Republican farmer., 1919-07-18
FIVE bIC PACKING FIRMS
 SEEKING DOMINATION OF
 FOOD OUTPUT IF NATION
FEDERAL COM. DENOUNCES BIG FIVE WHO CONTROL NOT ONLY MEAT SUPPLY BUT DEAL IN BANJO STRINGS, CURLED
 HAIR, TOMATOES AND PEPSIN

approaching packer domination of all important foods in the United States and an interna- Iirnal control of meal products with foreign companies seems a certainty unless fundamental action is taken to prevent 1t, the federal trade commission de- cared today i'll part one of its report to President Wilson on The extent and growth Of power of the five packers Tn meat and other industries.
 "A fair consideration of the course sf the Ave packers have followed and tse position they have already reach ,r." said the report, must lead to tng conclusion that they threaten the freedom of the market Of the couh- try.s food industries and of the py- product industries linked herewith. fine meat packer control of other -,.ds will not require long in devel- .H!uE.
 Declaring "the history Of the pack F4F EIIN M l~ lllhFA N''N NAA N'N'' t''"'' combinations. rebates and with un- disclosed control of corporations" 1n. report urged the importance of fuI publicity of corporate ownership for all industries.
 As to devices for securing control. rro-e does not exist adequate law. fh. report said. ''1u it's absence un- Igfr competition may run its course '. the goal of monopoly and accom- trlsh the ruin of competitors with out the secret ownership being sus- goctad and consequently without complaint Co the commission or in- yagigaticu of facts. The competitor Tn Jeopardy SO long as he has nos .hc knowledEe Of true ownership. and the public Is entitled to such Suowledge.'
 cContinued from Page One)
 Alleging that the big five pack crs-Swift & O.. Armour & Co. Will son S Co, Morris & Co.,, and the Cudahy Co.-JUfnuy Sapaa-ot ols- wieId controlling interest in 574 com pluies. minority interest in 95 others and undetermined interest in 93-a total of T62 companies-and that they produce or deal in some 7I5 com dItics. largely food products, the re port gives this picture of growing
 
 related industries.
 'Tu addition to meat foods, they pro- ducc or deal in such divers commodi- ties ms fresh tomatoes and banjo strlngs. leather and cotton seed oil. breakfast foods, win fig, curled hair. pcpsiu and washing powder. Their branch houses are not only stations for the distribution of meat and poultry but take on the character of T~, various kinds of produce and jobbers To special lines of trade.
 They have interests large enough to be a dominating influence in most of the services connected with the production and distribution of animal foods and their by-products, and arc reaching out for control. not only of substitutes of animal food but of sub st!.utes for other lines into which th. interest of their business has led them They are factors in cattle loan companies, making the necessary loans to growers and feeders of live stock: are interested in railways and private car lines transporting live stoclt and manufacturing animal pro- dur-s: .n most Cf the important stock yards companics-the public market for the bulk of food animals; and in 
 grower and feeder rely for market news.
 "TEey are interested in banks from which their competitor packing houses borrow money; in companies supply Iur machinery. ice. salt. materials. lo~e7. etc. to themselves and their competitors: they are principal deal era on the provision exchanges where [ ituFe prices in standard cured ami nal products are determined; they CT their subsidiary companies deal in hides oleo. fertilizer. material and other crude animal br-products; purchase from other packers these end crude by-products. and themselves carry the manufa acturc thereof to q further stage than most Of their com- petitors.
 They are important factors in the leather industry. in oleomarzarine and lard substitutes. in cotton seed oil. In fertilizer. in soap, in glue. etc. concerns cans shrimp taken in tha with the advantages arising from the control of private cars. cold storage and a network of branch houses, has enabled them to extend their activi- ties on a large scale into poultry, eggs, cheese. butter. rice. breakfast foods. canned vegetables. soda foun- tain supplies 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 it's ship ping and shipbuilding interests. it's important export companies and var ious lines. its interest in a company organized to develop cattle raising ncat-packins. Quebrach extract and allied business in Paraguay. in con trol of a large tea importing com pany and a sugar machinery corpora tion, and it's minority stock in the United Fruit company.
 "5orne of Swift and Companys sub sidiaries are growing tropical fruits fin Hawaii; a subsidiary of Wilson & Co.,, incorporated. has reached into
 Their vast distributing system. salmon fisheries of Alaska and Morris waters of Gulf of Mexico.
 Tn England, France, Italy, Hol- land and other European countries large meat distributing companies have been organized by the packers to sell meats from their plants in the United States. Argentine. Uruguay, Paraguay. BraAl and Australia"