davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

still matters for proof. Even j. Ogden
Armour declared he did not know how
much. they We're, and his statement is
not questioned.
Present Leaders of the Beef Trust.
Whatever may be said in denunciation
of the system of the beef trust, no
charges are made of lack of integrity, or
truthfulness, or of immortality against
]. Ogden Armour. The operations of the
trusts have impoverished farmers and
stockmen, have broken banks, have pre-
cipitated strikes, and have caused sui
cides, have ruined towns and cities but
the personality of j. Ogden Armour is
that of an interesting, manly and line
type of American manhood. At his sug
gestion railroads may dismiss the gen.
eral manager, and commission mer-
chants may be blacklisted and ruined
for the beef trust is Unsuitable and re-
morseless, but j. Ogden Armour is re-
spected and cordially liked by the en-
ployes who know him, and although he
is hated in Wall street, among his
friends and business associations, and
fellow members of his clubs, he is popu-
lar and companion eagerly sought for.
Less is known of the head of the Swift
e Co. corporation than of the Armours,
because Louis f. Swift's home has al
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

chung with the tenacity OF an inventor
brought it to pass.
We have said that Gustavus Swift left
the cattle buying business in Brighton
and other Massachusetts towns when he
discovered how superior western cattle
were over those of the east, and how
much more money there was for him in
dealing in westerns.
Although he later gave evidence Of the
innate genius for organization and mon
ely making, he had not up TO his remov-
al to Chicago been successful except in
very small way. Utmost frugality and
incessant attention TO business had CIV
en- him slender bank account.
The First Refrigerator Cars.
Nelson Morris, who was rated as one
of the cattle kings" in the Chicago
yards even then, had been experiment.
ing with the shipment OF meats in box
cars packed with ice. These experiments
had been very crude and not entirely
satisfactory TO Morris, but Swift had
watched them with keen interest He
present day. He could see that if meats
could be shipped east dressed there
would be great saving over the method
Of the day, shipping live cattle, beef on
the hoof.' He realized that the beef
business would surely grow and that the
economy Of the new method would mean
a great deal of money. He formed de-
for oi,,nt ion oh lat
ments showed nothing could break to
succeed in shipping dressed beef.
About that time an inventor by the
name of Tiffany had invented and pat
ented refrigerator car which promised
TO be successful. He tried to get back
ing, and Morris refused it. Gustavus
Swift. practically unknown. asked the
railroads 10 furnish some of those cars
and he would furnish the dressed beef
or the east. The railroads refused To
build and own such cars would take sew
eral thousand dollars, and Swift could
not well spare it from his business.
which was growing so fast that it kept
him cramped for capital. His associates
n the packing business told him he
would ego broke" If he put any money
into the Tiffany cars. but he risked fail
Ire and consequent ruin, and plunged in,
having three cars built. The railroads
were TO haul these cars. and Swift had
10 thought of asking pay for the mileage
travelled by his cars. He was satisfied to
nave the advantage over competitors of
owning and shipping in refrigerated
cars.
Growth of Private Car Line Evil.
WheRthe trial of the cars had become
more than an experiment Swift realized
was a success and as fast as he could
lie had more of them built Morris. too.
md others at the Chicago yards had re-
rigerator cars constructed for them.
Dressed beef could be shipped to eastern
points at such great saving over ship
ping live cattle that there was saving
to consumers. which stimulated the de-
nand for dressed beef. and big profit
for the packers. The refrigerator cars
had come to stay. and Gustavus Swift
managed to maintain the lead he had Sc
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

assistants. The great advantage of the
combine over the independent packers
was. like that of the Standard Oil COM
pany, rebates from railroads which gave
them immense profits when others were
doing business at a loss. The grip of
the beef trust is upon SO many more peo-
pie and affects the three meals per day
of all of them so vitality that Standard
Oil empire is likely to be outdone unless
the present federal inquiry and the re-
cent decision of the United States SUI
preme court sustaining Judge Gross
cups injunction against trust methods
results in the enforcement of the laws
of the land.
The Standard Oil company deals in
eli and its products, and rs profits are a
menace to the independence of the
American people. The beef trust goes
into far more homes and names the
price. not only for the fresh meat, the
salt meat and the smoked meat, for the
lard. the glue, the hides, the fertilizers,
all the products of the beef and hog but
the squeal," but it also fixes the prices
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24


