The Coconino sun., 1919-07-25
HOW s.BIC FTVE'' PACKERS ARE
 PACKING TT ONTO THE PUBLIC

An approaching packer domination of all important foods in the United States and an international control of meat products with foreign companies seems a certainty unless fundamental action is taken to prevent it, the Fed eral Trade Commission declared in Part 1 of it's report to President Will son on the "extent and growth of the power of the five packers in meat and other industries"
 "A fair consideration of the course the five packers have followed and the position they have already reached, said the report, must lead to the conclusion that they threaten the freedom of the market of the coun- try's food industries and of the by products of the idustries linked there with. The meat packer control of the other foods will not require long in developing"
 Publicity Advocated
 Declaring "the history of the pack. ers' growth is interwoven with illegal commissions, rebates and with undis' closed control of corporations" the re- port urged the importance of full pub. licity of corporate ownership for all industries.
 "As to devices for securing control there does not exist adequate law, the report said "In its absence un- fair competition may run it's course to the goal of monopoly and accomplish the ruin of competitors without the secret ownership being suspected and consequently without complaint to the commission or investigation of facts The competitor is in jeopardy so long as he has not the knowledge of true ownership and the public is entitled to such knowledge"
 "Big Five" Control Food
 Alleging that the Big Five" pack ers-Swift & Co.,, Armour & Co.,, Will son & Co.,, Morris & Co.,, and the Gu dahy Co.,, jointly or separately wield controlling interests in STA companies, minority interest in 95 others, and un- determined interest in 93--a total of 762 companies--and that they produce or deal in some ITS commodities, very largely food products, the report gives this picture of growing packer invasion into related and unrelated industries.
 "In addition to meat foods, they produce or deal in such divers com modities as fresh tomatoes and banjo strings, leather and cottonseed oil, breakfast foods, win fig, curly hair, pepsin, and washing powders. Their branch houses are not only stations for the distribution of meat and poul- try, but take on the character of the wholesale grocery stores, dealers in various kinds of produce and jobbers to special lines of trade.
 Still Reaching Out
 "They have interests large enough to be a dominating feature in most of the services connected with the production and distribution of animal foods and their by-products, and are reaching out for control, not only of substitutes of animal foods, but of substitutes for other lines into which the integration of their business has led them. They are factors in cattle loan companies maknig the necessary loans to growers and feeders of live stock; are interested in railways and private car lines transporting live stock and manufactured animal prod ucts; in most of the important stock yards companies-the public market for the bulk of food animals; and in live stock trade papers on which the growers and feeders rely for market news.
 "They are interested in banks from