The Elk Mountain pilot., 1918-02-07
BEEF TRUST VS.. PEOPLE

ship by outbidding all the local con-
Germs in their own territory for the
refuse, and forced them out of busi-
ness.
Hugh G. Robertson was leading the
independents in struggle agains.
the trust in 1912 and had secured
the indictment of heads of the beef
trust rendering companies on charges
of secret conspiracy to ruin their
competitors, but was paid big
price to sell out to them, and he en-
listed on their side. And he might
as well. for right while he was clos
ing the deal Attorney General Wick
ersham was writing a letter to the
federal district attorney, ordering
him to ask the dismissal of the in
dictments. If Robertson hadn't sold
out, he would have been crushed out.
In Philadelphia the commission
found the fight between the trust
and independents still on. One big
firm is not yet beaten. Testimony
showed that butchers had accepted
|
5000 to $40O to sell their refuse to
the trust instead of to this indepen-
dent concern But in Buffalo the
beef trust had such cinch that the
butchers had to pay the rendering
companies SO cents per 100 pounds
to haul their waste meat and fat
away! In cities where independents
are still doing business the. price
paid for bones is two to three cents,
for fats 10 to IL cents, and for saet
II to 10 cents, the testimony showed.
But in cities where the trust has go;
control, the price is one-fourth to
one cent for bones, three to live
cents for fat and six to eight cents
for suet.
When shoes were advancing in
price every week, the trust was just
finishing killing off the last of the
independent tanneries. 1t bought up
for long period in advance the full
tanning capacity of the plants it did
not own and shut them to indepen-
dent packing firms that had hides to
sell. One witness told the commits
sion how he had quantity of hides
worth 20, 80 and 40 cents per pound,
and that the trust drove him finally
to sell them all at 10 cents, because
he could not make them into leather.
Things of this same kind were
shown in the St. Paul hearings where
Commissioner Davies, Mr.. Heney, and
their corps of Investigators spent in
all about two weeks. Four days were
spent in the formal hearings after
more than a week had been consumed
by agents of the commission in pre-
pairing the ground.
The public had been led to sup
pose that the only thing that would
be disclosed by the ST. Paul inquiries
would be the interesting question as
to what became of the S5OO,OOO that
St, Paul citizens subscribed to bribe
| Armour & Co., to enter the st. Paul
livestock market "in competition
with Swift & Co. And even this, it
was announced over and ever, the
public already knew. The big busi-
ness newspapers did all they could
to make the people think there was
nothing worth asking questions
about in the South St. Paul market,
the fifth largest packing and live
stock point in the United States,
and now being doubled in capacity
But this is pretty interesting in
formation isn't it? Swift & Co. got
the original packing plant at South
St. Paul, the land that went with it.,
the belt line railroad that connects
the yards with the transcontinental
railway lines, and $1,O0O,OOO worth of
stock in the stockyards company for
the sum of only $4,000! Here is the
clue to the whole story of how the
Northwest has been levied upon for
tribute to the beef barons. That was
Swift's inducement to come here
And when the people, tired of a one
man market, determined to get Ar
mour to come in, Armour demanded
81, ,OOO, 900 likewise, either cash or
stock in the stockyards company
and Swift guaranteed half of this!
Mr.. Swift was quite affable about
it too, according to c. w. Gordon,
who told this part of the story. The
St. Paul business men formed "cit-
izens' committee" to get another
packing plant. Mr.. Gordon was ap-
pointed ambassador to visit the dis
tant packing sovereigns. The nego-
tiations had already extended over
several years, and Armour had
threatened to go and establish inde-
pendent yards in Minneapolis-but
hadn't done it-when the "citizens'
committee" determined to get him