Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1919-02-19

and this constantly increasing list
now approaches a dominating pro-
portion of the interstate business
IN several different food lines.
1T is a matter of great conten-
ton as to whether these five firms
compete among themselves, and
the records OF our courts and pub
lie bodies are monuments to this
contention.
Competition Restrained.
Entirely aside from any ques-
ton of conspiracy to eliminate
competition among themselves
and against outsiders, it appears to
me that these five firms, closely
paralleIing each others business as
they do, with their wide knowledge
of business conditions in every sec
ton, must at least follow coinci-
dent lines of action and must nat
urally refrain from persistent,
sharp, competitive action towards
each other. They certainly avoid
such competition to considerable
extent. Their hold on the meat and
many other trades has become so
large through the vast equipment
of slaughter houses, cars and dis
tributing branches, and banking
| alliances which each of the five
controls. that it is practically in
onceiyable that any new firms can
rise to their class, and in any event
even sharp competition between the
few can only tend to reduce the
number of five and not increase it.
Rule Market Prices.
"Of equal public importance is
! the fact that their strategic advan-
tage in marketing equipment, cap
ital and organization must tend to
! further increase the area of their
! invasion into trades outside of ami
/ nal products. Furthermore, as
/ these few firms are the final res
ervOir for all classes of animals,
when the few yards where they buy
/ become erratiCally oversupplied
with more animals than their alb
/ solute requirements, it remains in
/ their hands to fluctuate prices by
mere refusal to buy-and not neCeS-
| sarily by any conspiracy. In other
words, the narrow number of buy
/ ers undoubtedly produces an IN
stable market which reacts to dis
courage production. 1t can be con-
tended, l believe, that those con-
Germs have developed great econom-
ic efficiency, that their costs of
manufacture and profits are made
from the wastes of 40 years ago.
The problem We have TO con-
slider. however, is the ultimate So
Cial result of this expanding dom
nation, and whether it can be re
placed by system of better social
character, and of equal economic
efficiency for the present and of
greater promise for the future. 1t
is certain, TO my mind, that these
businesses have been economically
efficient in their period of competi-
tive upgrowth, but, as time goes on,
this efficiency cannot fail to di-
minish and, like all monopolies. be
gin TO defend itself by repression
rather than by efficiency. The
worst social result OF this whole
growth in domination of trades is
the undermining Of the initiative
and the equal opportunity of our
people and the tyranny which nee
essariIy follows in the commercial
world,
Three Things recommended.
'The federal trade commission
recoRmendations fall into three
parts:
"(a) That the railroad admins
tration take over all animal and re-
frigeration car services.
"Cb) That they take over the
stockyard terminals.
"(c) That the federal govern
ment itself take over the packers
branch houses, cold storage ware
houses, etc. with view, I assume,
to the establishing of equal oppor-
tunity of entrance into distribution
among all manufacturers and trad
ers.
AS to the first part of this rec
Ommendation, on car service, / am
in full agreement and may recall
to you that soon after its installa-
ton, we recommend that the rail
way administration should take
over and operate all private car
lines in food products. This has,
to some degree, been accomplished
through their car service division.
These arrangements are purely
under war powers, and if the re-
forms proposed are to be of any
value, they must be placed upon a |
the war. There can be no doubt |
that the car services. in order to OBJ |
tain the results desired and the |
greatest national economy. must be |
greatly expanded and must be OPP |
Grated from a national point of |
view, rather than from that of each |
individual railway Moreover. they |
are highly technical services beyond |
the ordinary range of railway man
agement and need to embrace all
cooled cars as we'll as meat cars.
Whether this service on a national
scale should be conducted by the
or by private enter
prise, under control as a public
utility, seems to me to require fur
Their thought and. in any event, to
depend upon the ultimate disposal
Of the railway question.
Would DisaSsOciate Yards.
LAS to the stock yards, l am in
agreement that they should be en-
tirely disassociated from the con-
troll of the packers. 4 distinction
must be drawn between the stock
yards as a physical market place
and the buying and selling con-
Quoted therein. In the first sense, i
the complaints largely center
around the exclusion not of buyers
and sellers, but of the prevention
Of competitors from establishing ]
packing plants either upon land of
the yards, or of obtaining track I
and other connections Herewith. |
Tho solution Of this nrohIon7 in nor | ,