Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-11-30
I.S. .D|SAPPR0VES
PACKERS MERGER
Of Armour consolIda.
don Plan withheld BY Do.
I partmsnt Of Agriculture
FARMERS CHIEF DIRECTORS
By CLINTON w. GILBERT

By CLINTON w. GILBERT
~ Corrssso~dsxt Evs~las Pubic Ledos,
6UovrtsAt fSss. Sy Pst1e LEDGER Company
Washington, Nov. 80.--Government
|aeproval has been withheld from the
tJloposed merger Of Armour 4 Co. with
Das or two other Of the big five pack.
y. No formal opinion has been rem.
cred and none 10 likely to be. since the
ouestion was put up to the Department
y Agriculture informally.
The packers have no way Of learning
II advance whether q consolidation
|xoud be legal or not. Apparently,
lunder. the Anti thrust Law az inter.
Deeted in the steel cases, such a com.
Enstion a. Mr.. Armour had IN MINI mind
Would be permitted. Under the Packer
M the question Is more or less n IN
ieubt. What Mr.. Armour sousht 20
karn was whether the Adminjsfration
~ any objection to the consolidation.
Ipparently the Administratio ion did have
N objection, for its approval has been
Withheld. And since Mr.. Armour
wished to cooperate with the Admins.
(tatton It IL taken for granted here
Hat the combination will be aba ndoned.
The objection In Secretary Wallace's
ulnd is believed to be the probable cf.
toct Of the proposed combination on the
Iclttle market. II union Of two or
pre OF the big companies had been
eected II would represent 40 Der cent
"a the buying capacity Of the trade,
II the combined companies refrained
from buying for a day or two prices
b the live stock market would tumble
sharply: As It IL now, with Ave big
eompanies In the market, live stock
Drlces are unstable. A market Of many
Email buyers would be more stable, <
market with only three, or perhaps two,
big buyers would be uncertain.
Farmers Chief Objecters,
The objection to the proposal Of Mr..
Armour came from the farm rather
than from the consumers. None of fhe
Ifsrm bloc members Of Congress looked
WITH favor upon the Armour plan, The
Icniy representative Of the farmers here
Washington who ts agreeable to the
sombination was j. n. Howard, head
ef the Farm Bureau Federation, and his
acquiescence caused great surprise
amcng the farm leaders in Washington.
Mr.. Armour was able to show easily
that many millions would be saved by
d union Of his company with one or
kem is wasteful. It involved duplica I.
Stion Of plants. branch houses and ~.
frigerator cars, mucn of which might
Be done away with by a combination
OF companies.
The big packers are under pressure
10 make economies. The increased
freight rates are having the same ef-
feet on them that they have on the
farmers. The centrallza zation Of the
packing industry Is being stimulated.
independent packers can compete with
the biz packers for local trade. They
Enjoy the low freight rates Of a short
haul, while the Chicago packers have
10 nay the high rates Of a long haul.
st. successful are local packers bccom
Ing that persons familiar with the In.
lustry have felt that the five big com.
panies must turn either to economies
pf overhead through consultations, such
hs Mr.. Armour proposed, or enter the
|retail trade and establish butcher shops
lon the chain store basis throughout the
country. 1t has been reported here that
the Administration wns not averse some
time ago to the entry Of the big packing
houses into the retail trade.
II the packers do not take one OF
hese steps, 1t Ia believed In the In.
lrstry that the trade will become com.
pletely decentralized and the big FIVE
will lose their grasp on the market.
The Agricultural Department has just