The Washington herald., 1910-06-11
UNCLE SAM MAY
FIGHT FOOD TRUST
Continued from Page one.

OOnNAnuGU lEom rage OuG.
facilitating our Investigations on the
storage of food is concerned, am free
to say 1t would be of the greatest ad-
vantage. a government warehouse which
could collaborate with rs in securing def
mite degrees Of refrigeration would be
highly advantageous"
Half the Price Paid.
DR.. Wiley went on 10 illustrate the
case by declaring cattle is sold from his
farm, in Loudoun County, Va. and
bought by the consumers at less than
half the price charged In Washington or
any other city where 1t is necessary 20
buy cold-storage meat.
IF DR.. Wiley is correct in his state
ments," said Representative Stanley.
that the government will. in a few
months. be reimbursed for the entire ex-
penditures, our sailors and soldiers viii
be furnished wholesome rations and the
people will be infinitely benefited. Hither-
to the beef trust and the coId-storage
houses have denied they were making
enormous profits, and have strenuously
denied the truth OF the statements con-
AEliAiCu III NuiAouE CQGl d indictments
against them. Such a plan will demon
strate beyond doubt or caval the exact
cost of keeping meats in cold storage,
and what are reasonable profits, Such a
demonstration Will not only save mil
lions to the government. but hundreds Of
millions to the people,
Mr.. Stanley believed the people can pro-
tect themselves more effectively from the
beef trust than any other combination.
He asserted no great amount of capital
or skilled labor Is necessary in a cam
paign of competition, and he thinks Uncle
Sam should take the first step by build
ing a model storage plant here
The author OF the III. asserted Wash
ington gets inferior meat at twice the
proper price. It has been demonstrated
at hearings of Congressional committees,
he declared, that manipulation by the
food warehouse combination forces prices
skyward.
Use Same Power.
A plant could be operated here by the
government at a minimum cost, he as
serted. because the same power that
lights and heats public buildings could
be used to make any amount Of ice
and to operate other apparatus Power
enough is generated while Congress is in
session, he said, to illuminate a city
of 10000 people.
| His final argument follows:
1.-The government has refused to buy
tobacco from the tobacco trust, or pow
der from the powder trust, and there is
no reason why 1t should not make every
effort to obtain its supply Of meat from
some other source than the trust, which
has been time and again indicted and
convicted.
1T is not intended 10 have the govern
ment go into the meat business, of course,
but the government itself is necessarily
the largest purchaser of meats and other
| like products on the continent
Million for Meat
THE trust has no other customer which
compares with it in the enormous amounts
OF its purchases. During the last fiscal
year over million dollars was expended
for meats and other Ike supplies for sol
dies homes. the army expended over
sl75. 900 for lard nearly sS00o0O for bacon.
and over 100000 for fresh meats The
| navy expended for butter alone $685.. 622. 80.
or 1.sS2000 pounds for which II paid an
average Of nearly SO cents.
1T spent sl10,54S.25 for hams, ISL, s94 80
for bacon. The navy purchased 1855, 4S0
pounds OF fresh meat, aggregating S1.675.-
$685. We purchased besides thousands
Of pounds OF poultry and other like
meats A great portion Of these purchases
were made Of Swift. Armour. Cudahy,
and other like concerns.
Since the government must purchase
these supplies, there is no reason why
they should not be purchased directly
from the people. One or two things must
inevitably happen. either they will be
bought at q much less cost, or the farmer
or other producers OF these articles viii
receive the benefit