The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1919-07-11
FEDERAL BOARD
HITS PACK ERS'
FOOD CONTROL"
n Comprehensive Report to
President Wilson Charge
Illegal Practices
NO ADEQUATE LAW
Commission Declares Practices
Growth of Long Standing
Dominate Market

Washington, July 11.-An approach
ing packer domination of all import.
ant foods in the United States and an
international control Of meat products
with foreign trade companies. seems
certainty unless fundamental &C.
ton Is taken to prevent it, the feder-
al trade commission declared today in
Part of its report to President vii.
son on the extent and growth of
power of the five packers in meat and
other industry" .
illegal Combines.
Declaring the history of the pack
ers' growth Is interviewer with illegal
combines, rebates and undisclosed
control Of corporations" the report
urged importance of full publicity of
corporate ownership Of all industries.
"As to devices for securing control
there does not exist adequate law"
the report said. I'm 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.
Competitor In Jeopardy.
The competitor is in jeopardy so
long as he has not the knowledge of
true ownership, and the public is en-
titled to such knowledge. Alleging
that the "big five" nackers-Swift
& Co., armour & Co., Wilson & Co.,
Norris & Co., and the Cudahy Com
pany. jointly or separately yield con-
trolling interest in 54 companies,
minority interests in IS others, and
undetermined interests in SO, a total
of 1852 companies, and that they pro-
duce or deal in some us commod<
ties, largely food products, the report
gives this picture of growing packer
invasion into related and unrelated
industries:
Range Of Commodities.
I'm addition to meat food, they deal
In such diverse commodities as fresh
tomatoes and bango strings, leather
and cotton seed oil, breakfast foods
and thin fiz, curled hair, pepsin and
washing powders. Their branch hous-
es are not only stationed for the dis
tr1bution OF meat and poultry but take
on the function Of wholesale grocery
houses and jobbers to special trade.
They have interests 50 as to be
dominating factor in the distribution
OF animal food and their by-products
and are reaching out for control OF
substitutes for animal food and other
lines.
Cattle Loan Companies.
"They are factors in cattle loan
companies, making necessary loans to
growers and feeders of livestock; are
interested in railroads and private
car lines; in most Of the important
stock yards companies, the public
market for the bulk Of food supplies;
control live stock papers in which the
stock raisers and feeders rely for
their news; dominate companies that
manufacture machinery essential to
the industry. they are principle deal.
ers on the provision exchanges where
prices are determined; they or their
subsidiary companies deal in hides,
oleo, fertilizer and other animal BY
products.
In Leather Industry.
"They are important factors in the
leather industry. in oleo margarine,
in soap, in fertilizer, glue, etc. Their
vast distributing system with the ad.
vantage arising from control of
agencies has enabled then. to extend
their activities on a large scale into
poultry, eggs, cheese, butter, rice,
breakfast food, canned vegetables and
soda foundtatn supplies.
"The big five have control Of pub.
lie utility corporations in Sioux City,
Kansas City, South St. Paul Portland,
Ore; San Francisco, Hill City, Mimi;
Fort Worth, Tex, and Chicago.
DENY CHARGES.
Chicago, July 11.-Charges against
the big meat packers contained in the
report issued by the federal trade
commission today were denied by
Louis F. Swift, president of Swift &
Co., speaking for all Chicago pack
ers. This latest report of federal
trade commission is merely an attack
on large and successful business en-
terprises, said Mr.. Swift. 1t con-
tains nothing new and is an outgrowth
of the former discredited Heney in
vestigation. This report, so far as I
am concerned, contains absolutely no
evidence OF collusion among the five
largest packers, and say for Swift
& Co. as l have said many times,
that we have no agreement of any
kind with any other packers to affect
prices of livestock or meat.