cured by his nerve and faith in the ex-
pertinent.
The various packers during the seven
ties found that success or failure de-
pended on whether they had refriger-
ator cars. They were content to keep
within the legitimate advantages and
profits of the meat trade, but the smaller
packers were soon put to death by the
big ones who had the refrigerator lines
TO club them with.
The fact that the refrigerator cars
were first used by the Chicago packing
houses is one of the great reasons for the
great growth of the Chicago livestock
and packing business which centraiizes
the beef trust of the present at Chicago.
This explains the growth of the re-
frigerator lines until there are in opera
ton "a 900 cars for which every railroad
paws mileage. and which the Armours-
Swifts-Cudahys own or control. from
which they derive an enormous annual
revenue.
1t is the ownership of these refriger-
ator cars which has put the price of
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

was $200O000OO, and the
value of its capital stock was &C
cepted at $75,OO0.000 It has branch
houses all over the east and west, and in
Europe 1t has packing houses in st.
Paul, Kansas City. st. Joseph, st. Louis
and other cities. The death of Gustavus
Swift and Philip ID. Armour did not take
place until both men had seen the re-
suits of their achievements in mammoth
packing plants. and ledger figures of
millions. The control of the business is
virtually now in the hands of j. Ogden
Armour. who began work for his father
at SO a week as clerk and who now is
the dominant factor in meats, grains
fruits and dairy products in the United
States.
A Chapter of Beginnings.
Only America can furnish examples of
such personal achievements as the life
stories of Swift. Armour and the Cuda-
by brothers disclosed. Sandwich. Mass,
is small town. and Gustavus Swift's
parental home near there was a stony
and Improbable farm. When he was
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

There was a time when the California
Fruit Transportation company was SUI
preme in the California fruit trade. But
the Armour interest got contract with
one of the two great fruit shipping
houses by promising that house SO a
car rebate on every car or .ruit; then the
Swifts bought the rival concern, which
by reason of the decline of its business
as result of the Armour inroad had
gone to smash. and then by quiet mu-
tual agreement the Swifts and Armours
had things their own way.
The contracts with the railroads re-
quire of the roads that they use no other
refrigerator cars than those of the beef
trust, called by 20 different names; they
require that the cars shall be returned
as speedily as possible. and in fact the
railroads give the preference to the beef
trust cars over their own few refrigerat-
or cars. The minimum loading weight
is as low as possible. so that the snip
ments shall req ife g Tlany refrigerator
cars as possible. wi h consequent in
crease in the mileage.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

