Norwich bulletin., 1922-10-25
sEc'Y WALLACE SAYS

Government Supervision of Packers,
 Commission Merchants and Grain Ex-
 changes.
 At Hutchinson, Kansas, Tuesday, Sec retary of Agriculture Wallace spoke of the laws which congress has enacted to extend government supervision over pack CTS, stockyards and commission mer- chants, and also over grain exchanges. He commended these laws as being help ful to everybody and not harmful to any legitimate enterprise. He said;
 For thirty years or more livestock producers have complained against the packers. They felt that the growth of the packing business and especially of the few larger concerns gave them an op- portunity to combine and control live stock prices. For six or eight years bills were before congress designed. to bring the packing business under government supervision. When congress met in the spring of 1921 it took hold of this mat ter vigorously and in August it passed the packers and stockyards act. This law
 brings the packing houses, the stockyards the commission merchants and other stock yards agencies under the supervision of the secretary of agriculture. He can in vestigate the manner in which the busi- ness is conducted, examine books, sub poena witnesses and require them. to tes- 1 tify under oath. He can inquire into the way live stock is bought, handled, killed ] and the meat marketed. He can inquire | into the charges by commission Iper- chants and stockyards and determine whether these charges are fair and just. i He can discipline firms and individuals who do not conform to fair rules and reg 1 ulations He can refuse to permit unfair charges. He can stop unfair methods of i doing business. Under this law it will be 1 possible to make thorough study of the 1 live stock business from the time the l live stock leaves the farms until the meat reaches the city wholesaler, and 1 corrct unfair practices at any point along
 the way.
 | The department of agriculture now has | a livestock supervisor at each of the larger markets. It has district supervis- ors to look after a number of the smaller stockyards and packing houses where there is not enough business to justify the expense of a resident supervisor. Live stock shippers can go directly to these
 supervisors and report any improper prac tices or unfair treatment and be surt that their complaints will receive promp attention. We are making audits of tht books of commission merchants and be fore long will know whether the rate they are charging are fair. We are alst 1 looking into the charges made by stock 5 yards companies as well as the name f in which they are handling the liv stock. We are studying the packing business and how it is conducte6 Al ready we have stopped many unfair prac :. tices. We have put an end to boycott by commission firms and stockyard l traders Farmers cooperative commis C sion companies properly organized, ca. ] now go irto any of the livestock market , and handle livestock for their member { with the assurance that they will have
 square deal. That was not possible be fore. Reforms have been made in th way livestock is handled at some of thes y markets. Considerable improvement ha : been made in the prices paid for animal e which have reacted to the tuberculi : test Tn due, time we will have complet F information concerning the l1vestoc
 and packing business in all of it's detail
 and will be able to correct and preveI
 any abuses.
 Along the same line the departmer t has been studying the retail distrihutio
 of meat. The margin between the pris
 the farmer gets for the live animal an . the price the consumer pays for u meat seems to be too great. We are tr! '7 ing to find why, and how to reduce tn
 margin. When the price of live stoc
 falls, the price of meat should fall als V and thus increase consumption We al 1T making systematic studies of this who