Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1918-12-03
FEDERAL TRApE
 COMMISSION IS
 Af1tR BIG FIVE
Evidence is Presented in Report in Showing Combination in Re. straint of Trade.

Washington Dec. 2.--The Federal Trade commission, in a supplemental report submitted to congress today charged the five big meat packing companies of the country with a coml bination in restrain of trade and with controlling the sale of live stocks and fresh meats
 Evidence is cited at length to SUD- port the charges. Swift and Com pany, Armour and Company, Morris and Company, Wilson and Company incorporated, and the Cudahy Pack ing company are named.
 Washington, Dec. 2.-Collusion ill buying, the report said, is in oper- ation at all principal markets.
 'The buyers begin' buying at the same time," the report stated. of one holds off the market all hold off. So Atrong is the influence of the big packers that the market is not made until their buyers begin bid ding.
 'There exists, therefore, for each of the big packers, centralized buy ing system so simply contrived and organized that it controls the small- est details of livestock purchases at each of the markets and can be set in motion and directed by a single word Only few men in each con- pany need know that there is, an agreement or understanding"
 The report that the "big five" joint ly employ mon at markets to gather market conditions and thus check each others operations. Analysing conditions at various markets, the report said that at St. Joseph, Mo-, Swift and Morris operate at yards controlled by Swift,
 At times,' it was stated, Swift has difficulty in getting Armour and Morris to support the market. Swift and company controlled at St. Paul, but now Armour has share of the live stock receipts there.'
 At Omaha and Sioux City, the re- port declared, the Cudahy and Armour plants arc the largest, and Swift has recently acquired small independ ent plant at Sioux City
 At this market, (SiouX City), the arrangement is for Cudahy to buy just as many hogs as Armour buys !" the report declared. "The fifty-fif- ty division of hogs at Sioux City is of long standing" the report added, quoting messages from E. A. Cudahy to manager M. R. Murphy
 "At Omaha" the commission said, "the division of hog purchases for many years wac on the following arbitrary percentages; Armour, 30; Cudahy. 30; Swift, 25>; Morris. 15."
 The commission said Wilson and Company, in 1917, tried to establish right to buy atTaOmaha, but was rebuffed by Arthur Meeker, of Ar. mour and Company. @'
 Oklahoma City. Fort Worth and Denver. the report stated, all are "fifty-fifty" markets.
 "That is' it was stated, there are only two big packers operating at each of these markets and each pack CT is expected to purchase an equal amount of live stock. At Oklahoma City, Norris and Company. and Will son and Company control the stock yards and buy practically an equal number of animals.
 At Fort Worth and Denver, Ar mour and Company, Swift and Com pany are the only big packers. The stock yards and allied facilities are jointly controlled. Therefore, both must support the market alike" combination regulating the sale of meat products in this country, the report said:
 Their present agreement as to tho division of live stock purchases re- suited in limiting the amount of dressed meats each will have for sale in proportion approximately to the percentage of live animals purchased under the purchase agreement. By regular inspection of one another's branch house stocks, they are en- abled to prevent an oversupply of fresh meat in any market. By their exchange of information as to the margins on sales of meat at the diff ferent markets they are able to keep their average prices so uniform that practically every retail butcher eX- amined on this point by the agents of the commission, stated that for the same kind of grade of meat there is no preceptible difference in the prices charged by the different big packers. The exceptions are cases where TO- tatior in price cutting is practiced in order to drive an independent out of the market"
 The five concerns. it is charged,