The Washington times., 1919-01-21

swer those recommendation OF the
commission which seek to separate
from the packing industry, the stock
yards and adjuncts thereto, with the
assertion that Armour & Co.'S most
ardent desire is that the various in
stitutions and enterprises included be
efficiently and successfully operated.
IL there is any way to relieve the
packers of their interests without
lessening the service rendered. we
more satisfactory ways to utilize the
money so released. And let me say
here, that our interests in these vAri-
Gus auxiliaries Of the livestock in
dustry do not consist OF watered
stock. An appraisal OF the value OF
the stockyards at Omaha on orders
from the Nebraska State Railways
Commission discloses the fact that
the property was actually worth more
than its capital investment, and I am
confident that other apprafsals would
disclose the same condition regard
ing the other stockyards and related
industries.
Car. Lose Mesey.
Armour & Co have for the last
six years sustained q loss In the
operation OF their meat cars. For
the past thirteen years the packing
house cars show an average profit OF
twenty-nine one-hundredths of 1 pc-
cent and for the past six years they
show an average loss of 3.5s per cent
For the year ending November 2.
1918, our meat refrigerator cars lost
1896, 5,953.72 They are not q profit
able investment but are an essential
and necessary one in the operation
OF the business.
Find Distant Buyers.
"a country agent from down in IL
linois somewhere lost his antagonism
toward the packers one day when he
was struck by the full force and et-
feet of a little statement that -the
big packer connects the stock raiser
in Grundy county with, the market ia
China Just what IL meant to the
producer to have an agent who would
find a market for his product even IL
that market was hidden away in the
Orient, had never received this coun-
try agents attention before.
81 do not know who is going to
take care Of this most important
function of market finding IL the big
packers are crippled as some OF our
critics counsel 1t Is one OF the JUS
4 tifications of our size and the COM
| pleteness of our organization that we
| are able to extend this service OF
market finding to the producer.
We perform a similar important
service for the consumer-that Of
= wit
| whenever commodity becomes
scarce or SO high in price sc to
cause concern.
Ethics Are Observed.
II wish to impress upon this COM
mittee this fact: The business Of Ar
mour G. Co. is conducted in accord
with the highest and best business
ethics of the day. A generation ago,
when pools and combinations Of va
rious kinds in railroads and in every
kind OF business were common and of
| everyday occurrence, were ethical
and supposedly legal, we were then
! sometimes a party to them; but when
new legislation or new interpreta-
tions of existing legislation made
such pools and combinations i'm
| proper, we absolutely ceased to be
parties to any of them, and / say to
you positively that we have not for
| many years been and are not now in
4 any pool, combination or ARRANGEMENT
| OF any kind, either directly or indi-
rectly. or openly or secretly or under
cover. All such charges are utterly
unfair and untrue.
The kind of control that the Fed
erai Trade Commission fears is not
possible. II our competition today
| forced all others out of business and
II we used the power thus obtained
to increase profit margins unfairly
| there would be new crop of competi-
| tors tomorrow. L do not expect to see
the day when American business men
will stand by and keep their hands
on any field of enterprise which is
paying high profits.
! 1T has not been disputed that the
meat packers are conducting a gil
! gantic and essential business on a
| profit margin smaller than obtains in
other industries; that the earnings on
our turnover average not to exceed
per cent annually and that the
packers profit on a pound OF meat
| averages only a fraction Of a penny
Compare our profits with those of
other large enterprises and ours will
be found much lower.
During the last eighteen years,
! including the war period, the earn
! ings of Armour e. Co. on the actual
investment and appraised value of the
! business averaged So per cent. On
! everything, gentlemen. Including all
| our by-products and all our associ-
ated lines and also all our business in
! what the Federal Trade Commission
| says is unrelated to the packing in
dustry, our profits represented less
than cents annually on each dollar
invested in our business.
"Can anyone fairly maintain that
our share of the dollar paid by the
consumer for the goods we put in his
reach is excessive?
"I call your attention to this phase
OF the matter before you. If a monkey
wrench is thrown into the gears OF
this business its effects will not be
confined to the meat packing industry.
IL the ability of the packing industry
to properly function Is impaired. II
will affect the live stock industry
and il in turn will affect corn prices.
Wheat will then be drawn in and so
will broad and will lah nd rn