The Lancaster news. [volume] (Lancaster, S.C.) 1905-current, 1919-02-07
CHARGES MADE AGAINST
TWO FEDERAL AGENCIES
food Administration AVID Depart
mcnt OF Agriculture Accused
OF Aiding Packers.

! washington, Feb. 6-The food
administration and the department
or agriculture aided the five bip
packing firms in obtaining mono
poiistic control of the meat packing
industry. Edward C. Lasater. of
the National Livestock associations
executive committee. and a former
employe OF the food administration
testified before the house interstate
commerce committee.
While Mr.. Lasater was maxine
TINS charge and asserting he had re-
signed from the food administration
because he realized Its practices
were harmful to the common vel
rare. l.. ID. II. Weld. manager of
swift and company's research de-
partment, told the senate agricu,ture
committee a combination of tho bic,
packers to control the meat indus
try was impossible because OF the
large number of independent con.
Germs.
Mr.. Lasater asserted before the
, ''t'c tHdJ during tho
last Is months the food administra-
tion had Served as a screen" be-
mind which the packers operated il
legally against the public's interests
The department of agriculture
aided the packers, Mr.. Lasater
charged, by delaying investigation of
the meat growers by the Federal
Trade commission at the time the
packers themselves were being in
vestigated.
Mr. Lasater submitted letter
from w. j. Spillman, former chief OF
the bureau OF farm management Of
the department OF agriculture in
which Mr.. Spillman said Secretary
houston retarded Investigation o.,
the producers by refusing to author
ize appointment of Is Investigators
lie added that the secretary had told
MN TO discontinue the Investigation
entirely. saying the farmer was not
entitled to any Information on the
subject and that "the only use ever
made OF such information was for
agttators like this man Baer. OF
North Dakota, to go out and stir up
the farmers with"
The next day. Mr.. Spillman wrote
he received letter from Secretary
Houston notifying him that eyery
project connected with the invest,-
CATION was discontinued
( Mr.. Lasater told the committee
the statement OF the packers that
they did not have the power 70 hy
prices OF livestock even n tbev do
sired TO do So was not founded on
facts and that the packers knew II.
The witness said the packers had
"held out tempting bait TO the Ma
ional Livestock association at its
annual session in Chicago in 1917
when they asked the producers TO
cooperate with them" Co-opera-
tion, he declared. meant price fixing
and further effort Of the packers
to shove the blame for high prices
on someone else" and the producers
refused to consider the idea.
In his testimony before the senate
committee MIR. Weld said Swift and
company's earnings for the period
of the war had increased 176 per
cent compared with the three wears
ending with 1914 but argued this
was not as great an Increase as some
other industries had enjoyed.
The committee admitted 10 the
record penciled notations signed
IL. f. s. and dealing with the tes-
timony last week OF w. F. Prieby. OF
the food administrations poultry di-
vision, and formerly president of
Priebv and company. said to be
subsidiary poultry concern of Swift
and company.
The notations were submitted by
Frances j. Henev. who explained TO
the committee that by mistake
private copy OF the Federal Trade
commissions report on the packers
investigation which had been used
for reference by Louis F. Swift in his
testimony last week had been placed
in his brief case.