DISSOLVING THE MEAT TRUST.

Taihape Daily Times, Volume XI, Issue 3386, 15 January 1920, Page 5

DISSOLVING THE MEAT TRUST.

‘ An official statement regarding the dissolution of the American Meat‘ ,Trust was made by Mr A: Mitchell ’ Palmer, on December 19. He ex- ‘ plained that the prosecution under the anti-‘trust laws had been discontinuedupon the consent of the great meat packers to a decree of the Federal Courts to enforce the undertaking by the"‘Big Five.” Mr Palmer stated that in general this decree'preven'ts the clefenclzints fl'om"exercising any further control over’ the marketing of live stock. It forever prevents them fr-om‘ exercising any control‘ over the retail.ing of meat|products. It cl_imilla'teS them from -the field of meat substitutes, with the exception of eggs, butter‘, poultry, and cheese, which are left for future consideration and action; and, therefore, the price of meat is within the control of the people themselves. It places the conduct of these. great aggregations of capital immediately under the eye of a Federal Court with reference to their business practices; But, greater than all, it establishes the principlelthat no group of men, no matter how powerful, can ever attempt to control the food table of the AmericallU people, or any one of the necessities or, component parts of it.” Commenting on -this development, Mr Francis J, Heney, special counsel for the Federal Trade Commission in the 1917 investigation of the meat-packing business, declared that the Government. by its (‘olllpl'OllllSC' will lose all it had previously gained. “It is idle to ‘believe th-a't the packers will really relinquish‘ control of the instrumentalities by which they have built up their monopoly.” Mr Heney said: “And any apparent relinquislnnent will be about as effective as the breaking up of the Sf:_U]d{l]~d Qll Cyompgniy into Separate units ha<‘heen.”