The Worthington advance. [volume] (Worthington, Minn.) 1874-1908, 1905-03-17
pig Packers Exonerated by Garfield.

" The report Of Commissioner Garfield
n on the methods under which the business
Of the socalled beef trust is conducted
\ has been published and a closely. printed
examination to which that industry has
been subjected. The report is very. full
and complete, every phase of the business
having been Investigated with the utmost
care and thoroughness, as is shown, by
+ exhaustive tables of figures, with authen-
ticated fucts and STATISTICAL data covering
almost every detail of the business.
After careful reading of this report
it is impossible to arrive at any other con.
rlusion than that for some time past
there has been a great deal said and writ
ten about this great industry that, has
had no foundation in fact. 1t would ap,,
pear that a popular clanor has resulted
sage of many resolutions by those who,
as plainly shown by the report, were with
out any definite information. This re-
port, the result of an inquiry IN compli-
ance with congressional demand upon
the secretary of commerce and laOor, -
SO complete and detailed that, as a whole,
it will not of course be read by the pub
lie at large. bat the facts and figures,
authenticated by government expert eS-
amlncls. which it contains, show with
indisputafle certainty that the hue ana
cry raised during the past year against
the packers has been at least unreason-
able and much OF it, indeed, has been
hEsterical.
These officially asccrtained facts are
surprise to very many who have been I'M
pressed BY the denunciatory language
they have read and heard for some time
past, for they now find that, instead OF
the great profits said to be made by
western packers, the business IS beng
conducted upon a smaller margin Of
profit than that prevailing in any other
industry. Commissioner Garfield himself
says: '"The year 1892, instead Of being
one of exorbitaut profits, as has been
commonly supposed. was less profitable
tnan usual" and this will be remembered
as the year when the highest prices ruled
and the packers were beng evcrS"here
accused of extor,; onatc methods. Regard
ing this very year when the complaints
OF injustice were the loudest and the
most unanimous. the commissioner says:
In fact during the months when tie
prices of beef W. re the highest, some, at
least. of the lea.ling packers were actual
~ losing money Oh every head Ct cattle
tinues 1T was not possible to advance
the prices of beef in full proportion TO
the great advance III the prices OF cattle
at that time.
The report also shows that the public
belief that enormous profits are usually |
characteristic OF the DeeI BUSINESS IS en-
trely erroneous, as it proves, alter full |
investigation, that the maximum net re- |
turn on the several investments was two |
and three-tenthS per cent. and the mini |
mum one and eight -tcnths per cent.
The report is much too detailed and |
extensive to attempt any thorough review,
but it clearly demonstrates that there |
has been great deal of unnecessary |
alarm on the part Of the public as to the |
meat situation and good deal OF looS. |
denunciation oil packers about whose
methods and business there has been lit |
tie or no real information. The concll- |
sions of Commissioner Garfield are all |
the more valuable as the Investigation |
was by. no means commenced in anything /
like friendly or partial spirit and. that |
it has been full and complete is shown
when he says: "All the statistics taken |
from the books of the companies were |
checked in che most thorough manner:
Totals selected at random were verified |
by the items. Many typical bln:nes IT
cattle have been traced from the tune of
purchase to the time of sale as dressed |
beef. thus obtaining accurate intorn'a.
ton from original records OF costs, OF
actual selling prices and of ultimate:
profits In many cases the statements OF
cutie purchased by the companies wore
compared with accounts Of the commits |
sion houses l,ough whom the cattle
were sold. The various checks thus en- |
Il".cl insure the absolute accuracy y; Inc
In,llrs.'