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The Gommoner
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The Rising Protest Against Profiteerin
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1 PIIOTKSTB OF HIGH COST OF LIVING
ItEAGII CAPITAL
A Washington dispatch, dated July 12, says:
Growing indignation at steady rises in prices
and warnings of greater increases to come aro
reaching ofllcial oars in Washington.
Concern over the situation was shown hero
today in the following development:
Mail reaching senators and representatives
Is liberally sprinkled with complaints from
"back homo".
Investigation of alleged profiteering by re
tailers in Washington and possibly other cities,
will begin Monday, Senator Sherman, Jllionis,
chairman of the District of Columbia committee,
announced.
Chairman Colver of the federal trade com
mission urged passage of legislation restricting
the packers.
Itopresontativo Osborne, California, in the
house today, declared wages must remain high
to meet relatively low purchasing power of
money. The first sign that officials here are be
ginning to act in the situation came in an
nouncement from the war department in the .an
nouncement that stores of bacon, canned beef
and canned vegetables would bo sold through
city governments at prices 25 to 60 per cent
under the market prices.
To facilitate wide distribution of these stores,
cities will be allowed 10 days credit on pur
chases. They must promiso to re-sell at cost,
adding only transportation expenses.
This action resulted from ceneral criticism
of the department's previously announced plan
to sell these surplus stores, valued at $121,
000,000 abroad.
Congressional criticism has been strong
against the war department this week for failure"
to place these foodstuffs on the market last
February.
The senate district committee are planning to
quiz dealers on prices, as a result of figures
compiled by the agriculture department that al
though wholesale prices dropped 25 per cent
last weok tho housewife still pays the old price.
000000 000
r PRESENT RETAIL PRICES DECLARED
EXCESSIVE
A Washington dispatch, dated July 5, says:
Federal supervision of the packing, sale and dis
tribution of meat products was declared by tho
department of agriculture to be the only solu
tion for the present situation, in which meat
prices to tho consumer are so high that he is
denying himself, anil in which prices for live
stock, especially beef and lambs, aro so low that
tho producer i3 losing money.
Tho department emphasized that "save food"
signs should now bo disregarded as to meat,
especially beef, and wheat products. Faced by
tho largest wheat crop on record, and with
many cattle raised in response to the demand
for moat production for the army now maturing,
tho American people, the department asserted,
must realize that no necessity for conservation
of such foods any longer exists.
PRICES NOT JUSTIFIED
A survey of tho meat price situation, the de
partment said, reveals that the excessive retail
- prices now existing ara not justified by whole
sale quotations. Prices to the producer have
declined since tho -ar, it was said, but prices
paid by the consumer have not materially les
sened. The only solution, the department be
lieves,, is more strict federal supervision.
Tho entire meat situation, based on confer
ences with senators and representatives from
livestock producing regions, was summarized by
tho department as follows:
liThore is no longer need for meat conserva
tion.. Tho supply is plentiful and patriotic citi
zens may freely disregard the meat saving pla
cards which aro still displayed at many eatinc
placos. b
"Europe needs our surplus pork, but is filling
its beef requirements by importations from
South America and Australia. Prices of' hef
cattle have fallen sharply, since March 1 on Tc
count of the- stoppage of exports for army use
and a slack demand for beef at home. Beef too
ducors and lamb producers who sell their 5!
ducts at this time aro confronted with the
0
HIGH COST OF LIVING INQUIRY
A Washington dispatch, dated July 14,
says: Investigation of the cost of living
by a special committee of six representa
tives appointed by Speaker Gillett was .
proposed in a resolution Introduced
by Representative Johnson, democrat,
Mississippi. -The committee "would be re-
quired to recommend to congress "the
proper course to pursue in order that
the high cost of foovd may be reduced
and those who are guilty of profiteering
may bo punished." .
'
danger of heavy financial losses "which would
tend to restrict production and cause a' serious
shortage in future.
URGES U. S. SUPERVISION
"The United States will never have a satis
factory and permanent solution of the problem
until the manufacture, sale and distribution of
meat products are officially supervised by au
thorized agents of the government, working in
co-operation with state and .municipal author
ises, whose only aim is to serve the nubile at
large and not any particular class. When the
federal government is enabled by law to main
tain a just supervision over the meat producing
industry that will prevent unfair dealings, spe
culations and profiteering, and when the states
and municipalities are enabl-1 by, law to exer
cise similar supervision over intrastate and local
business, then only can we expect to have fair
and stable markets in which producer and con
sumer alike will have a square deal." .
NO LIMIT TO PACKER POWER
A Wash'ngton dispatch, dated July 11, savs:
An approaching packer dominion of all im
portant foodsjn the United States and an inter
national control of meat products with foreign
countries seems a certainty unless fundamental
action is taken to prevent it, the federal trade
commission declared today in part one of its.
report to President Wilson on the "extent and
growth of power of the five packers in meat
and other industries".
