Baxter Springs news., 1919-07-25
Claimed Bankers and Merchants Are
,shCoereed into Sending Telegrams
10 Senators and COngressmen
URGE DEFEAT OF
BILL IN CONGRESS
Reported That ArmOur's Agents Ars
Enlisting Support Of Small Town
Dealers Through Misrepre-
sentatiOn

wide propaganda 10 defeat the Ken
Henderson bill which provides for
strict government regulation Of the
packing business, making radical re-
strictions on packer-owned stock
yards and opening up the packer re-
frigerator cars to general use As COM
mon carriers. This was charged In
the senate today by Senator Kenyon
Of Iowa, who had his desk heaped with
kilograms urging defeat Of the bill.
Nearly all the messages were in the
same language and Senator Kenyon
stated that the bulk Of them had been
paid for by the packers themselves.
They have been coming from small
town grocers and meat dealers and
,bankers. Senator Kenyon said he had
nearly q dray load Of similar "propa-
ganda" instituted by the packers to
defeat the Legislation.
Many Protests from Kansas
During the day, Kansas members OF
Congress said that they had been re-
ceiving many letters from Kansas
urging defeat Of the bill and stated
that evidently it was a part Of the
same propaganda. Senator Capper, for
example, received in one mail five let
ters from small town bankers urging
the defeat Of the bill as inimical to
business and the general good OF the
cattle interests, notwithstanding the
| fact that it has been the cattle raisers
largely who have been insisting on
passage of the bill.
Some Of the letters showed very
plainly that the character Of the leg
Iisaltion was being grossly misrepre-
sented to the people out in Kansas by
somebody. One letter protested, for
example, against the government TAX
ing over and operating the packing
houses. If the legislation proposed
such o course, the people would just
lly have a kick coming. But it pro-
vides not for the government taking
over and operating the packing houses
merely for regulation Of the busi-
ness from stem to stern like the In
terstate Commerce Commission han
dies the railroads.
Packers Paying for It
That the packers are paying for the
propaganda from other states was
disclosed by copies of kilograms re-
ceived by Representative Anderson
who, with Senator Kenyon is sponsor
for the bill-from the secretary OF the
Southern Wholesale GrOcers' AssOcia-
ton. The wholesale grOcers are fight
ing the packers bitterly because they
thave invaded the grocery field. This
telegram said:
"Amour's agents having retailers
telegraph congressman for indorse-
ment Of their business methods. Ar
mOur paying for kilograms"
Copies of several form kilograms,
which it is charged Armour & Com
pany are having distributed to be sent
to members of Congress, Armour pay
ing the telegraph bill, also have been
received by senators from dealers who
took them from the packers repre-
sentatives but instead Of filing the
message of protest sent the form to-
their member. In Alabama this form
telegram is being used: "Would ap-
preciate your support to defeat the
Anderson-Kenyon Bill when same
comes before you as am retail gro
Ger and need the efficiency Of the meat
packing. industry"
Mislead the Dealers
A letter from Kentucky said:
"One of the packers men ap-
preached the writer yesterday and
tried to tell him that if Congress
passed the law now pending that ev-
cry handler of food products in the
United States would be placed under
license and that some one man would
be appointed at the head Of this di-
vision and that if a retailer or jobber
should in any way make a mistake
and do something that was contrary to
the rules governing the licenses that
their license would be revoked, and
that they would be no longer permit
ted to handle food products.
"These agencies Of their are going
to the retail merchants who know
nothing about the measure which =
now pending before Congress and get
ting their signatures to petitions re-
questing the defeat Of this measure.
From North Carolina comes this re-
port.
~AEmOur q Company are cireulat-
ING . petition IN ths tsrritoEy for tAe