Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1907-09-21
Enormous Holdings by Armour People in
Big Concerns Outside Chicago Attract
Much Attention.
The Small Taxpayers Are Very Much In.
terested in the Developments of
This Great Wealth,
Yet the Chicago Assessors Gould Only Find
Two and One-half Millions
to Tax

"Chicago Securities for 1907 gives
the following facts about Armour 4
Company. on page $50.
Armour 4 Company, organized un.
der the laws Of Illinois, April IA. 1000.
Capital stock, $2O.OOO,O0O.
Property-The plants controlled by
the corporation IRE the packing houses,
fertilizer works, glue factory. soap fac.
tory and hair factory In Chicago. and
the packing houses In South Omaha,
Sioux City, East st. Louis and Fort
Worth. The Importance Of the pack.
Ing houses and plants controlled by the
organization Is known all over the
civilized world. The glue factory Is
one Of the largest In the country. The
soap factory Is also operated on a
large scale.
Although the capital alone Of this
great concern IL $4,000. 900 the asses.
sors could only find $?,5OO.OOO Of per.
sonal property belonging to It.
The legal tax on S2O.OOO,OOO IL $780,
600.
The tax on s2.5OO000 Is $4,000.
So the people lose In taxes on the
capital Of this concern alone $2s5. 900
every year.
This makes q total Of back taxes due
for I've years. according to Supreme
Court rulings In other cases, Of 1925.
OOO.
This does not include the amount Of
taxes due present and back on the
stock Of Armour & Company Of New
Jersey,
Armour car lines,
Hammond Packing Company,
National Packing Company,
Union Stock Yards Of Omaha,
And a number of other equally val
liable concerns owned by 1t.
The personal property Of, Armour &
Company, outside OF Its capital stock
mounts up towards $GO,OOO,OOO and
may exceed that sum, Us this corpora
ton, unlike Swift 4 Company, does
not furnish Its figures to "Chlcago Sc
curities." Armour & Company owns
great deal Of stock In outside COR
porations. every dollar of which ID
taxable here In Chicago. Among Others
Armour 4 Company. of New Jersey.
The following taken from pages ?0l
and ?O2 Of the report Of the United
States Commissioner Of Corporations,
tells us something upon this subject
'rhe New Jersey corporation was
formed for the purpose OF transactlns
certain business which the Illinois cor
pOration was not authorized to trans
act. Armour 4 Company, Of New Jer'
sey operates practically all the branch
houses for the sale of beef and Other
packing house products supplied by
Armour 4 Company, of Illinois. 1t alst
owns the Armour packing houses al
Sioux City and Fort Worth. For con
venience the accounts Of Armour
Company, of New Jersey are carried
OH the books of Armour 4 Company
Of Illinois. TO ascertain the business
transactions of the New Jersey COR
poratlon, 1t Is merely necessary to taxi
the accounts relating to the brancl
houses and those relating to the For
Worth and Sioux City packing houses
The company, however, Is a genuine
one, having large actual assets Of II
own, not n mere paper name. 1t ha
no separate books and no profits sep
arate from those appearing In the &C
counts Of Armour 4 Company, OF I'LL
nois."
How long the people of Chicago vii
continue to pay high taxes while con
Germs like this escape as they do,
problematical.
~A
Samuel McItOberts should tell al
when called before the Board of Re
view.
%cF
VIII Corporation Counsel Brundag
get after Armour, Swift and the res
of the boys? Assistant Corporatio
Counsel John w. Hill startled hi
hearers in the chamber where th
Board of Review was meeting by d.
claring that he has already secure
sufficient evidence against wealthy ia