New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1919-03-02
Why Newspapers Are Indifferent

The following is a sample of MANY
letters received by The Tribune con-
corning which it treats
what spell have the meat packers
cast over the press of the city to give
them immunity from all editorial notice
or comment? Surely, the evidence dis
closed before the Senate at Washington
has been sufficient to ndict the big
Five" of every crime short of murder
every reader of your paper has d.
rect and personal interest in the opera
tons Of this gigantic monopoly in food
products, and while you storm and rave
about the high cost Of living, print
humorous and suggestive cartoons of the
fat food merchants and the cmaciated
consumer, still not a scratch of the pen
as to the real culprits who dominate md
coerce the railroads, bride legislation and
strangle all competition by foul and I'M
fair PRACTICES"
The Heney investigation has assembled
large body of evidence alleging that the
packers and parties to conspiracy in re-
straint Of trade, have used unfair meth
DDS to control the trade and are subject
to prosecution under the Sherman and
Clayton acts. Why the Department of
Justice has not proceeded against them
is naturally matter of inquiry.
Nevertheless, the interest Of The Trib-
une, like that Of other newspapers, in
such prosecutions, is jaded. Since the
victorious Standard Oil and Tobacco dis
solutions it has not appeared that the
public is practically benefited by them
up of combinations does not seem to
bring relief to consumers.
Do the packers increase or decrease
the margin between what is paid to the
farmers for cattle on the hoof and what
is charged to consumers for meat on
the block? Mr.. Heney has neglected to
go into this vital issue in any thorough
way. The weight of other evidence is
that the packing companies do the work
of conversion cheaply. 1t is apparently
undened that they do business on a 9
or 3 per cent margin; that is, for every
dollar they receive they pay to the pro-
ducers and in other expenses 81 or SO
cents. Will an enforced breakup widen
or lessen this difference? If it widens
it, as seems probable, will or can the
consumer gain? The answer we leave
to our correspondent.
The public, if it's mood can be sensed,
is tired of spurious and imitation
remedies-is weary Of barren court vic
~,
to get them is scarcely willing to have
the consumer pay more or to have the
producer receive less. This would seem
too high price to pay to indulge the
luxury of it's aversion to bigness.
That the big concerns make large re-
turns on their capital is important, but
is not the vital issue. That issue as
said above, is whether the charge for
service is up or down. If this charge
is small, and large profit is realized
through rapid turnover of capital, an
intensive use Of byproducts and the
economies of doing business on a great
scale, the profit rate is of secondary
interest.
Al "oulu perhaps NC going LOO lar 10
say Mr.. Heney has lodged the vital
issue, but he has plainly neglected it,
AS his inquisitorial zeal is not ques-
toned, the inference is he recognizes he
cannot establish that the gap in price
between raw and finished product is
wide, or that others could do the work
more cheapy.
Here is probably the reason for the
Indifference of newspapers of which our
correspondent complains, and which he
il inclined to attribute to conspiracy.