THE MEAT TRUST

Southland Times, Issue 17962, 13 December 1918, Page 6

THE MEAT TRUST

MENACE TO NEW ZEALAND A STRIKING REPORT. (Per United Press Association.) WELLINGTON, December 11. A few weeks ago Mr Masse»jn reply to a deputation from the Farmers’ Unions, headed by Sir James Wilson, stated if the Meat Trust were allowed to become established in this country it would be the blackest day New Zealand had ever seen. By way of protecting the producers of New' Zealand, a Bill was prepared, requiring ail operators in frozen meat and all freezing and packing firms to get licenses, and under the Act the Minister has a wide discretionary power to refuse licenses. That Bill, although introduced by Mr Mac Donald, wits framed by Mr Massey (telegraphs the Wellington correspondent of the Dunedin Times).

Some estimation of the dangers which New Zealand will escape if the trust can be kept out of the New Zealand market may be gleaned from the following extracts from a report of the Federal (United Trade Commission on the meat packing industry;—“lt appears that five great packing concerns of the country: Swift, Armour, Morris, Cudahy, and Wilson —have attained such a dominant position that they control at will the market in which they buy their supplies, the market in which they sell their products, and hold the fortunes of their competitors in their hands. We have found that it is not so much the means of production and preparation, nor the sheer momentum of great wealth, but the advantage which is obtained through a monopolistic control of the market places and means of transportation and distribution. If these five great concerns owned no packing plants and killed no cattle, and still retained control of the instruments of transportation, of marketing, and of storage their position would be not less strong than it is. The producer of live stock is at the mercy of these five companies, because they control the market and the marketing facilities, and to some extent the rolling stock which transports the product to the market. The competitors of these five concerns are at (heir mercy because of the control of the market places, storage facilities, and the refrigerator cars for distribution. The consumer of meat products is at the mercy of these five because both producer and competitor arc helpless to bring relief. Out of the mass of information in our hands one fact stands out with all possible emphasis. The small dominant group of American meat packers are now international in their activities, while remaining American in identity. Some show of competition is staged by the five great packing companies, but it is superficial. There is a natural rivalry of officials und departments, and this is made much of as indicating the existence of real competition, but it is not real. In addition to the immense interests in America, the Armour, Swift, Morris and Wilson interests, either separately or jointly, own or control more than half of the meat export production of the Argentine, Brazil, and Uruguay, and have large investments in other large surplus meat-producing countries, including Australia. Under the present shipping conditions the big American packers control more than half of the meat upon which the Allies are dependent. The power of the big five in the United States has been, and is being, unfairly and illegally used to manipulate live stock markets, restrict internal and international supplies of food, control the prices of dressed meats and other foods, defraud both the producers of food and the consumers, crush effective competition, secure special privileges from railroads, stockyard companies, and municipalities, and to profiteer. The packers’ profits in 1917 were more than four times as great as in the average year before the war. . Although their sales in dollars and cents at even the inflated prices last year had barely doubled in the war years 1915-16-17 four of the fiVe packers made net profits of 178,000,000 dollars.”

Thereport lays much eraphasist on the facts that the trust has been, and still is, extending its operations to cover all food products such as butter, cheese, eggs, vegetables, and all meat substitutes.