yOung men TO go west A brother, Her
man O. Armour, had a grain commission
business there and to this in 1868 the in
lustry of hog packing was added. JOS
sph f. Armour. the younger brother OF
Philip. was in charge, and 1t was owine
TO his failing health that Philip u.
moved to Chicago in 1875. He had be-
ONE familiar with every detail of pork
packing. and had himself done all phases
Of il.
Back in the fifties there was a potter at
CaIlan, Ireland, by name Patrick Cuda-
hy whose four boys ran barefoot most
the time, and who begged for fresh
meat as a luxury. This family of Pat
rick Cudahy came TO America in the
steerage, with their carpet bags and
slender purses. in 1919. and settled at
enough TO do chores around the slaugh
ter houses where his father found en-
ployment. and by attending school in
spare hours he acquired simple educa-
ton. which he always improved upon
.ater. when he had opportunity. When
re was 10 he went TO work in a packing
louse. and at % he went into business
for himself as a retail butcher. But
Plankington & Armour offered him
charge of their packing plant, which
was worth perhaps S35 ,000-considera-
ole in those days. a mere bagatelle in
these days of big trusts. His sue
cess as manager brought out an offer
from p ID. Armour in 1873 for Cudahy to
become a partner in Armour & Co. He
did so. and for 20 years had the practical
management of the stockyards end of
the business. lie was rich. both in mon
ey and in good will of Mr.. Armour, and
in reputation, when he established the
Cudahy Packing company, which was
taken into the merger at a valuation of
$4,000, 900.
Trust Magnates Live Simple Life.
All through their lives both Gusatav-
us Swift and Z. ID. Armour retained the
simple habits of their youth. of early
rising, and of going to bed early With
all their wealth they cared little for So
ciety and were rarely seen. Both men,
but particularly Armour, were very ap-
proachable by any of their men. ready in
sympathy and prompt to assist in times
of trouble.
The business of the Swifts descend
ed to Edward c. Swift and L. f. Swift,
but J. Ogden Armour, the only surviving
son of F. ID. Armour, is the nominal and
practical head OF the packing interests.
Like his father. ne is simple in his taste
and without aristocracy or snobbish-
ness. as genial and unaffected with an
underling as with a head of a depart
ment.
What the profits of the beef trust are
cannot be estimated. although Commits
sioner of Commerce Garfield. in his re-
port to congress, after investigation of
the beef trust. gave them at SO cents a
head for every creature killed. This did
not take into consideration the rebates
paid to the railroad, which rebates are
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

fruits and vegetables for the tables Of
he American people up 10 to rs per cent.
in cost.
Railroads Held Up.
Ii is the ownership OF the meat bust
ness of the country which enables the
beef trust, the favored few, to dictate 20
the railroads and make them pay for the
use of the cars and act as agents for the
car line owners in holding up the ship
sers of freight for the mileage OF three
quarters OF cent mile east OF Chicago,
except in Canada, where it is one cent,
and one cent mile west OF Chicago.
The railroads dare not protest, for when
they do the beef trust says in menacing
voice that it will give the protesting
railroad no more of its freight. The
tonnage shipped by the beef trust is
enoromus, and no railroad dares con-
template getting out OF the good graces
of such shipper. One can easily see
that with "a, 900 cars travelling the iron
highways of the country daily tire mile
age would be great big income on the
investment The actual figures, as shown
by interstate commerce reports, are that
these cars earn at least 20 per cent.
The Fruit Trust.
1t is the ownership of these refriger-
ator cars which has given the beef trust
right 20 claim the title of fruit trust
/ also; the fruit business is wholly at its
mercy. When the fruit shipper OF Cali
fornia or Tennessee has a carload of or
anges or strawberries to ship, he calls
for a car, and by the terms of the beef
trust the railroad cannot do else than
send for trust car which rolls down
from Chicago, earning mileage at every
click of the wheels, and into this car the
fruit is loaded. At the destination the
consignee pays the freight and also the
bill of the beef trust for the mileage, and
also another bill for Icing" the car.
When the refrigerator cars were first
used there was no icing charge made;
for instance for the Michigan peaches
sent TO Boston. When the idea was or
! iginated of charging for icing the charge
was fixed at $40 for the trip. Later 1t
was advanced to $50. and now the icing
of car costs S45. about the same as the
| freight. There are instances where the
charge for icing and for mileage is
greater than the tariff freight But the
railroads are bound TO collect the trusts
charges. fight to get them, go into courts
at the railroads expense to get them, If
need be- The railroads are absolutely
mastered by the beef trust, partly for
the reason that there are large railroad
/ interests in the hands of the beef trust
magnates and they make the other
stocknOIuers OF the railroads suffer that
they may get the rake off.
! At the Threats of the Railroads.
The packers have been at the threats
| Of the railroads since the early eighties,
when the Chicago Milwaukee & st. Paul
railroad built TO Kansas City and Oma-
/ ha. and to secure the meat business Of
! fered to pay mileage charge for the use
/ OF the packers refrigerator cars. This
was an offer which the other Missouri
river railroads had soon to follow, and
! thus was the mileage graft" saddled
upon the railroads of the country.
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

