The weekly chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Craig County, Okla.) 1905-1913, 1912-10-04

raw material, live stock, high, and by
trading with themselves through the
agency of interlooking directorates-
a rascality that pretty early put some
of our great and good statesmen in
the penitentiary in the Credit Mobilier
affair, some forty years ago-they ac-
complish their desires and gather
much "gayneful pyllage"
Seats in both houses of congress are
bought, not because the monopolies
care for politics or politicians, but
that they may write our tariff laws
that give them absolute control of the
most opulent and the most prodigal
market in the world Can the Post tell
you by what honest or decent means a
butcher. beginning poorman, can
make s40,0O0,00O at his trade?
The Post falls into statistics and
cites that the tariff on meats is low
enough to encourage importations
when meats are as low in London and
as high in New York as now quoted.
Why, bless its innocent and confiding
soul, the Post doesn't know the Beef
Trust!
Years ago the packers were busy
completing their mastery of the mar
ket by means of rebates. They levied
on all the trunk lines from the west
to the east and they succeeded in
driving out of business every rival
they had, thus perfecting their mon
opoly The railroads did not want to
do it--they had to do IT, The pack
ers threatened to build their own road
to the seaboard, and shipp all their
goods over it, cutting rates on all other
branches of merchandise. The roads
surrendered, and we can no more
blame them than we can reproach the
Scotch grazier who paid blackmail to
Rob Roy. TO discipline the Pennsyl-
vania or the Baltimore & Ohio, or the
New York Central, or the Erie, the
Beef Trust was as whimsical as Rosa
lind said she would be with her sweet
heart Today, road would get a
hundred cars or more; tomorrow, ten
cars or less
There was revolt. of course, as must
always result from remorseless op-
preston, and some of the traffic man
ayers and their assistants met in New
York to fix rate that was "a gentle
mems agreement About thirty of
them went to the Grand Central Sta
tion and asked the president Of the
New York Central Railroad Tor the
use of room in the building in which
to hold their powwow, formulate their
compact and sign their declaration of
independence
The president in holy terror ex-
claimed I'm my Office? In my office?
You choose my office to wage war on
the Beef TRUST DO you think I'm
crazy? Go to a hotel, go to a club, go
to New Jersey, go to Halifax, go to
hell and hold your meeting not here.
Neyerl"
Now, if the Beef Trust could put
the greatest railroads of the country.
with their enormous capital and bound
less resources, in such dread, forcing
them to fetch and carry its remorse-
less grip on every urban mart, what
would happen to company organized
to import meats from abroad to be
sold in competition with the goods of
the Beef Trust? Such a company with
$25,OOO 900, or thrice s25.OOOOO0 CAPT
tai fully paid in would be in bank
ruptcy within a twelve-month
Everybody knows that who is not
yet wrestling with--and constantly
getting uptripped-the profundities of
the three RS degree of seholastics.
There are just two things absolute
| ly essential to any practical move
ment having in view reduction of the
extortion in the price of meats. First,
put meats on the free list. Second,
put in the penitentiary some elegant
and high-toned millionaire magnate of
the Beef Trust, who employs the un-
limited capital of that robber concern
to drive to insolvency any rival who
ventures to engage in the business of
importing and selling in American
markets foreign meats.
In the ninety months he was presi-
dent Col. Roosevelt never dreamed of
doing either of these things and he
announces that he is in favor of a nro-