The Liberal democrat. [volume] (Liberal, Kan.) 1911-1924, 1918-08-15

ing companies through important
branches of industry, of commerce
and of finance, the commission re-
ports that the packers control not
only the meat supply, but count
less number of by-product indus
tries and have invaded allied indus
tries and even unrelated ones. This
control has extended now to the prin-
cipal substitutes for meat, such as
eggs, cheese and vegetable oil and
products, the commission says, and
rapidly is being extended to cover
fish and nearly every kind of food
stuff. This control is made possible,
says the commission, not so much by
means of production and preparation
nor by the sheer momentum of great
wealth, but by the advantage OBJ
tanned through monopolistic control
of the market places and means of
transportation. The commission dis
missed the claims of the packers to
legitimate competition among them
by saying that some show of competi-
ton is staged" but that it is super
fetal. There is some show of natural
rivalry of officials and departments,
the report says, and this is made
much of as indicating the existence
of real competition but it is not real.
After detailing the control of the
five companies over the meat and al
lied industries, the commission says
this control rests in the hands OF a
small group of Individuals. Og-
den Armour, the Swift brothers, Nor
ris brothers, Thomas E. Wilson, act
ing under the veto of group OF
bankers, including the Chase national
bank, the Guaranty Trust Co., Kuhn,
Loeb & Co., William Solomon e. Co.,
and Hallgarten & Co., all of New
York, and the Cudahys.
Bankers Get in on 1t.
The commission says thru the con-
troll of Wilson & Co., Inc, "three of |
the most powerful banking groups |
in the country" now are "participat-
ing in the rapidly maturing food mon
opoly," which it describes. This par
of the bankers in the bank
ing industry, it says, was not at all
to the big packers, and J.
Ogden Armour and Louis F. Swift
frequently were consulted during the
negotiations looking to acquisition
of an interest in the industry by the
bankers.
"The menace of this concentrat-
ed control of the nations food" says
the report, sis increased by the fact
that those five corporations and their
500 and odd subsidiary, controlled
and affiliated companies are bound |
together by joint ownerships, agree
ments, understandings, communities
of interest and family relationships"
AS illustrative of the monopoly of
the five companies over the stock
yards of the country the commission
reports that more than 60 per cent
of the stock in the stock yards in
these cities are controlled by the
packers:
Dallas, Texas; East st. Louis, ILL.,;
Ell Paso, Texas; Fort Worth, Texas
Kansas City, Mo-; Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma; st. Joseph, Mo-, and a
number of others
The packers also own stock in
yards in Wichita, Kansas. Armour
& Co. also is reported as owning 1914
per cent of the stock of the Chicago
yards, with evidence that Swift & Co.
were parties to the negotiations by
which Armour & Co. acquired its in
terest.
Tells of Food Conspiracy
In detailing how the packers are
alleged to have gained control of the
meat supply of the United tSates and
the allies, the commission said:
"The Armour, Swift, Morris and
Wilson interests have entered into a
combination with certain foreign cor
porations, by which export shipments
of beef, mutton and other meats
from the principal South American
meat producing countries are appor-
toned among the several companies
on the basis of, agreed percentages.
In connection with this conspiracy,
meetings are held for the purpose of
securing the maintenance OF the
agreement and making such adjust
ments as from time to time may be
desirable. The agreements restrict
South American shipments to Euro
pean countries and thhe United
States. Since the meat supplies of
North and South America constitute
practically the only sources from
which the United States and her al
lies can satisfy their needs for their
armies, navies and civil populations,
these two agreements constitute a
conspiracy on the part of the big |
FIVE in connection with certain for
eign corporations to monopolize an
essential food of the United States,
France and Italy"