Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1919-01-27

Swift agreed to stay out Of ST. Paul.
He said .it was q coincidence.
Eight different firms contributed in
1917 to q fund to defray legislative
expenses for the o1eo industry, MI.
Armour testified, after Mr.. Heney had
read the series Of percentages OF
such contributions. The percentage
arrangement was based on the vol.
! ume Of business Of each concern, Mr..
| Armour said.
Mr.. Heney read a letter written by
Alfred r. Urion, general counsel for
Armour and company, referring to
"a big man" in Pennsylvania who, 1t
was slater, had agreed to see there
were no prosecutions in connection
| with the sale of certain kinds of oleo-
margarine. Mr.. Armour said he had
never heard Of that big man"
Levy Mayer, counsel for MI. Ar
mour, stated in arranging to discuss
the constitutionality Of the pending
Kendrick bill, hat It was free from
many Of tse fundamental constitu-
tional objections ound in the Sims
bill before the house.
Morris Makes Statement.
Washington. Jan. ~. Edward
Morris of Chicago, president of
Morris and Company told the house
interstate committee today
that enactment Of pending legisla-
ton for government regulation of the
meat packing business would put
that industry in the situation where
the railroads are now. This, he said,
not only would mean a great increase
in the cost of living but might cause
ultimate ruin of the industry.
Denying categorically charges OF
the federal trade commission that
there was collision among the five
! big packing firms, either in buying
4, or selling, Mr.. Morris said the COM
mission had not produced evidence
to '~substantiate its allegations be-
cause there was no evidence. He
"a political football' for rhany years;
that the packers came before the
public now for a hearing with ''clean
hands" and that all they asked was
a square deal" He added that pos
sibly the unjust suspicion against
them" was due to their failure in
the past to take the public into their
confidence.
Mr.. Morris said he would make
lenge contradiction that 1.-The var
would not now be over if it had not
been for the five big Chicago pack
ers.
This he said, was one of the
big industries that stood up and de-
livered the goods in the stress of
storm. Be it said to the eternal
credit of the packers h a they made
a smaller percentage of profit dur
ing the war period than the food
administration authorized and APP
proved. In the case of Morris & Co.
the war profits were scarcely more
than one-half of what the food adj
ministration approved. This alone
gives the lie to the charge of
profiteering and should forever
silence the charge Of monopoly and
illegal combination"
Mr.. Morris read a statement COW
ering 134 pages. He sharply assailed
tho trade commission for it's report.
He said the market committee of the
National Livestock association was
behind the commissions investigation
and declared that the committee
sought higher prices for livestock
which necessarily would mean higher
prices to the consumer.
I Declaring that he had been in
formed hat h market committee
received $4,000 annually from he
association, Mr.. Morris suggested
that it might be we'll for congress or
the trade commission to investigate
the uses to which that money was
put. The witness said he did not
mean to intimate hat this fund was
used for ANY improper purpose" but
that "its size would make it rather
dangerous if it should happen to get
into any improper channel"
MI. Morris said that if the federal
trade commission had found that the
packers had raised 'such a sum or
one-twentieth of it for the purpose
of raising the price of the articles
they SELL" they would have been de-
nounced as profteers. : p
Taking up the federal trade COM
MISSIONS charges in detail, Mr. Nor
ris said that the proof hat there was
no combination among the packers
to control prices of livestock was
found by the fact that prices had
more than doubled in four years. He
quoted from independent packers
mttees to show that these firms were
not oppressed by large packers and
declared hat the profits of his COM
pany in the fiscal yea ended Nov. 8,
1918, on the total capital invested in
Guiding borrowed money was only
7.24 per cent.
Turning to the bill before the com
mittee, the witness said that 1.-THE ex-
pertinent in government operation OF
VIC laiiioaos mas no. oeeii So orea-
whelmingly successful as to justify
the belief that great benefit to the
community would result from the
legislation which would take from
the packers all accessories of their
business. leaving them only the sim
pie killing of meat n its prepare
ton for the market"
There has been no fair and in
telligent, investigation of either the
production of raw materials or the
sale of the finished product" said Mr.
Morris, "that could be the basis fol-
big, broad, constructive legislation
consequently there should be no dis
position to pass a law simply to have
it said that the packer had been leg
islated against"
at is not merely a matter Of fair