The Knoxville independent. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1894-current, 1919-02-15

Country Charged With Having Ef-
fected Combination in Restraint
of Trade Controlling Fresh Meants.
Washington. Federal Trade
Commission, in supplemental report
submitted to Congress, charged five
big meat packing companies of the
country with having effected COM
tination in restraint of trade, and
with having controlled the sale of live
stock and fresh meats. Evidence is
cited al length to support the charges.
Swift & Co, Armour & Co, Morris
& Co.. Wilson & Co., Inc, and the Gu
dahy Packing Co. are named.
THE evidence of the present-day
existence of meat combination
among five packers is voluminous and
detailed" the report said. "This evil
( dence is convincing, consisting as it
does largely of documents written by
the packers or their agents and in
Guiding the memoranda made by one
Of the participants in the combination
OF The terms and conditions agreed
upon at various meetings of the pack
ers.
The principal conclusions. to be
drawn from this mass of evidence re-
lating to combinations among the
Packers, the report says, are:
Il. That Swift & Co., Armour 4
| Co, Morris & Co., Wilson Company,
Inc, and the Cudahy Packing Co. are
in an agreement for the division of
live stock purchases throughout the
United States according to certain
fixed percentages. That this national
live stock division is REINFORCED by
J local agreements among the members
| of the general combination operating
at each Of the principal markets, as
| at Denver, where Armour and Swift
divide their live stock 'fifty-ffty.'
! That these national and local live
| stock purchase agreements constitute
a restraint of interstate commerce in
live animals and in the sale of meat
and other animal products, sitting
competition among the five cOmpa-
Mes, substantially controlling the
prices to be paid live stock producers
and the prices to be charged consum-
ers of meat and other animal prod
ucts, and giving the members of the
combination unfair and illegal adyan-
tage over actual and potential COM
| petitors.
80 That the five companies ex-
change confidential information, which
is not made available to their competi-
tors. and employ Jointly paid agents
to secure information which is used
to control and manipulate live stock
That the five companies act col
| lusively through their buyers in the
/ purchase of live stock.
~ That Swift & Company, Armour
& Company, Morris IS Company, and
Wilson Company, Inc, through their
subsidiary and controlled companies
in South America, combined with GER
tain other companies to restrict and
control shipments of beef and other
meats from South America to the
United States and other countries.
''5. That the five companies act col
lusively in the sale of fresh meat.
SO. That there is joint contrbu-
ton to funds expended under their
secret control to influence public opin.
ion and governmental action and thus
to maintain the power of their combi-
nation.
81 That the agreements, under
standings and pools herenfore recited
are reinforced by the community of in
terest among the five companies above
named through joint ownership, either
corporate or individual, of various en-,
terprises. Two or more of the inter.
ests thus have joint ownership OF
representation in 10S concerns as far
as ascertained to July, 1918"
The. report said the "big five" joint
ly employ men at markets to gather
market conditions and thus check each
others operations. Analysing condi
tons at various markets, the report
said that at st. Joseph, Mo-, Swift, Ar
mour and Morris operate at yards con
trolled by Swift.