Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1922-11-30
M0RR|S-ARMOUR
PLANNING GREAT
PACKING MER(E {
Meat Kings Howl bankruptcy"
But Give Way Fact They Have
Assets Valued at More Than
$500, 100000.
Written Specially for The Leader by
! EDWARD PERCY HOWARD.

Written Specially for The Leader by
EDWARD PERCY HOWARD.
! Washington, Nov. 24-Persons who
have listened to the woes of the poor
meat packers nearly broke their Jaws
laughing when j. Ogden Armour
sWooped down on the capital accom-
panied by counsel and experts, loaded
with books and papers, to- lay seige
to the department of justice with a
view to getting a ruling in favor of a
great meat merger representing assets
valued at more than $50O,OOO,OOO.
Just how the meat barons propose
to square the application with the per-
sistent insistence that the more busi-
ness they do the less profit they make.
has not been disclosed. 1t is known.
however that the first stage of the
battle for supremacy is q proposed
merger OF Armour Co and Morris &
Co. Indeed, report has it that even
closer combine is projected II the
proposition can be put over with AT.
torney General Daugherty.
| Daugherty passed upon the Lack
awanna and Midvale steel consolida-
tions, declaring they would not vio-
late the antitrust laws, but unfortu-
nately for the steel group the Fed
eral Trade Commission kicked over
the basket and spilled the beans.
Seemingly SO far as the Armour out
fit is concerned, the closer control
of meat and prices is none of the
public's damned business. Indeed, the
only persons in Washington who
know nothing at all about the deal"
were Mr.. Armour and his VicePresi-
dent Arthur Meeker, who came to the
national capital "to see his daughter"
Counsel and experts evidently were
brought along by Mr. Armour to see
that the great food purveyor is serv-
ed nothing but chuck steak so persist
emily urged for consumption as the
most desirable Of cuts when the pub.
lie dares to protest against rising meat
prices.
A line up of Armour and Morris
would give them dominant posi-
tion ovV Swift. Wilson and Cudahy.
While the capitalization of Armour
and Morris foots up to only S190, 703,-
400 and Swift, Wilson and Cudahy
combination has capital of S204, 1913 600
the assets of the former are given as
71,941 ,513, whereas the assets OF
poor Swift, Wilson and Cudahy are
only $525, 5,765, ,944, scarcely enough to
struggle along with.
II must be great hardship to be
In the packing industry. Poor Swift.
1t will be recalled in 1919, told the
world there was loss of 70 cents
on every head Of cattle he handled. IL
the farmers had produced more ami
mails, no one knows what would have
happened.
In 1921, however live cattle cost
$67.53, proceeds from beef were S75,32,
the returns from by products were
$8,61, but even then there was only
q profit Of s1.13 on each animal Just
by what system Of hocus pocus meat
profits continuously decline, meat
consumption continuously increases
and meat supply invariably is ade-
quate, and yet meat prices are per-
petually tilted skyward does not ap-
pear.
Evidently If all the figures are
true, another merger will mean the
public will have nothing to eat but
cows horns at $5 pound, and the
unfortunate packers will be starving
to death in the streets OF Chicago.
The farmer, of course, will be de-
lighted with the proposed merger. 1t
will mean that the closer combine will
voluntarily offer him more for beef
on the hoof-mebbe.