Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1919-01-28
ARMOUR FINISHES TESTIMONY BEFORE SENATE COMMITTEE
Is Drafting Regulations for
 Meat Packers.
SEEKS T OREMOVE
 ALL ANTAGONIST
Believes Private Ownership Is Necessary.

WaSnlngJOn, aJn Zi.--J. ORden AT mour, president of Armour and Con- pany, told the Senate Agriculture Committee tonight at the conclusion , of his testimony, that he and his counsel were drafting legislation for the regulation of the meat packing industry which he expected to submit as a substitute for similar bills now before congress.
 Before being presented, the legisla- tion will be submitted to the oIner big packing firms and the indepenn- ents for their approval MT. Armour said. He added that he believed the plan which he had in mind would satisfy both the producer and the consumer and remove "antagonism to the packers" which he admitted seem j ed to be general.
 Opposes Control. Mr.. Armour reiterated that his op- position to control by the govern ment or the railroads of refrigerator and livestock cars and stock yards was predicated solely on his fear that they could not be operated as efficienctly as they now are. He said he believed private ownership on branch houses was absolutely necessary, but declar- ed government operated branches houses for the small packers would not be opposed by the large com. panies.
 While MT. Armour was finishing his testimony, Edward s. Morris o1 Chicago, President of Morris and Com
 pany, appeared before the House In
 terstate Commerce Committee in op position to the pending legislation
 which he declared would imperil th,
 industry and prove costly to 'he con
 sumcr.
 Admit Statement.
 Mir. Morris had a prepared state
 ment of 134 pages, but at the sug gestion of the committee, he read cnl. part of it. The entire statement, how
 ever, was admitted to the record O
 the hearing
 Mir. Morris told the committee h, had no objection to government own
 ership of the meat industry provided
 his company was reimbursed imme
 diately for it's property and invest ments. He said he would object. how ever, if payment was postponed a "the industry would 500 nbe in sucl chaotic condition that a proper set / clement would be impossible" No Meat Monopoly. Mir Morris declared that there wa no monopoly of the meat industry. H said the best proof that no combina tion existed was that prices of live stock had more than doubled in fou years.
 The witness charged that the pur pose of the market committee of tn ! National Livestock Association, whic J he said, was behind the investigatio :. was to obtain higher prices for live stock which would, mean higher cost
 to the consumer. He suggested tha
 congress investigate the uses t : which the committee had put the fun s of $15O,000, which he said it receive annually, from the association. H y said he did not mean to intimate tn n fund was put to any improper pull : pose" but said "its size would mak : it rather dangerous if it should har
 pen to get into the improper char e nels."
 n Regarding the relative profits ( l. producers and packers MT. Morr '- said he believed that if the investig; ton had covered all branches of tl n meat industry instead of having bee f concentrated on the five big packin d firms, it would have revealed that tf roducers profits were much hight if proportionately.