Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-03-21
FOOD INQUIRY RESUMED
MEAT AND GROCERY MEN BE-
FORE SENATE COMMITTEE.
Gen. Ryan of Cincinnati and John
A. Green Called to Testify
Today.

With representatives of the American
Meat Packers Association and the Ma
tional Retail Grocers' Association, organ
izations which include in their member
ship majority Of those engaged in the
two trades In the country, ready to testify.
the Senate cost-of-living investigation
was resumed shortly before 3 O'Clock this
afternoon.
The two witnesses to be examined dur
ing the session are Gen. Michael Ryan of
Cincinnati. one Of the organizers and
former president of the American Meat
Packers Association. and John A. Green
Of Cleveland. secretary of the National
Retail Grocers' Association.
The summoning of these two witnesses
is in line with the policy adopted by the
investigators to probe deeply into the ac-
tions. scope and influence of trade or
ganiza tons that are composed of men
who sell the necessities of life to the
rank and file of the country's population.
Among other organizations which the
committee wants to know about are the
National Wholesale Grocers' Association,
which comprises many of the big WHOLE
salers in the country; the Elgin Board of
Trade. which, it has been testified, prac-
tically fixes the price of butter for the
country once week. and big conee and
choked their Golfers with big profits, and
the big packing companies, which are
charged with being in the so-called "beef
trust"
The committee is endeavoring to find
out to what extent prices are discussed
by these organizations, which comprise
such a large proportion of those engaged
in their respective lines of business. The
committee. in adopting it's policy to
probe these organizations, recognized
the power they could be made for the
control Of prices throughout the coun-
try, and it is determined to find out ii
that power has been exercised to boost
prices to the consumers.
Gen. Ryan's Remarks.
Gen. Ryan was summoned here from
Cincinnati because of statements which
he made at the organization meeting OF
the American Meat Packers Association.
He referred to the fact that lin union
there is strength and made some re-
marks about prices being too low and
about too much profit going to some
other fellow. The representa- tives Of the
association so far examined by the COM
mittee denied that prices had ever been
discussed at the meetings OF the organi-
zation.
The committee has been camping on
the trail Of the Elgtn Board of Trade
for some time. Grocers who appea red
DefOfe the cOHlU1iIteS uSCidT0u tTdI TIE
"Elgin board meet every Monday and
fix price for butter, and that the
price was practically controlled by that
board 1t was admitted that the action
of the board a couple of months ago
caused a reduction in the price Of but
ter of s cents a pound in one day, and
from that clue the committee drew the
inference that the Elgin board had a
pretty good clutch on the butter market.
The representatives of the National
Wholesale 0rocers' Association will be
heard at their own request. Its officers
recently sent Attorney Dana 7. Acker-
~ to the committee to request that the
association be allowed to put in some
evidence, and a date for hearing the Of
GERS of the organization will be fixed
in short time.
Senator Smith of South Carolina has
been selected to take the place of Sena-
tor Simmons Of North Carolina, whose
resignation from the committee was an
nounced Saturday.