Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1919-09-03
HIGH MEAT COST
IS DUE LARGELY
To RETAIL SHOPS
Packers Could Cut Cost By
Selling Direct to Consumers,
Says Witness Before Sen
ate Agricultural Committee,
tsv 1osn,.a .Oua..l srse,.l l.Asso wr.rl

Washington, Sept 2. Plans for
governmental operation of the plants
and distributing systems of the big
Five" packers during the war re-
received serious consideration, but
were dropped when majority of
special committee reporting on the
subject to President Wilson rejected
the proposal, 1t was developed today
through testimony before the senate
agriculture committee.
Mr., SAMSON, a Texas cattleman who
served on the committee as a rep
resentative of the agriculture de-
partment, appearing at the hearing
to oppose passage of the Kenyon and
Kendrick bills for the federal regu-
lation of the packing industry re-
ferred casually to the subject and
senate members, overcoming Mr.. San
SONS objections to discussing the
matter because the president had not
published the report questioned him
until they got the full story
After the trade commission made
its report upon the packing situation,
a committee was appointed to go into
the subject for the president, which
had on 1t representatives of the ag-
ricultural department, the food ad-
ministration, labor department and
the interstate commerce commission
SAMSON said.
"They put me on for the agricul-
tural department because l was sup
posed TO know about stockyards and
cattle handling. After we went into
1t pretty thoroughly we divided up.
1.-TWO of the committee, represent
atives of the labor department and
the federal trade commission, voted
to take over the plants but the ball
ance of us were against 1t. The
trade commission representatives
seemed to be pretty severe at the
time for prosecuting the packers"
"You say they were prosecutors p
Senator Ransdell, democrat, Louisi-
ana, inquired.
,sWell, | hardly meant that" San
som responded. "fhey were preJu-
diced, perhaps because of their In
vestigations."
Opposes Regulatory Bills.
Mr.. Sansom in opposing the regu-
latory bills, also developed an en-
tifely novel solution for the high
prices of meat problem.
"My investigation has convinced
me that the large packer hasn't gone
as far with the meat and food busi-
ness as he ought TO co. he said.
'They ought to carry the meat
straight through to the consumer
and cut out the retailer, They could
do It better and cheaper. I've found
that it takes from so to 100 per
cent increase to get the meats
through the butcher shop.
"If the packers did the retail busi-
ness with more efficiency, fewer
shops. and we got complaints on
high prices as we are getting them
now. it would be a simple matter to
find out then who is profiteering.
A conflict as to the motives OF
witnesses who have appeared during
the hearing was precipitated earlier
in the day when Senator Kenyon, re-
publican, of Iowa, author OF the
principal bill at issue introduced
two letters for the record. One was
from J. G. Miller, of Denver, and
asserted that Colorado packers who
classed themselves as independents
in opposing the legislation last week,
really were connected with the
larger companies. Harvey Nuckolls,
owner of q plant at Pueblo, Colo,
was named as one of those having
such connections.
Henry Veeder. counsel for Swift
and company, interrupted the pro-
ceedlngs q little later, denied the as
sertion for all of the packers. and
introduced Nuckolls, who also denied
II flatly The second letter, from j.
C. Morrow, Of Alliance. Neb., said
that cattlemen from that state who
have supported the contentious of the
big packers were people who Sc
cured special favors in marketing
their stock.
A number of independent packers
were heard during the day and
Michael Ryan, of Cincinnati present.
ed the committee with a set of reso-
lutions adopted by small packers in
that city, objecting to the legisla-
tion.