The Coconino sun., 1919-07-25

which their competitor packing houses borrow money; in companies supplying machinery, ice, salt, mate rials, boxes, etc, to themselves and their competitors; they are principal | dealers on the provision exchanges | where future prices in standard cured | animal products are determined; they or their subsidiary companies deal in hides, oleo, fertilizer material and other crude animal by-products; pur- | chase 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, in oleomargarine and lard substitutes, in cottonseed oil, in fertilizer, in soap, in glue, etc.
 "Their vast distributing system, with the advantage arising from the control of private cars, cold storage 1 and a network of branch houses en- ables them to extend their activities on large scale in poultry, eggs, but ter, cheese, rice, breakfast foods, soda fountain supplies, canned vegetables, and other lines.
 Individuals of the Armour family are owners of grain and elevator com panies and J. Ogden Armour is a prominent factor in the American In- | ternational Corporation, with its ship ping and shipbuilding interests, its import and, export companies in vari- , ous lines, its interest in company organized to develop cattle raising, meat packing, quebracho extract and allied business in Paraguay, its con. trol of a large tea importing company, and a sugar machinery corporation, and its minority stock in the United Fruit Go.
 "Some of Swift & Co.'s subsidiaries are growing tropical fruits in Ha- waii; subsidiary of Wilson X O., Inc, has reached into the salmon fish cries of Alaska, and Morris concern cans shrimp taken in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
 "In England, France, Italy, Hol- 1 land 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, Uru- quay, Paraguay, Brazil and Aus tralia."
 Banks and Utilities
 The Big Five, the report said, have control of or interest in public utility corporations in Sioux City, Kansas City, South St. Paul, Portland, Ore, South San Francisco, South St. Joe, Mo-; Hill City, Minn.; Fort Worth, Tex; and Chicago.
 said, in part:
 As to financial power, the report "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 utilization through stock ownership, representation on di- rectorates and in other ways, with numerous banks and trust companies. Mir. Armour, Mir. Swift, MT. Morris and MT. Wilson are directors in banks affiliated closely with those who are strong at the sources of credit in the' United States. Being thus allied with the powerful interests at the sources of credit, the packers power is great, not only for financing their own na- tional and international operations, but for affecting for good or for evil the credit of cattle producers and of competitors or customers in almost any line" ......
 To Control Substitutes
 After reviewing the interest of the packers in the leather, fertilizer, cot tonseed oil, grain and breakfast food industries, the report said:
 "The reason why the packers are seeking control of the substitutes for meat-the foods that compete with meats-is obvious. If the prices of substitutes for meats are once brought under packer control, the con- sumer will have little to gain in turn ing to them for relief from excessive meat prices.
 Judged conservatively by trade estimates, the Big Five handle at least half of the poultry, eggs and cheese in the main channels of inter- state commerce.
 Recently the big packers began dealing in various staple groceries and vegetables, such as rice, potatoes, beans and coffee and increased their sales at such a rate that in certain lines they have become factors of great moment"
 Referring to the packers activities in South America, the report said that from establishment of single plant in Argentina in 1907 by Swift & Co.,, the American packers, Swift, Armour, Morris and Wilson, had developed by 1917 until for that year they export ed 57 per cent of all exports of frozen and chilled beef quarters from Argen-