ways been In Boston. He is more reti-
cent and exclusive than j. Ogden Ar
MOur. Living within few miles of the
birthplace of Gustavus f. Swift. he lives
in mansion which costs a fortune,
while the farmhouse in which his father
was born, which still stands, is small
and devoid of all modern comforts. He
rides in automobiles; his father, as a
boy. drove a butcher wagon His income
and resources are like those of an en-
peror of the east; his father grubbed
meager living from his farm.
j. Ogden Armour has a home on
Michigan avenue which cost S125,000.
His wife is beautiful woman, and a So
ciety leader, who takes much interest in
outdoor sports and driving, who in an
unassuming and modest way is liberal
in her charities. At Oconomowoc. Wis,
they have a summer home which is said
TO be one of the most complete in the
country in equippage and comfort.
Value of the Fients in Combine.
The following are the figures at which
the various packing plants were valued
in the consolidation which is called the.
beef trust:
SWIFT & CO.
capital Observation-Disclosures. 25,OOO.OOO
Annual business ........... 2OO.O0O,OOO
Stock value IL merger 49,. 100000
ARMOUR & co.
CdplJdl ......... ...........s ZUOUU,OUU
Annual business ........ 200.000,000
Stock value in merger 49,. 60,000,000
NELSON MORRIS & CO.
Capital Observation-Disclosures 5,OOO,00
Annual business .......... 25.OOO,OOO
Stock value in merger ...... $4,000 900
CUDAHY & CO.
Capltal ..................S 5000 900
Annual business . 15.000.000
Stock value in merger ..... $4,000 900
Stocks and securities repre-
senting purchase from
Hammond & Co and Oma-
ha Packing company by
Armour & Co.......... 100000
Value in merger .......... 21,O00. 900
Stocks and securities repre-
senting purchase from
Fowler & Son Packing Co.,
the Anglo-American Pro-
vision company. by Swift
& Co. .............. 5000. 900
Value in merger ........... $4,000, 600
Total capitalization of beef
trust NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. 201.000, 600
Remarkable Display Of Genius.
The story of how the present gigantic
power of the beef trust was born and
nurtured has its beginning in the char
acter and personal achievements of Gus
tavus Swift. However much p. ID. Ar
mour contributed of sagacity and ener-
getic constructiveness. the present con-
dition of supremacy of the beef trust
and of subservience of the railroads. the
fruit growers. the farmers and the stock
raisers of the United States would never
have come about but for the rawboned,
money-loving Yankee, Swift the elder.
An idea that was his and to which he
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24

This is a page from the Arabian
Nights tales, with Aladdin outdone; the
story of the rise of the Armours, the
Swifts, and the Cudahys-the Armours
from the farm barn yard near Stock
bridge, n. Y, the Swifts from the killing
pen of a butcher shop in Barnstable,
Mass, the Cudahys from the peat boys
at Callan, in county Kilkenny, in Ire
land, to the height of an ability to or
ganize an industrial combine with cap
italization of S2O0O00000.
Less than half a century has seen the
comparative poverty of the beef trust
magnates transformed to an oPllence
beyond the dream of king or courtier Of
a century ago.
IN 1866 the packing industry in Chica-
go, which the giant intellects of Gus
tavus f. Swift, now dead, of Philip ID.
Armour now dead, and of Michael Cud-
ahy have developed to the industrial
mammoth of the present, had its small
beginning in the slaughter OF 613 head
OF cattle
A Billion-Dollar Business.
III lJUf lut pIOuutl VI the uttl JIuSI
amounted to over billion dollars. In
1903 the combination slaughtered 5,521,
COZ head of cattle.
So we'll laid were the plans of the
founders of this monopoly that it has
gained momentum beyond the power
of its heads to control; the ever growing
stream of its immense profits pours in
upon the beef trust from sources which
are so resistless that the downfall of
Standard Oil supremacy among trusts
seems certain.
Founders of the Trust.
1t is a tribute well earned by Gustavus
F. Swift and Philip ID. Armour to say
they were the founders of the present
beef combine; that Michael Cudahy was
a powerful aidede-campand that Nelson
Morris. George II. Hammond and others
of the Cudahy brothers had been able
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24
CONDITIONS THAT HAVE MADE ITS
REMARKABLE GROWTH
POSSIBLE.
PART OF THE REFRIGERATOR CAR LINES.
Humble Beginnings of the Men Who Built
This the Largest of American Indus
tries-Their Interesting
Personalities.
BY CAMERON LANDON.

