous pow
er the controlling of refrigerator cars
places in their hands and the manner in
which it is enabling them to bring to
control the food supplies Of this country.
First by this arrangement they are en-
abled to keep track Of all competitive
formed Of all e cars tss are oaded whom
loaded for and to what market consigned,
and local freight agents are required to
send copy of way-bill covering all ship
ments made lin Armour cars to the gen
eral office of the Armour Car Line COM
pany The movement of these cars is re-
ported, as they pass the various different
panyy's general office by the railroad Of
flclals, thus their general office is en-
| aoled to know just what markets are re-
celving heavy supplies of pershable goods
and such markets that are not being so
supplied. Being actively engaged in the
wholesaling of perishabe products they
are enabled TO drop light Shipments into
| any markets that are being heavily sup
piled by their competitors and 10 put
such shipments of their own upon the
market below their market value, thus
creating a selling price that their com
though it be below the cost to such COM
petitor as goods of perishabe nature
cannot be slowed away and held until
| small loss to themselves Armour & Com
pany have dealt their competitors tell
ing blow; possibly their competitors have
no perishable shipments immedia tely fol-
lowing or this OF course Armour & Com
pany are thoroughly advised and if no
such shipments are Immediately follow
| ing Armour & Company they then rush in
few cars on a bare market, sell at
advanced price, thus recover their losses,
deal their competitors hard blow, and
depart with a good profit to themselves.
Shippers Dependent Upon Armour.
We, as. shippers and competitors Of
Armour & Company, are compelled to
turn all shipments made by us in Armour
cars over to the tender mercies of Armour
& Company while III transit.
No one accuses Armour & Company of
over which they have absolute control, at
cut rate prices; but in the fruit and pro-
duce line, where they are not as yet in
absolute control, it can be shown that
their practice in every market that they
operate in is to cut prices and sell below
the other dealers.
Their object in this instance is evident;
commerce which they hope to gain
through the influence and discrimination
in their favor of the common carriers,
made possible through their refrigerator
car scheme.
The practice Of giving private corpora
tions the exclusive right to operate cars
or equipment upon any commercial high
way or line of railroad, if permitted and
legalized, must ultimately result in alb
solute monopoly by private corporations
| not only of refrigerator cars, but or all
box cars and Their kinds cars and roll
would be compelled to deal with a pri-
vate corporation and pay private corpora
tons arbitrary tax or assessment before
he would be permitted to transport his
grain or other commodities. If the prin-
clple involved here becomes legalized the
practice may be continued still further
and extending to giving or contracting
| upon any. lines of rails, the exclusive
right to furnish train hands to operate
trains upon, any lines of rails, and in
be called upon to deal with such private
corporation and pay their pro rata share
of the total hire of the locomotives, also
that: Of the pay roll Of the train hands;
grant to" a private corporation the exclu-
siVe right to lay steel rails upon" it's road
bed and IN fact own the road bed Itself,
and in this case the public would again
have to deal with a private corporation
for the privilege Of Transporting commo-
dities over all said lines Of rails and road
bed, and so on the practice may be ex-
tended down to the franchise, and the
great corporations would require nothing
| more than franchise presided over and
| managed by some of the so-called cap
| tains of industry.
May Cause Car Famine at WILL.
| These conditions we much certainly
contemplate If the practice is permitted
to continue, because if the law permits
The farming out of one part of d common
carriers business to any private corpora
ton it must Of necessity permit the farm
| ing out of any Or all parts of such COM
mon carriers business to private cor
| porations. Think for moment of the
| confusion that will ensue when such d
condition shall have become an accom-
| plished fact. Ponder for a moment on the
| tremendous power for evil all or any one
| of these public vutures would exercise
over business and society. Imagine for
an instant a great private corporal ion
| in control of all the rolling stock or cars
upon all lines OF rails. then you must
| tremendous power Of such corpora ton.
They may, as it pleases them, so mani
pulate the movement Of all cars as 10
cause a car famine upon any particular
line of rails passing through any COM
| munity that may have incurred the ill
will Of these commercial pirates, in re-
turn for which this powerful corporation
may desire to apply the lash of discip-
line by starving such community into
! submission if necessary by diverting all
cars, or enough cars at least, from that
particular line Of road TO cause car fam
| inc. It is absurd to say that this would
not and could not be done.
This great monopoly Of which we COM
plain is actively engaged in the buying
and selling of all kinds and classes Of
merchandise handled and transported in
their private cars. 1t needs no argument
upon my part to suggest to your minds
| the various different ways the use of
| these cars. where they are operated un-
| der contracts giving exclusive privileges,
may be used in affecting the value of any
| commodity at any given point.
! AS community we complain when our
! taxes are raised over even small frac-
ton of one per cent, yet we sit idly aid
| listessy by with hardly so much as d
I