"A fair consideration of the course the
qq
PROFITEERING MUST BE STAMPED
OUT
Major Thomas J. Dickson of Kansas
chaplain of the . Sixth Field Artillery
United States Regular Army and senior
chaplain of the United States Combat
troops, has just returned to the United
States after a period of active service in
France.
The major returns to' America with a
message of simon-pure American patri
otism, appreciative of what America's
men did to help win the war from am:
munition driver to first line fighter
Speaking of the sacrifices made by the
American soldiers who gave up their
vos in battle and its meaning to us"
the major said: '
life?1!?!?03? ?Ve a" tll6y liad"their
never fnlf nUl WG aS Amercans must
never forget them nor what they sacri
ficed. And we must realize that a new
era has come to the world. And we
must fight for a higher idealism of
Americanism and WE MUST qTAivm
DOLLAR? FIGHT F0T THE S0"
"PROFITEERING MUST AND WTTT
BE STAMPED OUT, but through tou
ine Americanism and not through fnar
chistic uprising or socialistic warfare
Sr,Ca Vlg en01lgl1 for usll S
good enough for any man -who po
predate it." can aP"
000O00(;j00
at
packers have followed and n,a
have already reached " naft ti posll,n tto
lead to theonduSon ttat n VZV
industries and of the by-produ UnX' 3
linked therewith. The LZ? ' 1 &.1
foods will not ren ire W u ,V" !,ro1.01 other
"Declaring 'the history of the na K?'
is Interwoven with illegal commS?
and with undisclosed cent? F cornorl?
the report urged the importance of ff t!!f'
city of corporate ownership for all L ?"
"As to devices for securing wSkuC
not exist adequate law," the report ed?
its absence unfair competition may L ?
course to the goal of monopoly anTLc0LS
the ruin of competitors without 1 2
ownership being suspected and conseaS
without complaint to the commission H
gation of facts. The competitor Is In jeSS
so long as he has not the knowledge of
ownership and the public is entitled bo
knowledge." a B0 m
Alleging that the "big-five" packers Swift 4
Co., Armour & Company, Wilson & Compm,
Morris & Company and the Cudahy Connn
jointly or separately wield controlling Intend
in 674 companies, minority interest in ninety,
five others and undetermined interest in ninety.
three a total of 762 companies and that
they produce or deal in some 775 commodities,
largely food nroducts. tho vonnrf crt00 m'.
picture of growing packer invasion into related ,
anu unrelated industries:
"In addition to meat foods, they produce or
deal in such divers commodities as fresh toma
toes and banjo strings, leather and cottonseed
oil, breakfast foods, gin fiz, curled hair, pepsin,
and washing powders. 'Their branch houses are
not only stations for the distribution of meat
and poultry, but take on the wholesale grocery
stores, dealers in various kinds of produce and
jobbers to special lines of trade.
They have interests large enough to be domt
natlng influence in most of the services con
nected, with the production and distribution of
animal foods and their by-products are reaching
out for control, not only of substitutes for other
lines into which the integration of their busi
ness has led them. They are factors in cattle
loan companies.
Chicago, July 11. Charges against -the Hf
meat packers contained in the report Issued l
the federal trade commission today wero denied
by Louis P Swift, president of the Swift & Co,
speaking for his own company and for the other
big Chicago packers, Armour & Co.. Morrfe
Co., Wilson & Co. and Cudahy Co. Mr. Swift
said the report was "merely an attack upon
large and successful business organizations and
should be resented by all Americans vho are
proud of the industrial progress of the nation.
"It is to be regretted that in these W'JJ
Mr. SWift, "when the public feels keenly tw
pressure of hig'h prices, a government body aw
not give out facts respecting prices and pro"
This has never been done fairly by the i fcae w
trade commission as regards the packing
dustry, although the commission lias constant
had the most complete information In " Por
Session
"The report just issued by tho trade cofflj
sion and its discussion of the number oi w
sidiary companies and its calculation, cj j
nentaiFAa f ii Harrpr nf business liawiKu '
the packers, are not only erroneous, but
entirely immaterial to the real question in m
xne public is interested, nameiy, wj
"I do not believe that the finding oisu
prejudiced and unfair report should ce u
influence public opinion or as a basib tf
radical legislation that has been Introom
Washington."
TYOTvnp rTTT rpvfV MIDDLEMAN
A Denver., Col., dispatch, dated ll)i
Tirjfi. ,u,iMf(nn tlio "the lllKll COSl Ui '
the high cost of dying, tho high fmv
and tho outrageously high cost of flV"1.' .. i
the paramount issue in the w?rl. ,oc0inoW
convention of the brotherhood oi res0lu
firemen and engineraen today ; up; of muni
tion urging immediate estabJsumenj
cipal markets and cold storage houst
JiJiAW
