The Covington leader. (Covington, Tenn.) 18??-current, 1919-07-17
PACKERS CONTROL
U. S. FOOD SUPPLIES
FEDERAL TRADE BOARD SAYS
MARKET M0NOPOLIZED
Declares Five Big Packers Control
1852 Companies in U. s., and Pro-
duce and Deal in us Commodities,
Mostly Edible.

" eAaAAAAAE A0AAy July +%s 80 ~
preaching packer domination of al
important food in the United States
and an international control of mea
products with foreign companie
seems certainty unless Fundamental
action is taken to peyent it, the fed
eral trade commission declared todal
in part one Of its report to Presiden
Wilson on the extent and growth O
power of the five packers in mea-
and other Industries"
"a fair consideration Of the coIrs,
the five packers have followed, thC
position they have already reached.
said the report, must lead to the con
elusion that they threaten the ttee-
dom of the market of the country
food Industries and of the by-products
linked Herewith. The meat packer
control Of other foods will not re.
quire long in developing"
Declaring the history of the pack
ers' growth is interviewer with lllegaj
combinations, rebates and with I'M
disclosed control of corporations" the
report urges the Importance of full
publicity Of corporate ownership fer
all industries.
Alleging that the "big five" packers
Swift & Co., Armour & Co., viii
son & Co., Morris & Co., and the
Cudahy Company - jointly or sepa-
rately WELD controlling interest in
STA companies, minority interest in
50 others and undetermined interest
in 93-a total of 761 companies
and that they produce or deal in some
TO commodities, largely food pro-
ducts, the report gives this picture
of growing packer invasion into re-
lated and unrelated industries:
''In addition to meat foods, they
produce or deal in such divers COM
modities as fresh tomatoes, and ban
10 strings, leather and cotton seed oil,
breakfast foods, vim fiz, curled hair,
pepsin and washing powders.
"They have interests large enough
to be dominating influence 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 food, but Of
substitutes for other lines into which
the Indignation Of their business has
led them. They are factors in cattle
loan companies making the necessary
looms to growers and feeders of live
stock; are interested in railways and
private car lines transporting live
stock and manufactured animal pro-
ducts; in most of the important stock
yard companies-the public market
for the bulk of food animals; and in
livestock and trade papers on wh;,n
growers and feedCls rely for market
news.
''They are interested in banks from
which their competitor packing
houses borrow money; in companies
Supplying machinery, ice, salt, mate
rails, boxes, ETC., to themselves ard
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, cleo, fertilizer material and
other crude animal by-products; pun
chase from other packers these crude
Ly-prOducts, and themselves carry
the manufacture thereof to a further
stage than most Of their competitors.
"Ihey are important factors In the
leather industry, in oleomargarjnei
and lard substitutes, III cottonseed oil,
in fertilizer, in soap, in glue, etc.
Their vast distributing system,
with the advantages arising from the
control of private ears, cold storage,
and network Of branch houses, has
enabled them to extend their acti H.
ties on large scale into poultry.
eggs, cheese, butter, rice, breakfast
fooGs, canned vegetables, soda foun-
tain supplies anu other lines.
individuals Of the Armour family
are owners of CLAIM and elevator G M
/ cries, and J, Ogden Armour is &
prominent factor in the American In
ternational Cooperation, with its ship
ping and shipbdiiding interests, us
import and export companies in vari-
GUS lines, its interests in a company
organized to develop cattle raising
meat packing, 4aLreche extract and
allied businesses in Paraguay, its co l.
troll of large tea importing CON-
pany and sugar machinery corpo-
ration and it's minority stock IN the
United Fruit Company.
"Some of Swift & Co.'S. subsidiaries
are growing tropical fruits in Hawaii;
a subsidiary of Wilson &. Co., Inc,
has reached into the salmon fisheries
in Alaska, and Morris concern cans
shrimp taken in the waters Of the
Gulf Of Mexico"
The big five, the report said, have
control of or interest in public util-
ity corporations in Sious City, Kan
sas City, South st. Paul, Portland,
Ore, South San Francisco, South st.
Joseph, Mo-; Hill City, Mimi; Fort
Worth, Texas, and Chicago.
AS to financial power, the report in
part said:
"The packer has drawn to marked
degree upon the banks of the country
for liquid funds. He could not oper-
ate on the scale he does without the
yerxy largo loans furnished nv the