The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-10-21
RAILROADS WORK
WITH MEAT TRUST
Cooperation OF interests
Makes Stock Cheap and
Meat Expensive.
GATHERING THE FACTS
Nc Real Competition in Bidding at the
Markets While the Railroads Get
Stuff There When Trust
Wants 1t.
GATHERING THE FACTS

Washiugt ton. Oct. co.-Filed away in the
department. of labor are thousands of let
tiers from cattle raisers and retail dealers
through ne cattle raising sections. writ
ten in reply to u circular letter from the
department asking for opinions as to what
has caused the high price OF beef and low
price of cattle.
Abstracts from such evidence have been
prepared, ready to be sprung upon con
sress after election.
Upwards of twenty agents have been
in the field for months, and among the
results of their Inquiries may be enumer-
ated the following. all matters of record
in the department. but none of which Is
permitted to go to the public:
Buyers for the trust visit farmers and
cattle raisers personally in their efforts
to get the choice products. These buyers
are not employed by any particular house.
Their expenses are paid from a fund to
which all the packing houses contribute,
controlled by a special agent. When a
raiser of especially fine cattle is APP
preached he is offered the price fixed by
the trust. The grower refuses TO accept
it and the squeezing game commences.
1t is first suggested to him thai he Will
nave trouble feeding the cattle.
i've got that all arranged" the farmer
replies. I've contracted for my cotton
seed meal"
Blu when the feed grows low he writes.
then telgraphs the cottonseed men to
hurry it along. In vain. The feed men
make all sorts of excuses, and when they
start a car the railroads delay 1t some
times for weeks.
The trusts buyer turns up again The
farmer finds his cattle growing Inn. and
no feed in sight. The price offered has
fallen appreciably and in desperation he
accepts. There is no delay in the ship
lnent of the cattle when consigned to the
trust. .
An Illegal Combine.
These agents have discovered evidence
that the railroads are leagued with the
cattle trust to force the price of cattle
on the hoof to the lowest notch, Cattle
consigned to the stock yards as the prop
erty of the trust are promptly put through.
When the raiser sends his cattle to be
sold through a broker, they are kept on
the way as long as possible, as every day
reduces their weight and makes them less
marketable. The average reduction in the
Value OF a first-class steer through mis-
system is from 50 to 50.
Again, there is collision between the
railroads. and, the packers at the stock
yards. The packers absolutely control
the arrival of stock. Contracts with ship
pers are ignored. A telephone message
from the agent representing the trust is
much more potent than the guarantees
given the shipper. So far as there can be
any advantage to the shipper in bidding
which is really not competitive-that adj
vantage at the stock yards is found during
the morning hours. when the prices fixed
by the trusts agent are higher than dur
ing the afternoon, when the day's'supply
has been secured by the different houses.
So it happens that when the trusts learn
that a consignment of unusually fine cat
tie is due on a certain day the railroads
are notified to hold that shipment outside
the city limits until the afternoon. Then,
on the plea that the market mas been
supplied and here Is no demand. the
price drops and choice cattle go at shame
fully low prices.
Stock Yards Bidding a Farce y
The bidding in the stock yards is a
farce. There is not a day that the anti
trust law, making it Illegal to engage in
a conspiracy in restraint of trade, is not
violated In fragrant fashion. The price or
any particular day is fixed by an agent
representing the trust houses. who sits In
his office and DEGREES what the cattle rails
ers shall get. No matter what packer
goes through the form of bidding. the
house designated to receive a certain lot
gets 1t. and there are Just fluctuations
enough to give the idea Of competitive
bidding.
These Investigations show that the aver
age price of cattle on the hoof has been
going down continually for several years.
I'M l!lt IliIC VI W u nave steadily
risen. The expenses of the packers have
decreased through Capitalization. Oppres-
sion for the cattle grower and extortion
for the consumer have been pract.sed by
the beef trust to swell profits.
One special agent cited the case of a
thriving town in che of the Pacific states
where the trust had been shipping a car
load of dressed beef every three days. An
Independent butcher started in business
and promised to succeed. The trust
promptly began to ship three carloads of
meat a day on the plea that there was an
excess of products and tina il NOT sold
the meat would spoil. Prices were n,t
to such low figure that the meat was
bought and the independent forced orr Of
business. Then the price of meat jumped
and consumers were once more at the
mercy Of the trust. This incident was re-
peated wherever an Independent had the
temerity TO open a shop.