The Mitchell capital. (Mitchell, Dakota [S.D.]) 1879-1918, 1904-04-15
WHY BEEF TRUST
CONTROLS MARKETS
1t Doesn't Permit Competition
in Any Branch Of Its
Business.
oWNs ITS OWN RANCHES
Generous Rebates Fro nthe Railroads.
Go Far to Keep Out Competition
Said to Paint sausages to
Make Them Look Fresh.

\ NNOllQ. Livery QOuSelOlQ-
er IN New York wants to know some
thing about the beef trust, which has
put up the price Of fresh meat from
o~ne-quarter Of a cent to a full cent a
pound, Wholesale. leaving the butchers
to take the advance out Of the Gus
toners.
The beef trust is the common name
ser a combination of packers who act
together in fixing prices and regulating
supply. In the combine are Armour 4
20. the Armour Packing company, the
-udahy Packing company. the Ham
alono Packing company. Swift & 20,
schwar2schild 6 Sulsbergsr Co., and
The United Dressed Beef company. The
asst two are New York concerns. The
2thers are Ia the west, principally in
Chicago.
The above named corporations. act
ng individually and collectively, now
control the cattle and hog and poultry,
.rade OF the United States. With their
enormous capital they have extended.
ana systematized their operations
.ollowing the general plan Of the
standard Oh company-until now they
control the markets for fresh meats and
heir by.products, glue, etc. salt meats:
IND their by-products, cottolene, etc..
poultry, butter and eggs. I
Like the Standard OIL company, the.
oeef trust buys up all rivals as soon as
:hey grow big enough to be aggravat-i
ng. The trust absorbs and assimi-
ltes everything in sight.
Ihe corporations in the beef trust
ave enormous ranches in the far west
where they grow their w cattle. They
lave thousands of cattle and refrigera-l
or cars for the transportation of their
I've stock n manufactured productsI
They have secret contracts with rail-,
Dads and other transportation conlpa
mes. whereby they receive rebates from,
ne list rates of freightage. They have
gents IN every state in the union buy
nS up live stock, poultry and produce.
BY carrying butter, eggs and poultry
n the same refrigerator cars In which,
hey transport fresh meat the beef
rust saves extra freight and is enabled.
% undersell small competitors. The
rust also carries salt meats and their
'y-products In the refrigerator cars.
ic1es. 8
Ihe late Philip D. Armour and the
ate G~ustavus g. Swift We're the pio-
leers In the dressed beef Industry
They perceived the opportunity for
rocking the vast grazing plains Of the
vest With cattle and selling their meat
n the large cities. The plains-fed cattle
lid not cost as much to feed as the
:attle on the small farms throughout
he east. To collect 25.ooO cattle from
EASTERN farms would require 100 BUYERS
II LOU different localities, with 100 sepa-
ate shipments. 100 r%ehandlings and no
lhipment large enough for a rebate. On
ne other hand, $4,000 cattle could be
objected from one ranch in the plains.
ihipped in one lot. on one railroad
vlthout rehandiing. Here was quick
lcllon. concentration. economy, re-
oates. Armour 6 Co, Swift & Co, Mel
ION Morris C Co. and Hammond & co
developed the western cattle trade into.
me OF the largest Industries in the
Norio. Handling SO many cattle, the
packers had to arrange to store them.
nd also had to study out plans for.
itlil,zlng every part of the animal, from
ne hoof to the Far. What they couldn't
'ell as fresh meat they canned. They
'oiled the hoofs for glue. They now
make extracts, essences and SOUPS.
Nothing goes to waste.
The beef trust has so many source.
" cattle supply that 1t does not buy
amen cattle except on its own terms.
N other words, the trust controls the
iource OF upply and also regulates the
ood output. Thus 1t rises Superior to.
ne ordinary laws of supply and de-
nand. The beef trust can, at any time.
;reate an arbitrary, an artificial price.
or fresh or salt meat. or poultry or
,utter and eggs. It a put millions or
.ggs in cold storage and keep them.
here six months. That is more than
he farmer can do. The beef trust buys
he supplies Of all the large egg hatch
lries.
Gustevus T. Swift was the great
organizer Of the combine. He had a
Ienius for the systematic development
" business. p. D. Armour stuck to
:attle slaughtertng and grain speculat-
ng, but G. L. Swift and j. Ogden Az
nour merely follow in the footsteps of
he W great pioneers.
In September. 1902, in the suit of the
State Of Missouri to smash the beer
rust, 1t was testified at st. Louis that
he trust, instead Of smoking meat
Tipped lit into a chemical solution.
Sausages were painted to make them
ook fresh.
The schwarzchild & Sulsberger COM
,any and the United Dressed Beef COM
,any OF this city deny they are in the
,eef trust. Their prices correspond with
hose OF the trust, going up or down
n exact accordance with the trust
prices dxed In Chicago.
The directors Of the Schwarzschild &
sulzberger Co. are Ferdinand and Max
Z. Sulzberger, r. J. Nathan and Sig
nund Grabenhelmer, Cyrus s.. Hopgood
nd Samuel Well.
The directors of the United Dressed
Beef company are Isaac Blumenthal,
lewis and Jacob London. Lewis and
amuel Samuels. George Strauss. Jacoh
israelson and Morris Solinger.
The sheep n wool trade Of the beef
rust enables 1t to dominate the wool
market. e.. G. Swift is a director IL
he American Wooden company, which
Indirectly fixes the price OF clo.hf, :.
The beef trust now supplies a.. i.e
sold in delicatessen stores. :..,ol
chicken gtblets to smoked OK ton, ".
rom canned corned beef to pate de as
sras.
The beef trust holds the butcher Nv
brute force. He Ia to buy meat from
The trust because there is nobody else.
% deal with. The trust has a far
'eaching credit and rebate system by
which they advance meat to the BUTCH
y and regulate control his trade.
chey make him buy trust sausages and;
rust bacon n trust poultry. These.
apply to the ordinary retail
n who has no glt-edged trade. The
'etailer who supplies q Rockefeller or 4
vanderbilt can buy his turkeys from
or Rhode Island. and he can
ave his W private brand of
But the average butcher must depend,
m the open market. which Is CONTROLLED,
~ the beef trust.
Tho relation between the beef trust
h butchers IL now like the rela-.
Ion between the brewer and the saloon-
ieepers. II u q Gaze Of mortgage.