Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1905-02-09
RELIEF IN sight.
THE DOWNFALL OF THE
BEEF TRUST,
The United States Supreme
Court Hand Down a Unani-
nous Decision That is n
Sweeping and I'm
qualified.

An unanimous decision of the
United States Supreme Court relieves
alike the cattle raisers, the butchers
and consumers from the acts of a
grevious trust. This decision is re-
garded as of the highest importance,
it being broad, unqualified and
sweeping. Judge Grosscup, whose
decision was thus reviewed, says the
decision Of the high court institutes
a movement "to bring corporate
ownership within the reach and rea-
sOnable conf ience of the people at
large and thus to repeopleize and re-
publicanize again theindustriaI own
ership of the counSry."
The monopoly that unduly taxed
the food of all has been knocked out
by the court of last resort, for
It is enioined from acting in con-
GER. for the purpose of depressing the
price of cattle on the ranges
It is enjoined from ting in con-
cert for the purpose of increasing the
price of dressed beef and other meats
to the consumers of the United
States.
1t is enjoined from continuing its
system of blacklisting small dealers
n order to compel them to conform
% the regulations of the trust.
It is enjoined from receiving from
railroad companies or other COM
mon carriers rebates by means of
private car lines or other devices.
It is enjoined from agreeing upon
charges for carriage and delivery of
meat.
The trust whose oppressive acts
are thus stopped controls a trade
amounting to six hundred million
dollars year. It consiststs of Swift
& Co., who handle business of two
hundred million dollars; Armour &
Co., who come next with trade
to one hundred and ninety
million dollars; Nelson, Morris &
Co., whose annual business foots up
millions, and the Ham
mond company, which has a snug
business aggregating seventy-fve
millions a year. Allthese combined
millions relate to the very food of
people.
Judge Grosscup's order directed
against the beef trust was issued June
2, 1902, and the members of the
trust have daily violated it thous-
and times ever since. What will be
their punishment? They are in con-
tempt of court, as Mr.. Debs was
when he disregarded Judge Gross
cups order in the railroad of 1884.
Mr.. Debs was sent to Jail for six
months. Can Judge Grosscup con-
sistently do less with the persistent
violators of his order in the beef trust
case?
The four big packers have the Jail
in front of them, and the extent and
nature of their punishment is mat
ter of interest now, ,outrunning every
other feature of the epochal decision.
1t is claimed, however, that the big
packers will now proceed to merge
their interests in one huge corpora
ton, thus setting up huge trust in
place of the secret gentlemen's agree
ment. But such trust would still
be subject to federal control, and it
can do none of the acts that the COM
bine was enjoined from doing. The
beef trust should be dissolved, and
competition in meats which are arti-
cles of food should be enforced-com-
petitors at both ends-competition
! on the cattle farms as well as in the
butchers stalls. AsJudge GrOsscup
says, the entire industry should be
repeopleized.