The producers news. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1918-1937, 1922-12-15
LA TOILETTE GETS
NANNY OF PACKERS
HIS RESOLUTION MAY HALT
PROPOSED MERGER OF
BIG ONES

Washington, Dec. 1.-THE senate
today adopted the resolutions Of Sena-
tor La Toilette, republican, Wiscon-
sin. calling upon the secretary Of ag-
riculture, for full information regard
ing the proposed Armour and Morris
packing merger.
An attack on the proposed merger
was made in the senate by LaFollette,
who declared that the packers were
seeking immunity in advance from
President Harding and government Of
fcials.
Neither the president nor Secre-
tafy Wallace of the department of
agriculture, Senator LaFollette de-
clared, has "any authority or right"
to give the approval requested by l..
Ogden Armour for his purchase of the
Morris interests
BOLD CHARGE
cit hasn't reached yet the point in
this country" he said, where any
law has been passed which authorize
tire president to sell indulgence ~
law breakers. If he grants sucl, in
dulgerce, he must do it wit iout the
sancti ION of law"
| Senator La Toilette made his as
sault on the mcrr.- in \ speech
ca;i,ng up his ye solution of inquiry,
! wn.ch asks Secretary Wallace for
com etc and detailed information re-
garding the merger negotiations.
! eff the president should give the
opinion to these packers that their
proposed merger was lawful" said
the Wisconsin senator, "such an
executive action would be tantamount
to promising that the courts would
take on proceeding either to prevent
the combination or to interfere against
it.
AS well, sir, might these gentlemen
seeking this merger go before court
and seek to extort from the court a
promise that they would not be prose-
cuted for their violation of the law"
Senator La Toilette recalled that a
recently proposed steel merger was
abandoned when the federal trade
commission filed a complaint that
the combine would result in unfair
competition and added:
Unfortunately, as I believe, the
federal trade commission has been
deprived of all power by the packers
and stockyards act to interfere to
prevent the present merger, unless
the secretary of agriculture calls up
on the commission to make an investi-
cation and report.
WICKED PRACTICE
"One of the most dangerous and
wicked practices which has grown up
largely in our day is that by which
! great corporations go either to the
president or the heads of departments
and make a bargain in advance for
immunity for the crimes they are
about to commit.
eff this merger is lawful, there
is not the slightest reason or ex-
cuse for bargaining or attempting
to bargain with the officials about
it in advance If it is plainly I'M
lawful, then the attempt to secure
official sanction for it is nothing less
than asking to have the officials agree
to compound crime"
Senator La Toilette said he believ-
ed the proposed merger to be con
trary to the law and public policy
He added that the past history OF
the larger packers was one of Shame
full defiance" Of the law.
''Let Armour swallow up Morris
as this merger proposes, and OF
course your competition is gone" he
said.
"This proposed merger simply
seeks to carry one step further the
scheme of creating greater and ev'
en- greater monopoly in the packing
| ministry"