Arizona republican., 1919-01-28
Corners Armour On Joint Advertising Sch me Packer Says He Has His Own Bill to Present to Congress-E. $. Morris Willing to Sell to Gov ernment Makes Guarded Attack On National Live stock Association
Republican A. p. Leased Wirel

Armour. president of Armour and Con- pany. told the senate agriculture com mittee tonight, at conclusion of his tes- timony, that he and his counsel were drafting legislation for the regulation of the meat packing industry, which he expected to submit as substitute f~ similar bills now before congress.
 Before being presented, the legisla- ton will be submitted to the other big packer firms, and the independents, for their approval, MT. Armour said. He added that he believed the plan which he had in mind would satisfy producer and remove "antagonism to the pack CTS" which he admitted seemed gen. eral
 Mir Armour reiterated that his op- position to control by the government of the railroads or refrigerator and livestock cars and stock yards, was predicted solely on his fear they could not be operated as efficiently as now. He said he believed private ownership of branch houses absolutely necessary, but declared that government operated branch houses, for the small packers, would not be opposed by the large com panies.
 Morris Would Sell to U. S.
 While MT. Armour was finishing his testimony before the senate committee. Edward $. Morris of Chicago, president of Morris and Company appeared be- fore the house interstate commerce committee, in opposition to the pending legislation, which he declared would imperil the industry and prove costly to the consumer. MT. Morris had a prepared statement of 13 pages, but at the suggestion of the committee, he of hN cfo ta ment, however, was admitted to the record of the hearing.
 MT. Morris told the committee he had no objection to government ownership of the meat industry, provided his com pany was reimbursed immediately for it's property and investment He said he would object, however. if payment was postponed, "as the industry would soon be in such a chaotic condition that a proper settlement would be impos- sible"
 Unless congress wants to have an- other industry in the situation where the railroads now are" the witness said, "it should leave the meat industry alone. Government regulation might cause the ultimate ruin of the industry as well as resulting in a great increase in the cost of living
 MT. Morris declared there was no monopoly of the meat industry. Reply ing to the statement of the federal trade commission that there was col fusion among the five big packing firms in buying and selling, MT. Morris said the best proof that no combination existed was in the fact that prices of livestock had more than doubled in four years.
 Attacks Livestock Association
 The witness charged that the pur- pose of the market committee of the National Livestock association, which he said was b\in the investigation of the federal trade commission, was to obtain higher prices for livestock, which would mean higher costs to the consumer He suggested that it might be advisable for congress to investigate the uses to which the committee had put the fund of s150,000, which he said it received annually from the aSsoci- ation. He asserted that he did not mean to intimate the fund was put to any improper purpose but said, tits size would make it rather dangerous if it should happen to get into the improper channel"
 Profits of Morris and company for the fiscal year ending November 3, 1918, were only PA per cent on the total capital invested, Mir. Morris said. ! This profit, he asserted, was only a little more than one-half of what the food administration approved
 Questioned by Representative Win l slow of Massachusetts, regarding the relative profits of producers and pack CTS, MT. Morris said he believed that if the investigation conducted by the l federal trade commission had covered ! all branches of the meat industry, in- l stead of having been concentrated or 1 the five big packing firms, it would | have revealed that the producers prof were much the higher proportionately
 Heney Corners Armour | During the senate committee hear l ing, MT. Heney introduced unsigned memoranda which he said recorded conferences at which it was agreed l that expenses of a S1,500000 publicity campaign, involving newspaper adver- tisements in every city above 25,0O0 were to be borne pro-rata by the fivt big packers, to educate the public, through dailies, weeklies mad month 1 lies. The advertisements were to bt signed individually by the packers" tC prevent any appearance of collision, according to the memoranda, and al papers were to be used to preven criticism by publications now receiving advertising.
 q have noticed that in many places | Swift's advertising has stopped" MT Heney said, and Armours has started Is that a result of this plan?'
 No, merely a concidence," said MT Armour
 The witness was asked about a din ner he gave to editors of farm maSa zines in Chicago.
 "Was this part of your educationa campaign?" asked MT. Heney.
 Well if you wish to put it tha way" was the reply.
 A joint board was planned also, Mr Heney said, to watch for "unfavorabl articles" which were to be answered This plan was not carried out, MI Armour said.
 Evades Secret Questions
 Did the packers go ahead separatel in the campaign because joint adver tisements would tend to create furthe
 suspicion that they were working to gether," MT. Heney asked. l, T presume so," said Mir Armour. Professor E. Dana Durand, professo
 of economies, University of Minnesota } Who later was connected with the foo
 Continued on Page Five)