The news scimitar. (Memphis, Tenn.) 1907-1926, 1919-08-15
M'KELLAR REPLIES
! TO SWIFT'S WIRE
IN OWN DEENSE
Tennessee Senator PAGES His
Answer ContainiB "a Per-
tinent QueSrieS Into Rec
ordS Of Congress.

~ W SSii9l OVa
WASHINGTON, AUG is. (spl.)-Per.
ttnent Inquiries relatve to storage OF
food and the reputd combination of
packers were plaeei In the Congress.
! elonal Record today'by Senator Nickel
Ter, OF Iennesseet These came as a
response to a telegram from Louis F.
swift addressed to Senator Mcclellan
following the latter's speech on cold
storage methods Both the telegram and
answer thereto we're placed In the Rec
ord at the request Of Senator Mcclellan
and he also has promised to follow with
SWifts answsr, " one Is Forthcoming.
Senator MtKellar's answer comprises
some "a separate propositions. The
I first OF these deals with the Swift an
swer and the rest raise new questions
for Mr., Swift's lawyers to answer. In
his telegram Mr.. Swift said the packers
were controlled by the law of supply
land demand. IF this is correct" asks
NSenator Mcclellan, will you explain
why poultry with three times as much
on hand June, 1919, as in June, 1918,
Is about four cents hgher?"
Other high points in the letter are:
afou say that conservation is the mo-
Htive. behind storing perishable food
products. If this is so, why do you wish
the time limit extended beyond one
year,. and why do you demand Is
months for butter and is months for
why do you demand u months for
y Eggs when you stated in 1910 that you
sept them as long as Is months?
why do you keep beef, frozen and
nnfrozen. Is months?
II you want simply to carry 1t over
From q period Of plenty to a period Of
scarcity, as you profess, why keep 1t
15 months. as you say you do in your
fWr1tten report of 1910?
DO you object to the antitrust fea-
+ lures of my BILL and If so, why do
you object to them?
You say in your written report that
the average time that you keep eggs
4 py my bill is seven months. why do
A Sou object to this limit?
4 You say that YOU have not monop-
HpP OF the freezer's space. According
70 the best statistics we have here the
five large packers have over zoe, ,O00, 900
cnbuc coa NC fee feet out Of a little more than
400, 100000 cubic feet of the freezer
space. Are these figures correct, and
ures?
About Combine.
Have you q gentlemen's agreement.
or any other kind of an agreement, ex-
pressed or implied, in reference to the
Territory in which all or any one of the
live packers may operator
Have you any agreement or under
Standing, expressed or implied, direct
q, Indirect, as to prices to be paid for
wv produets s going into cold storage or
DO your employees, agents or repre-
sentatives have daily or weekly confer
Fences with the employees, agents or rep
resentatives of any one or more of the
Nother four packers, and If so, what is
Ahe object of these conferences? Is the
~ cad af
ferences?
'Will you furnish the average price
or prices paid by you for No. / eggs
In the month of June 1918, and the av.
erage price or prices paid by you for
No. | eggs In June, 1915 also the aver
Iage price or prices at which you sold
eggs to the wholesaler durinf the two
3Kaid months and the average price or
prices at which the wholesalers sold to
the retailers during the two said
months, and the average price or prices
at which the retail dealers sold to the
consumers during the two said months
'Ahe you in agreement with the
other four packers for the division OF
livestock purchases throughout the
limited States, according to certain fixed
peTcentages?
sDo you e&change confidential infor.
mation with the other four companies
which Is not~made available to theil
competitors, and employ Jointly will
them paid agents to secure information
which Is used to control and manipulate
live stock markets?
''Do you have joint paid agents in at
tendance upon the congress at Wash
|ington? If so, what are their names?
s'Do you exchange information with
the other four regarding margins real
ICED in the sale of meats?
do you have an inspection of one an
others stock. of fresh meats?
Have you joint action or under
standing In underselling independen
competitors by a system of rotation
each of the members of the combination
In turn assuming the burden or cutting
prices to the competitors customers?
What other meat packing concern
or meat dealing concerns are you inter
ested in?
Have you or your company any stoc
In so-called independent storage compa
nies, and IL so, which ones?
please state whether or not you
+ agents or representatives, of the othe
flour large packers meet in each larg
city in which you do business to con
slider the general good OF the five? Ar
these meetings weekly or daily, an
give the purpose of the meetings?
"Your full and complete answers t
these questions at very early dat
would greatly aid us in dealing with thi
subject Il am taking the liberty of put
ting this letter in the record, togethe
with a copy of your telegram, inasmuc
as you published your telegram at prac
ticaly the same time 1t was sent
me.
~ hope you will answer these ques
tions explicitly and in detail, and, mas
much as you used your telegram, appar
entity, as an advertisement l shall TAX
great pleasure in putting into the Cor
gressionad Record your answer to TIL
letter II you win make 1t explicit
enough to be Of value either to you q