BEEF TRUST MENACE.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2125, 17 April 1914, Page 7

BEEF TRUST MENACE.

SITUATION IN AUSTRALIA:, In referring to the Beof Trtist'aiid its supposed activity in Australia, %lt. V!\ H. Irviao, tho OommoiHrealt.ii At-teniey-Gcnerai, in a recent speech, saJti that th,o facts which might' bo token for granted wore- that a rich company had established a very important and up-to-date plant in Qneonsland, and had already cant men cod operations by buying tho Commodities it -waiiiwl That. was a-U that had happened as yet, If it stood there, no .one would Venture to condemn what had been done, It was right, however, that they should look, at tho past history oi: this company. Ha alluded in some detail to tho history of tho American Bed Trust, wh-.ie-h, under the title' of tlio ; -National Packing Company of Chicago, was an amalgamation of-three powerful companies in tho United States, Seeing that its operations in the tJni-tcd States Were, threatened by legislation, this National Packing Company had bought large interest's in Argentina. : In tho year 1011 there Wore seven meat [ companies in the Argentine. They' c-amo to an agreement among theuiselves, which, ho contended, )ia:d not been harmful, but of undoubted benefit. to tlio trade at large. The arrange-; ment lasted for little wore than a yoa-.r. During that tiujo no one had any reason i to complain. In 1912, hotrorer, the position' was wholly . altered by the two companies ; owned by tlto trust breaking awivy and starting a cnt-t-hroat conipetition in tho Argentine, Tho Argentine frovWftmcttt v stepped in to -meet the case' with legislation, felt ho (the spenker) could not say as yet whether that legislation had been ''eifective. Coming hade to what was happening in Australia; ho said it was quite possible that thero_ might be tho menace that there- Was in tlio Argentine. "Wo shall bp prepared," he said, "frhon.wo aro in n position to asl? successfully for anything., *o seek from Parliament the necessary powers, under the control of tho export trade-, to nte*i this ovil if it presents itself in Australia in a similar form to that which it lias assumed - in the -Argentine, 5 ' Mr, Irvira) went on to say that if the natter became a -grave one, the trouble* would bo felt." not solely or mainly in Australia, but in London, where our markets were, Jn tho 18-ills which Mr. Grooni liad outliiwd, i and which had been uiiib/ flm Cobiwsl'Si consideration, power Had boon asked to combine and co-opern-to with tho j Legislatm-o of .6root Britain in meet ! ing this evil, not only in Australia., ! but in other plows -where it mtitH show itself. He bad thought it his duty to say this much, in order to try and clear, up a question abs-ut which thew> had been a- great deal of wild talk and misrepresentation.