382 LIVE-STOCK AND MEAT INDUSTRY 



It happened that 1905 was the low-water mark in the value of 

 cattle, and from that date on, up to the end of the World War, there 

 was an upward trend in the price of beef cattle. The price, how- 

 ever, was a very fluctuating one, so that the live-stock producers 

 continued to feel dissatisfaction and distrust towards the packers. 

 High prices of beef caused the consumers to feel that " something 

 was wrong somewhere." Accordingly the President in 1917 

 addressed a letter to the Federal Trade Commission, dealing with 

 the production and distribution of the nation's food supply, and 

 containing these words: 



"Unjustifiable fluctuations in prices are not merely demoralizing; they 

 inevitably deter adequate production. It has been alleged before Committees 

 of Congress, and elsewhere, that the course of trade in important food products 

 is not free, but is restricted and controlled by artificial and illegal means. It 

 is of the highest public concern to ascertain the truth or falsity of these alle- 

 gations. No business can be transacted effectively in an atmosphere of sus- 

 picion. If the allegations are well-grounded, it is necessary that the nature 

 and extent of the evils and abuses be accurately determined, so that proper 

 remedies, legislative or administrative, may be applied. If they are not true, 

 it is equally essential that the public be informed, so that unrest and dissatis- 

 faction may be allayed . . . Therefore I direct the Commission, within the 

 scope of its powers, to investigate and report the facts relating to the produc- 

 tion, ownership, manufacture, storage, and distribution of foodstuffs and the 

 products or by-products arising from or in connection with their preparation 

 and manufacture; to ascertain the facts bearing on alleged violations of the 

 anti-trust acts, and particularly upon the question whether there are manipu- 

 lations, controls, trusts, combinations, conspiracies, or restraints of trade out 

 of harmony with the law or the public interest." 



Federal Trade Commission Report, 1918. The Trade Com- 

 mission, after a year's investigation, stated that the packing 

 industry was dominated by five concerns, namely, Armour & Com- 

 pany, Swift & Company, Morris & Company, Wilson & Company, 

 Inc., and the Cudahy Packing Company. The Commission ex- 

 amined witnesses, held public hearings, and examined minutely 

 the letters and memoranda in the files of the packers. Unlike 

 the Garfield Report, this Report does not endeavor to explain 

 the margin between price paid for live cattle and price received 

 for dressed beef. This Report is concerned chiefly with the 

 magnitude of the operations of the packers and with the question 

 of a " combination" among the so-called "Big Five." 



(1) Magnitude of Business. The five packers, together with 

 their subsidiaries and affiliated concerns, were found to be exten- 

 sively engaged in purveying other foodstuffs than meat, and to be 

 engaged in various related and non-related side lines and businesses. 

 In addition to packing houses, these packers also had extensive 

 holdings in stockyards, private refrigerator cars, cold storage 



