Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-10-21
Armor & Go. Alleged to Control
the Trade by Means OF Re-
frigerator Service
ExToRTloNATE RATES CHARGED
Consumer is One Who Suffers, AS
Dealers Are Compelled to Charge
Extra Prices In Order to Make Reg
uIar Margins--How Armour Controls
Other News.


town in the northwest is free from the
domination of Armour 81 Co, who have
been shown by recent Investigations
to be practically in control of the fruit
trade Of the country The Missouri
river towns and the Twin cities have
been feeling the grip of the relentless
monopoly and the recent exposure of
the methods of Armour q Co. before
the Interstate commerce commission
radical may be done to stop the eM
cessive charges.
The consumer must pay the freight
as we'll as the refrigerator car charg-
es. The commission men are humlliat-
ed by the domineerinB methods OF the
trust, but they charge the cost to their
patrons, SO their chagrin doesn't rep
resent a financial loss to them as 1t
does to the consumers.
Sioux City has felt the weight of the
oppression with more force in the past
than now, but at present there is no
Armour & Co. from points upon which
fruit shipments originate of those
points are on railroads under contract
to use only Armour & Co. refrigerat-
or cars.
Some Of the Effects.
Here are some OF the effects of the
single control of the refrigerator car
service:
Cost of icing a car from California
points, $3.50; price before the Armour
control, SIS.
Cost of icing cars from non-com-
petitive points. one-third the distance
to California. $50; former price "a
mere fraction of the amount.
Cost of icing car from Michigan
points $40 to $50; price before the Ar
mour control, SIS to $40.
Refusal to allow any claims for loss
in shipments, no matter how serious
1.-The shipment OF fruit to towns in
which a dealer is disposed to conduct
his own business as he desires, and
the underselling of that dealer until he
capitulates.
Such a course was adopted In Sioux
City some months ago in the matter of
=
bluffed the combine and helped TO stir
up trouble in the west"
Baked in California.
A. j.. Call, of Sioux City, one of the
largest individual fruit growers of
California his immense orchards be-
ing located at Corona, Cal, tells of the
rough shod effort of Armour & Co. to
control the California fruit trade and
of the partial failure of that effort.
Last year, Armour d Co. controlled
about so per cent of the fruit business
In California, but this year it has con-
troll of only about 40 per cent" said
Mr.. CAN today. "This was due to the
bulldozing methods of the monopolists,
which reacted on the growers who
were supplying them with the ship
ments. The result was that the grow
ers in the southern California ex-
change pulled out of their agreement
with the Citros union, which is the
combination OF fruit packing houses
absolutely controlled by Armour.
'1rhe trust went after the business
in the f1ercest manner. When a dealer
was found who would not handle the
fruit shipped by the combine, they
came SO widespread that the losses be-
gan to pile UP and the growers be-
came restive themselves having TO
stand the loss. The result was that
the members of the exchange broke
loose from the Citrus union.
Santa Fe Independents.
"The principal lines into the Califor-
MIA fruit fields are the Southern Pa
cific and the Santa F'e. The former
is still bound to use only the refriger-
ator cars of Armour & Co. which gives
the combine a clear field to some ex-
tent. The Santa F,e has now enough
REFRIGERATOR cars Of it's own to act IN
dependently of Armour & Co., and the
growers who can possibly use this
line are not ground down as in the
other case There are about fifteen
growers out there who raise 70 per
cent of the fruit of the state who have
remained out of all combinations, but
who have been subject to the rule of
the Armour people when they had to
shin over the Southern Pacific
Mr.. Call is situated so his shipments
can be made almost entirely over the
Santa Fee He operates his own pack
ing houses and is to a very large ex-
tent able to conduct his own affairs
as he desires.
A Cinch in the East.
While the west has given the Armour
people a jolt in their attempt to con-
troll the fruit business of the country,
they still have an absolute cinch in the
east. Railroads using the Armour re-
frigerator cars are under contract to
Use no other except where others are