Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-02-22
oTTUMWA sEMLwEEKLY COURIER FRIDAY FEBRUARY e. 1918

~, 1913
great American achievements in con
nection with the war.
HENEYs REVIVAL
1t must be discouraging to Francis
J. Heney to find that the country re
fuses to wax hostile and indignant
over the disclosures" he and Victor
Murdoch have made in the trade com
missions investigation of the packing
industry.
Mr.. Heney is a relic of the old muck
raking days and his strenuous effort
to revive the methods of that time
have been launched at an unfortunate
time, apparently. War news takes
first place in the minds of the reading
public. And there is another feature
Iof the situation, too. That public has
learned from past experience that It Is
Ia waste Of time to become excited
over the one-sided exposures" in
which the muck-rakers deal. So much
of their thunder is silenced when the
other side is heard that the public has
learned to wait for the defense before
framing its verdict.
Mr.. Walsh. attorney for the packing
house employees in Chicago. is showing
tendency to follow in Mr.. Heney's
lead and is weakening the case Of his
clients by departing from the straight
forward inquiry into working condi-
tions and wage questions for which
Judge Alschuler has been appointed by
the government. Mr.. Walsh's obvious
effort to excite class prejudice in his
questioning of J. Ogden Armour and
Nelson M.rris might have been effec-
tive before jury, but they had to be
lugged by main force into q hearing
before judicial arbitrator
II the big packers have violated the
antitrust laws there is a well marked
path for the department Of justice to
follow in bringing them to book. Such
a course must be followed even IL Mr.
Heney's blatant charges and voctfer-
GUS denmciations are founded on fact.
1t seems that his ex-parte Investigation
Is somewhat idle even II its disclosures
can stand the test of the defense of
the packers The recourse in the end
must be to the courts if conditions are
found which warrant prosecution by
the department Of Justice.
There is decided political 2avor
proceeding which has been detected by
the public. That Is the reason Mr..
Heney's sensational charges have not
brought about the organization of tar
and feather parties for the heads Of
the packing concerns. AS matter Of
fact, some of the facts he has disclosed
call for serious consideration, not only
by the public but by the governments
They have been tangled
50 fnextrcably with groundless
charges, however, that they have failed
to attract the attention they deserve,
and Mr.. Heney's feverish attitude has
worked to the benefit of the packers
as much as to their embarrassment
His charge that the packers were re-
sponsfble for the high prices Of shoes,
for instance, ended with the declara-
ton that they were boarding hides and
realizing big profits whenever they
made sales. Louis F. Swift replied to
this charge with the declaration that
his company marketed 20 per cent
more hides in 1917 than in 1916, de.
spite the decreased foreign demand.
that there was hut little domestic de-
mand for any but the coarser hides.
which were used in the manufacture Of
army shoes. II this is true the reserve
supply must be lighter hides and It
would seem that shoe manufacturers
have decreased the output of shoes for
ordinary wear, increasing the price in
II it is true, as Mr. Swift says, that
the packers are boarding hides about
like Chicago is boarding SNOW" and Is
willingly, the federal trade commission
should be able to establish that fact by
prices for few years back
II the shoe manufacturers have been
able to buy hides at reasonable prices
and have not bought them, or II they
have purchased themSa reasonable fig.
ures and have charged prices for shoes
out of proportion to the cost Of the
hides, the federal trade commission
should be able to establish the facts.
1t could be done without the beating
Of political tom-toms and without per-
sonal glorification Of Mr.. Heney. 1t
could be done by summoning a few
witnesses and doing few sums In
1t might be possible, with facts from
both sides at hand, to decide whether
The present unprecedented prices
which ordinary citizens must pay for
shoes are tributes to the packers, the
shoe manufacturers, or both, or are
merely unavoidable instances of the
increased cost of all necessities.
1t might be possible we say again,
with facts from both sides at hand, but
It never will be possible under the
system which Mr.. Heney Is
to revive. The muck-rak-
BIS nourished for q few years and
made profits for themselves, but they
brought few benefits, If any. to the
public
FARMERS SEIZE GRAIN CARS
Sioux City, Feb. 20.-Farmers took
.hings into their own hands at Watt
hill, Neb. when elevators at that place