Evening star., 1919-10-16
Economic Questions Involved.

List of Commodities.
Included in the list of commodities
said to be falling under control of the
big five" are poultry and game. dairy
products. lard and butter substitutes,
canned and dried vegetables and fruit,
canned, cured and frozen fish, cocoa,
coffee. n1olasses and cane, corn and
maple sirups. In addition, Armour &
Co, one of the five, is said to be
handling extensively soda fountain
preparations and utensils.
Ihe extent OF packer control varies
with the locality and commodity "and
the dealer whose business is being alb
sorbed," the report asserts.
Says Secret Methods Hamper.
Owing to the maze and secrecy of
the packers methods of conducting
much of their business" 1t adds, exact
statistics on many of these commodi-
ties are not available for the country
as a whole. which will show just how
far the packers control has reached.
Many companies manufacturing or
handling these commodities are con-
trolled by packer interests. no hint of
which is disclosed by the names under
which they operate. and even a thor
cover the packer connection in every
case"
Percentage Of Control.
Four of the packers, Swift, Wilson,
Armour and Cudahy, the report states,
through their subsidiaries and not in
Guiding family controlled companies,
handled in 1918 49.5 per cent of the
estimated total of shipped dressed
poultry and 33 per cent Of shipped
eggs
The same four bandJad 40 na- ,an+
of all factory-made cheese in 1918, the
report says, and adds:
THAT the big Five" are In a position
to control rs to so per cent of the
cheese of the state CWisconsin) is
generally conceded"
concern, alone handled 1914 per cent
of all evaporated and condensed milk
in 1918, according to the report.
Profits Reported.
The Armour Grain Company, a fac
tor in the cereal and breakfast food
business, reported surplus undivided
prof1ts for the year 1917 Of $5,426,S3e
after deducting a 7s per cent dividend
on capital stock. the report says, add
ing:
The years net earnings amounted
to S2,90S.913, or 290 per cent ON the
capital stock and 67 per cent ON the
net worth of the company. including
capital. surplus and undivided
pronts, as reported at the close of the
fiscal year 1916"
Production Of lard compounds and
substitutes by the five packers during
the first six months Of 1917 was placed
at 4s.4 per cent Of the total, and oleo-
margarine at 81 per cent
Canned Food Business.
Complete figures to show the packer
interest in canned foods, such as fruits
says. but the business of the 'Bie Five:
was shown to be large and growing.
Ihe Libby Company's canned food sales
alone showed 225 per cent increase in
lste over 1915. Libby sales Of canned
salmon increased from 4.6 per cent of
the world pack in 1915 to ST. per cent in
1918, the report SHOWS.
so complete has become the control.
especially by Libby. McNeil & Libby,
over the pineapple supply" the report
reads, that one of the largest whole
sale grocers in the country was unable
in the summer Of 1918 to secure any
supply whatever
There is sufficient evidence. the report
continues. that the big Five" are di-
viding the field among themselves
IF Armour's grocery specialties are
largely concentrated along such lines as
rice. cereals, certain kinds of canned
lOOuS anu CnetSe, ana eacn OF the other
OF the five great packers concentrates
his specialties along a few well chosen
lines, the profitable fields become pretty
well covered and pretty well ruled by
the five
The report declares the meat pack
ers ARE large spectators and that
their control of capital and credit en-
ables them to buy in such a way as
to resell upon a market in which
their purchases have forced up the
price" 1t also asserts that the
packers have extraordinary buying
and marketing power due to certain
advantages, perhaps not always un-
lawful. but certainly often unjusti-
fable"
Packers Advantages.
Among these advantages are EMU
merateo packer control of 44.S per
cent of all cold-storage facilities
their refrigerator car service the