The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-06-06
WASHINGTON NEWS LETTER

WASHINGTON NEWS LETTER
Washington, D. c., May 28.--Recog
milton of the need of rigorous control
of that portion of the food trust that
is in charge of the packers will be
found in the report of the special
commission appointed by the Presi-
dent, at the request of Food Admin
istrator Hoover, to investigate and
make recommendations as to the best
way to deal with the livestock mar
keting and meat packing industry.
1t is unofficially reported that ma
jority of the commission favors the
granting to the United States Bureau
of Markets. under the Department of
Agriculture, full control of all stock
yards in the United States, while
control of the meat packing and dis
tributing business would fall under
the direction of the Food Admins
istration.
To the Federal trade commission
would go still another responsibility
, in getting the packing industry under
control. 1t would have to abolish the
present bookkeeping system of the
packers and establish uniform ac-
counting system which would admit
Sof no false entries or other taking,
and would provide penalties for viola
tion of this law.
The recent investigations which
! laid bare the secrets of the packers
have prepared public sentiment for
steps in ownership and control of the
4 food industry that would not have
been looked on seriously a few
months ago. The search for facts
although halted by court injunctions
disclosed enough to show that the
packing trust is supreme in the meat
industry, controlling it from the time
the cattle fleave the farm until the
meat is handed over to the purchaser
. tied up in brown paper.
1t was shown that the packers moi
only control the packing houses, but
stockyards and terminal railroads a!
well as the retail trade in large sec
, tions of the country through DUNN.
) concerns. 1t was shown that the,
) have the leather industry and tn
, soap industry in their grasp and tn
!, fact was disclosed that recently
) through unfair competition, the,
} have absorbed the poultry, butte
} and egg business. -
1t was even shown in the investi
CATION that the packers were acquir
} ing interests in the large hotels O.
the country so that their varied pro
ducts might have absolute monopol!
in these large centers of consumption
, These facts, and the frantic effort!
of the packers to stop by injunction
farther prying into their business
J has shown the public the folly of al
lowing a few men to control thi.
great basic industry and to be tn,
,, final arbiters as to what shall be pait
to the producers for their cattle
, hogs, sheep and poultry, and the
prices that shall be charged to tht
consumers for their daily meat pur
chases.
An ambitious program for publicly
owned docks, wharves and harbor i'm
provements of all kinds is announced
by Chairman Hurley of the Shipping
, Board. This plan fits in with the an
nouncement of the Railroad Admins
tration that the canals of the East
will be developed and used to theil
utmost capacity in the handling oi
freight from the interior to the sea
board. While these are to be adopt
ed as war measures it is certain that
, their superiority over present meth
DDS will be so great that they will be
come a permanent policy
!, There is, in fact, no considerable
, discussion as to what will be done
with these institutions in the future
as there was when the railroads were
first taken over by the government
; At that time many timid persons
thought that the United States had
taken step that would be regarded
as precedent and an opening wedge
for public ownership. The compla-
cence with which the new announce
ment is made in regard to public
docks and wharfs shows how far SEN
timent has progressed since the rail
roads were taken over.
Railroading under government con-
troll is gradually taking on the effici-
ency that comes with single man.
agement. The visible manifestation
of this is in the first consolidated
railroad ticket Office in the United