,or the fruits of California. because the
beef trust owns the refrigerator cars
necessary to move that fruit. 1t names
the price for the cotton grower OF the
south at which he may sell his product
because the cotton grower is dependent
on the beef trust for fertilizer for his
plantation or his ten acre field. The
fruit growers OF New York state and Of
Texas, of Colorado and of Cuba look TO
Chicago for the figures by which to de-
termine their prices, and by the retriger-
ator car rates hundreds of producers
have been made and hundreds have been
ruined
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24
Colossal Achievements.

Swift Bros. & Co. established it's main
slaughter house in Chicago, and estab-
lished branch houses in New York,
Pennsylvania. Connecticut. New Hamp-
shire The annual business Of Swift &
Co.. when the combine is said to have
The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1905-03-24
Public at It's Mercy.

The most serious blow to the indus
tries of the American people lies in the
ability of the beef trust to fix the prices
of the products of the ranchman and the
farmer. throughout every state and ter
ritory of the United States, the price Of
hogs cattle and sheep, and consequent
ly the price of wheat, corn and oats.
This blow is aimed at every home and
every merchant of the hamlets, towns
and cities, for the old days of competi-
ton have been relegated to the past by
the big packing interests. The EN-
pire of the great Chicago combine de-
fies the law and has the public at its
mercy. At every turn of the wheel it
grows stronger and greater, more insid-
ious and more far-reaching. The beef
trust owns steam and electric railroads,
it owns factories, stockyards, mills.
warehouses, elevators. and the state
ment was recently made that it also
owned politicians, Legislators and con-
gressmen.
The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1905-02-08

gin all over again. 1t will be a long
time before I shall be able to claim
you. have my way to make"
YES" said she automatically.
But your he cried suddenly. 1.-The
papers remind me- How about that
Mortong
what about himY' asked the girl.
astonished. HE is very happily en-
gagged"
Thorpe's face slowly filed with
blood.
you'll break the engagement at
once" he commanded, little harshly.
"Why should l break the engage
mentY demanded Hilda, eying him
with some alarm.
You actually don't think he's en-
gagged to me!' she burst out finally.
isn't hep asked Thorpe.
"Why, no, stupid! He's engaged to
Elizabeth Carpenter, Wallace's sister.
Now where did you get that silly
idea?'
81 saw it in the paper"
"And you believe all you see! Why
didn't you ask Wallace? But of course
you wouldn't. Harry, you are the
most incoherent dumb old brute / ever
saw | could shake you. You need
wife to interpret things for you. You
speak a different language from most
people" She said this between laugh
ing and crying, between a sense of the
ridiculous uselessness of Withholding a
single timely word and tender pathet-
ic intuition of the suffering such a ma
ture must endure.
Suddenly she jumped to her feet with
an exclamation.
"Oh. Harry, I'd forgotten utterlyw
she cried in laughing CONSERVATION.
81 have a luncheon here at half past
l. It's almost that now. / must run
and dress. Just look at me: just look!
You did that"
'I'll wait here until the COMPOUNDED
thing is over" said Thorpe.
"Oh, no. you WON'T" replied Hilda
decidedly. ''You are going downtown
right now and get something to put on.
Then you are coming back here to
stay"
Thorpe glanced In surprise at his
drivers clothes and his spiked boots.
Heavens and EARTH" he exclaimed.
81 should think so! How am | to get
out without running the floor?"
Hilda laughed and drew aside the
portiere.
Don't you think you have done that
pretty well already?' she asked.
There, don't look so solemn We're
not going TO be sorry for single thing
we've done today, are we?' She stood
close to him, searching his face visit
fully with her fathomless dusky eyes.
NO, sweetheart, we are not" replied
Thorpe soberly