New-York tribune., 1918-08-09
Trade Board Wants
Meat Industry Seized

packers control more than half OF the
meat upon which the Allies are de-
pendent"
Tells of Difficulties
Of the difficulties which the paeke rs
threw into the way of the commission's s
Investigators, headed by Francis j.
Heney, the report says:
The commission, through Mr..
Henr-, had to meet deliberate falsi-
fcation of returns properly required
under legal authority; we had to meet
schools for witnesses where employees
we're coached in anticipation of their
being called to testify in an investi-
cation ordered by you (the President)
and by the Congress of the United
States; We had to meet situation
created by the destruction of letters
and documents vital to this investiea-
tion; we had to meet a conspiracy in
the preparation of the lawful inquiries
OF the commission"
The commissions staff, the report
declared, has met and overcome every
obstacle that "ingenuity and money
could devise to impede them" The
Presidents attention was called to the
work of Mr.. Heney. "whose conduct Of
the case, because Of it's success, has
met with condemnation. misrepresenta-
tion and criticism"
In detailing "amaziug and devious
ramifications" of the five great packing
companies through important branches
of industry, Of commerce and finance
the commission reports that the pack
ers not only control the meat supply,
but countless number Of by-product
industries" and have invaded allied in
dustries and even unrelated ones. This
control has extended now to the prin-
,t>.k,
eggs, cheese and vegetable oil products,
the commission says, and rapidly is be-
ing extended to cover fish and nearly
every kind of foodstuff.
"Monopolistic Control"
This control is made possible, says
the commission, not so much by means
of production and preparation, nor by
the sheer momentum of great wealth,
but by the advantage obtained through
monopolstic control of the market
places and means of transportation.
The commission dismisses the claims
Of the packers to legitimate competi-
tion among them by saying that some
show Of competition "is staged" but
that it is superficial. There is some
show of natural rivalry of officials and
departments, the report says, and this
is made much of as indicating the ex-
istence of real competition, but it is
not real.
After detailing the control of the
FIVE companies over the meat and al
lied industries the commission says
this control rests in the hands OF
Armour, the Swift brothers, Morris
brothers, Thomas E. Wilson, acting un-
der the veto of group Of bankers, in
Guiding The Chase National Bank,
Guaranty Trust Company, Kuhn, Loeb
& Co.. William Salonon & Co. and
Hallgarten & Co., all of New York,
and the Cudahys.
The commission says that through
the control of Wilson & Co., inc.
three of the most powerful banking
groups in the country now are "par-
ticipating in the rapidly maturing food
monopoly which it describes. This
packing industry, it says, was not at all
displeasng to the big packers, and j.
Ogden Armour and Louis r. Swift fYe-
quently were consulted during the ne
gotiations looking to acquisition Of an
interest in the industry by the bank
ers.
An Increased Menace
"The menace of this concentrated
control of the nations food" says the
report, "s increased by the fact that
these five corporations and their 500
and odd subsidiary, controlled and at
tiliated companies are bound together
by Joint ownerships, agreements, un-
derstandings, communities of interest
and family relationships" .....5s
AS illustrative of the control Of the.
five companies over the stockyards OF
the country, the commission reports
bo{ nf ho on
in stockyards in these cities. is con-
trolled by the packers: Brighton,
Mass: Connellsville. Penn; Dallas,
Tex; Denver, East St. Louis, Ill.,; Ell
Paso. Tex; Fort Worth, Tex; Jack
sonville, Fla; Jersey City, N. J. DER
sey City and Central Union Stock
yards); Kansas City, Laramie, Wyo.;
Milwaukee, Nebraska City, Neb.; New
ark, N. j.; New Orleans, New York
City, Oklahoma City, Omaha, Neb.;
Pittsburgh, Portland, Ore; Sioux City,
Iowa; st. Paul, st. Joseph, Mo-, and
South San Francisco.
at Wichita, Kan; Louisville, Ky, and
West Philadelphia, Penn. Armour &
Co. also are reported as owning 1914
per cent Of the stock of the Chicago
yards, with evidence that Swift & Co.,
and probably Morris G. Co., were par
ties to the negotiations by which Ar
mour & Co. acquired its interest.
Conspiracy Is Alleged
In detailing how the packers are al
legged to have gained control of the
meat supplies of the United States and
the Allies, the commission said:
"The Armour, Swift, Morris and Will
son interests have entered into COM
bination with certain foreign corpora
tions by which export shipments of
beef, mutton and other meats from the
principal South American meat pro-
duclng countries are apportioned
among the several companies on the
basis of agreed percentages. In con-
junction with this conspiracy. meetings
are held for the purpose of securing
the maintenance of the agreement and
making such readjustments as from
time to time may be desirable. The
agreements restrict South American
shipments to European countries and
the United States.
Since the meat supplies of North
and South America constitute practi-
caly the only sources from which the
United States and her allies can satisfy
their needs for their armies, navies
and civil populations, these two agree
ments constitute a conspiracy on the
part of the Big Five in conjunction
with certain foreign corporations. to
monopolize an essential of the food of
the United States, England, France
and Italy"
Arpoox,r C1>,e ~ e