Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1919-07-17
FORSEES PACKERS
CONTROL OF FOODS
Federal Trade Commission
Makes Rather Startling Re-
port to President Wilson

packer domination of all important foods
In the United States and an international
control of meat products with foreign
companies seems certainty unless fun
damental action is taken to prevent 1t
the Federal Trade Commission declared
to-day in part one of its report to Presi-
dent Wilson the extent and growth
ct power Of the five packers In meat and
other industries"
"a fair consideration of the course the
five packers have followed and the posi-
ton they have already reached" said
the report, must lead to the conclusion
that they threaten the freedom of the
| market of the country's food industries
and of the by-product industries linked
herewith. The meat packer control of
other foods will not require long in de-
| veloping."
Declaring the history of the packers
growth is interviewer with illegal COM
binations, rebates and with undisguised
control of corporations the report urged
the Importance of full publicity of cor
porate ownership for all industries
AS to devices for securing control.
there does not exist adequate law" the
report said. "1n it's absence unequalled
competition may run its course to the
goal of monopoly and accomplish the ruin
of competitors without the secret owner
snip being suspected and consequently
without complaint to the commission or
investigation of facts. The competitor
Is In jeopardy so long he has not the
knowledge of true ownership and the
public is entitled to such knowledge"
Alleging the the big five" packers
Swift and company, Armour and COM
pany Wilson and company Morris and
company, and the Cudahy company
jointly or separately WELD controlling
interest in companies. minority interest
| in So others and undetermined interest
in a3-a total of 762 companies-and that
they produce or deal in 574 some 775
commodies, largely food products, the
report gives this picture of growing pack
er invasion into related and unrelated in
dustries.
In addition to meat foods they pro-
duce or deal in such divers commodies
as fresh tomatoes and banjo strings,
| leather and cotton seed oil, breakfast
foods, win fz. curlcd hair, pepsin and
washing powder Their branch houses
are not only stations for the distribu-
ton of meat and poultry but take on
the character of wholesale grocery stores.
dealers in various kinds of produce and
Jobbers to special lines of trade.
They have interests large enough to
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 food but of substitutes for other
lines into which the indignation of their
business has led them. They are fac
tors IN cattle-loan companies making the
necessary loans to growers and feeders
of livestock; are Interested in railways
and private car lines transporting live
stock and manufacture animal products
in most of important stock yards COM
panies-the public market for the bulk Of
food animals; and in livestock trade
papers on which growers and feeders
rely for market news.
They are interested in banks from
which their competitor packing houses
borrow money: in companies supplying
machinery. ice. salt materials. boxes,
ETC.. to themselves and their COMPETE
tors; they are principal dealers on the
provision exchanges where future prices
In standard cured animal products are
determined; they or their subsidiary COM
panies deal In hides, oleo, fertilizer, ma
terial and other crude animal by-prod-
ucts. purchase from other packers these
crude by-products, and themselves carry
the manufacture thereof to a further
stage than most OF their competitors.
''They are important factors in the
leather industry, oleomargarine and lard
substitutes, in cotton seed OIL in fertilizer.
in soap, in glue, etc.
Their vast distributing system, with
the advantages aarising from the control
of private cars. cold storage and a net
work of branch houses, has enabled them
to extend their activities on a large scale
Into nOultry. chepao h,,tta
breakfast foods, canned Vegetables soda
fountain supplies and other lines
individuals of the Armour family are
owners OF grain elevator companies and
j. Ogden Armour Is a prominent factor
In the American International Corpora
ton. with its Shipping ana shipbuilding In
terests, its import and export companies
and various lines, its interest in a COM
pany organized to develop cattle raising,
meat packing, QuebraCle extract and al
lied businesses In Paraguay its control of
large tea importing company, and
sugar machinery corporation and its
minority stock in the United Fruit COM
pany
are growing tropical fruits in Hawaii:
subsidiary of Wilson & Co, Inc, has
branched into the salmon fisheries of
Alaska, and n Morris concern cans
Bhrimp taken in the waters of the Gulf
of Mexico.
'In England. France, Italy, Holland
and other European countries, large
meat distributing companies have been
organized by the packers to sell the
meats from their plants in the United
States. Argentine, Uruguay, Paraguay,
Brazil and Australia"
AS to final power, the report said, in
part:
1.-THE packer has drawn to a marked
degree upon the banks of the country
For liquid funds To assure himself
loans ample to his purpose the big
packer has secured affiliation through
btock ownership representation on di-
rectorates and In other ways, with nu-
nerous banks and trust companies Mr.
Armour, Mr.. Swift Mr. Morris and Mr.
Wilson are directors in banks affiliat-
ed closely with those who are strong
bit the sources of credit in the United
States. Being thus allied with the
powerful interests at the sources of
tredit the packers power is great, not
bnly for financing their own national
Ind international operations but for
injecting, for good or i'll, the credit of
cattle producers and of competitors or
customers in any line"