The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1918-08-13
GOVERNMENT CONTK0L ASKEI
~ FOR SIC ST0tK YARDS, Eft.
WASHINGTON, August 12.-Go

eminent acquisition and control of
all the principal stock yards, cold
storage plants and warehouses and
both refrigerator and cattle cars has;
been Recommended to the. President
by the Federal Trade Commission to
destroy monopoly which, it declares
Swift & Co... Armour & Co., Morris
& CO., Wilson & Co., Inc, and the
Cudahy Packing Company exercise
not only over the meat industry of
the country. but other necessary food
supplies. Is 1G <s% -
The commissions report is based
upon exhaustive hearings conducted
recently in many cities and was made
public Thursday through the White
House. 1t has been in the hands of
the President since July 5, and it was
explained that it had not previously
been issued because the President
wished first to be in possession of
full information"
Basing its statement upon a great
volume of evidence examined, much
of it taken from the confidential files
Of the packing companies, the COM
mission said the power of the pack
ing companies "has been and is being
unfairly and illegally used:" -r.r
To manipulate live stock markets.
To restrict interstate and inter-na-
tional supplies of food.
To control the prices of dressed
meats and other foods.
To defraud both the producers of
food and consumers.
To crush effective competition.
To secure special privileges from
railroads, stock yard companies and
municipalities, and
To profteer. ~ 50
"While we have found" said the
commissions report to the President,
"and will disclose to you an intri-
cate fabric of monopolies, controls,
combinations, conspiracies and re-
straints' which would seem to indi-
cate similarly complex and minute
system of legislative or administra-
tive remedy, we believe that an
adequate remedy may be more SIM
ply arrived at.
eve believe that if the fundamen-
tai and underlying evils are rooted
out the whole structure of conspir-
acy, control, monopoly and restraint
must fall.
If these five great concerns owned
no packing plants and killed no cat
tie and still retained control of the
instruments of transportation, of
marketing and of storage, their DO
sition would be no less strong than
it is"
The commission then recon-
mended:
81. That the Government acquire.
through the railroad administration
all rolling stock used for the trans
portation of meat animals and that
such ownership be declared a Gov
eminent monopoly.
~. That the Government acquire
through the railroad administration,
the principal and necessary stock
yards of the country, to be treated as
freight depots and to be operated i'm
der such conditions as will insure
open, competitive markets, with uni
form scale of charges for all services
performed, and the acquisition or
ablishment of such additional
yards from time to time as the
future development of livestock
production in the United States may
require. This to include customary
adJuncts of stockyards.
"3. That the Government ACQUIRE.
through the Railroad Administration.
all privately owned refrigerator cars
and all necessary equipment for
their proper operation and that such
ownership be declared a Govern
ment monopoly.
"A: That the Federal Government
acquire such of the branch houses.
cold storage plants and warehouses
as are necessary to provide facilities
for the competitive marketing and
storage of food products in the prin-
cipal center of distribution and con-
sumption. The same to be operated
by the Government as public mar
kets and storage places under such
conditions as will afford an outlet
for all manufacturers and handlers
OF food products on equal terms.
Supplementing the marketing and
storage facilities thus acquired, the
Federal Government establish.
through the Railroad Administrator
at the terminals of all principal
points of distribution and consump-
ton, central wholesale markets and
storage plants with facilities open tn