Denver labor bulletin., 1918-09-14
BIG FIVE PACKING HOUSE
MONOPOLY MUST BE
MADE SURRENDER.
Industrial Democracy Is to Have
a Trial at Bridgeport. Conn.,,
Under a Plan Set Forth by
War Labor Board, and
May Extend to
Other Centers.
BY LAURENCE TODD
special Representative The Denver Labor
BuIletfn.l


BuIIetin-)
WASHINGTON, Sept. 9.-For the
first time in American history. the or
ganized business men of the entire
country have lined up against the or
ganized farmers and live stock rais-
ers of the country, as well as against
the forces of organized labor, upon a
great national issue. That issue is the
taking over by the federal govern
ment of the big stock yards and the
refrigerator and stock cars and the
wholesale meat houses, in order to
break the Chicago meat packers mo-
nopoly.
Organized labor first made its fight
10 get decent working conditions for
the workers in the packing plants
Then the federal trade commission.
backed by the labor movement and by
all of the organizations of farmers and
i've stock growers, investigated the
packing monopoly, and showed that
the big hve-Armour, Swift, Morris.
wilson and Cudahy-controlled over
~ per cent of the meat in the United
States, beside controlling butter, eggs.
cheese, fish. cereals and various other
foods. The commission showed that
the combine had got a strangle hold
on the food business, not merely in
the United States, but for the most
OF the allied countries, and that its
outrageous profits were due chiefly 10
the fact of its monopoly of the mar
kets where live stock and meats must
be sold. 1t proposed that Congress
should smash the monopoly by taking
away the private control of the mar
kets
Farmers Back Demand.
Every farmer organization in
America is enthusiastically backing
this demand. Half a dozen senators
-Borah, Norris, Kenyon. Kendrick.
owen, Gore-have already spoken in
support of the federal trade commits
sion's plans. But now comes the Cham
Der of Commerce of the United States.
acting thru its executive board, send
ing letter to President Wilson de-
nounclng the commission and telling
the President that the packers We're
gwen no chance to tell their side of
the story. In this letter the chamber
declares that unless the President shall
appoint, TO the two existing vacancies
IN the commission, men who are of the
right training and temperament and
character. nothing can restore conf
dence in that body
Senators Smoot and Sherman, and
number of reactionaries in the
House. have Joined in the chorus with
the Chamber of Commerce of the
United States. The lines are drawn
. sharply. On the one side are the
people who have been robbed by the
packerS-the stockmen, the dairymen
and farmers, the stock yards employees
and the rank and file of retail con-
sumers of meat or of substitutes for
meat. They want to get rid of one
OF the most ruthless eNploiters in the
whole world of commerce. On the
other side are lined up the commercial
and manufacturing powers, with their
press and their lawyers and friends
IN influential positions. Congress ap-
pears Just row TO be in the hands of
the packers friends. But the farmer
labor side is only now beginning to
start the battle.
Democratic Industrial Center.
News from Bridgeport is that the
election of delegates to the industrial
convention for the city has been held.
and that the plan of industrial gov
ernment set forth by the award of the
national war labor board is to be car
ried thru, regardless of the refusal
of small body of the men to stay at
work pending the establishment of
this new organization. At Schenec-
tady. Pittsfield, Lynn, Waynesboro and
at Bethlehem the same process is GO
ing forward or is now completed. In
dustrial government. based on equal
and universal suffrage of all the work
ers in the plants, is rising upon the
ruins of the old style open shop ter
rorism
With the enactment of the man
power act. there is more need than
ever before for the putting of the
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