The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1911-12-08

I
Ten years growth of the packing
industry is covered in the indict-
ments. and n continuing conspir-
acy' alleged, so that the defendants
when they appear at the bar today
will be held for acts OF nearly a de-
cade ago.
The government contends that the
packers Joined hands to eliminate all
competition between the Swift, Ar
mour and Norris groups OF packing
houses in the purchase Of live cattle,
sheep and hogs, and in the sale
throughout the country OF fresh
meats. The exact method Of opera
ton to this end, the government al
leges, was for the parties to the
trust to refrain from bidding on live
stock; to agree on a uniform system
OF figuring the so-called request cost
of meats sent to branch house man
ayers. which resulted in an excessive
/ cost or request price" being placed
on meats. Then, II Is asserted, the
next step was to require the branch
house managers to secure this cost" 3"
If any margin less than the cost was
permitted. 1t is charged, that this was
agreed upon by all the defendants.
The unlawful" medium or agent
specified i'm the indictment. by which
the defendants are alleged 10 have Sc
cured domination Of the meat in
dustry, IL Is charged, was the National
Packing Company. This, the govern
ment maintains, is an intermediary
concern, whose function is to gather
| Information in furtherance Of their
combined interests. Another charge
is that the Trust got rid OF dan
gerous competitor, in the shape of the
New York Butchers Meat CO., by
purchasing a controlling interest.
The Indictment itself alleges that
the ten packers slaughtered SO per
cent of all the meat ultimately con-
sumed In the eastern, southern and
middle western states, and controlled
20 per cent. of the dressed meat Of
fered for sale. The coalition main
tains / 1.450 branch offices throughout
the United states, and through these
fs gathered a daily record OF the
volume OF business. the prices OBJ
tanned, and the supply and demand,
which record is transmitted by
agents TO the National Packing Com
pany. This, the government alleges,
is the most Ingenious and perfect
spy system with which to keep
track of competition, that has been
perfected by modern barons Of the
plumber bund.
All the information that agents ac-
quire from the branch houses is sifted
out il was charged, at weekly meet
irgs of directors Of the National Pack
ing Company, in Chicago. From the
figures, the powers in the combina-
ton work out what prices they will
pay for livestock, and the amounts
TO be charged for their products. The
latter, the government Will charge,
have been excessive, and the powers
have been able TO secure enormous re-
turns The packers themselves VIII
deny eNtOrtionate profits. In state
ment issued by j. ogden Armour Inn
mediatey following his indictment, he
declared the margin OF profit Is
less than that made py any other kind
OF manufacturing business in the
world"
The prosecution classines the al
legged Packers Trust into three groups
--SWifts- corporations Of
that name organized In Illinois, West
Virginia, Maine. New York and Della
ware. Armours' including the Illinois
and New Jersey corporations-md the
Morris group, including Morris 4
Company, of New Jersey and the
Fairbanks Company Of Illinois.
The real crux of the matter, the
government maintains, is the National
Packing Company $15,00O,O0 cor
poratlon organized in 1908, and now
composed of the following compa-
nies:
The G.. II. Hammond Company, OF
Michigan and Illinois
Hammond Beef Company.
Hammond Packing Company, Of
Colorado. Montana. Philadelphia and
Toledo, Michigan.
G. n. Hammond & Company, OF
Washington, Illinois
Detroit Beef Company, Of Michl-
gan.
Hammond Company Of New York.
Anglo-American Provision Compa-
ny .
Anglo-Amerlcan Refrigerator Car
Company
Fowler Packing Association. OF
Kansas.