Arizona republican., 1919-11-11

that opportunity, am taking the lib- erty of writing you.
 Tt will not be necessary for me to . say to any association of western cat tlemen that no measure which l would introduce would be directed against the best interests of the cattle industry nor thac it would be framed in such a manner as to introduce new and un- tried experiments. I am aware of course. of the charge that has been made that my bill is in truth a gov ernment ownership bill and that it's effect would be to cripple the industry. Nothing could be further from the fact. | The bill does not provide for govern | ment ownership in any form. It does not propose to take out of the hands ! of private initiative even an inciden- 1 tai phase of the whole operation of producing, preparing and distributing meat products. What it does propose is merely to establish a form of public regulation whereby producers and consumes alike may be guaranteed that the industry will be operated Win strict adherence to the American principles of fair play. 1 have no de- sign to inire the packer nor to rnn- | ish hlm for anything that may have | transpi,ed in the past. I am looking | altogether toward the future and l want to see such safeguards throwl, about this industry, in which l have spent my life and in which if I could would willingly spend another, so that those who may come after us may proceed with the assurance that no small body of men anywhere may maintain such a control of the industry that they may do with it as they will. Monopoly of any kind, irresponsible power of any kind either in govern ment or in industry is altogether for eign to American ideals and principles, and you may depend upon it whatever you and l may do. this struggle upon which we have entered will continue just so long as monopoly has the pow CT tc control the food supply of the country even to the extent of a single mouthful of a single hungry child Tt is not necessary to tell a cat , tleman that something has been wrong [ with this industry for the past twen- 5 ty, thirty or forty years. There have been periods of prosperity to be sure but there have also been recurring 2 periods of depression which think w' l are convinced have resulted from tn, 7 undue concentration of ae packing in $ dustry in the hands of a few. We, a clttlemen, did not need the report 0 any government commission to knov thai the great central stockyards 0 ], the country were owned and controlle' by the few men to whom we hay
 been obliged to sell our. product. w
 did nCU need to be told that until tn
 outbreak of the war there had been
 steady decrease in the number of cat '" tie in the country as compared wit X the population and that while tn u supply was thus decreasing the pc s capita consumption of meat in tn = country at large was falling off in liB u proportion. We know, in other word h that when the war began there we1 fewer cattle in the country per ind
 vidual of population ana that eac lo individual in the population had le: le meat to eat than at any time in u l- history of the United States. Such U condition, proved by the statistics ct the department of agriculture befo '1 this issue became one of national Il " terest, can not be permitted to col VI tinue if the producer is to make pro- - ress and if the consumer is to ha s more meat to eat. One would natu ally imagine that, with their boas
 ed efficiency, the packers would ha been able to increase the number
 livestock in the country and to increa the supply of meat available for |
 consumer Their failure to do tn
 the fact that a contrary condition Q
 ists, would seem to prove that the VI
 system the packers have built up serN
 private rather than public ends. WI .,Trts tsr.Y, hot af
 rect the conditions which have gro
 up under packer control and make
 possible for the producers of |
 country to produce more meat to $
 profitably in free markets so that
 consumer may have a larger sup
 from which to draw for his table.
 Only Two Things Needed
 There are only two things nee,
 to attain this end:
 Tn the first place, we must h
 a law that will deprive monopoly of
 weapons by which it may maintain
 self.
 Tn the second place. we must
 the white light of publicity on this dustry so that not only in every "
 but on every day in every year, shipper of live stock may know t whether his shipment is large small, it is going to an absolutely market where he will get a price tated only by the laws of supply demand; so that every consumer the country may know that the II which comes to his table, comes t s free from artificial manipulation.
 These are the objects and the
 objects of the bill which 1 have in
 l fT, 4SA
 the terms of this measure we pro
 to put the distributing system of S country at the disposal of every s
 per of the country so that compet V may be restored. It is not propose o take the refrigerator cars away 1 the packers, it is proposed only h place them under the control of
 intergtate commerce commission $ thatsevery packer, large or small
 get a refrigerator car when he W s it just as every traveller may now III the use of Pullman ear when he
 on a journey. But the packers l. that they originated the re1rigel
 cars; that they developed them that they therefore should not be "a prived of the exclusive use of t
 The argument overlooks the Ie which has been recognized in law /. economies for years, that the D T. has an interest in every contriN n which is invented for public use
 is greater than that of the indiv )f who develops it. Even an invent n protected under the patent laws i H. invention for only a comparat .o short period. The great public i ," est can not be permitted to suffe n. cause a few private individuals . have already made princely for Tn out of a method which they dc
 desire to continue to make for 1S \ at the peoples expense