67
I.—lob.
of the substitute foods and the unrelated commodities. The outputs of these plants are marketed by the parent companies, or by their subsidiaries through the distribution facilities of the parent companies. In this fashion the parent companies control the output of these concerns anil the market price of their products as completely as though they themselves owned the producing companies. The principal agent in stifling competition in the unrelated lines was, as has been stated, the fact that the distributing system of the great packers was an efficient and cheap way of handling, not possessed by their competitors. For the cure and prevention of these evils, this decree will provide an injunction perpetually enjoining and restraining the corporation defendants and each of them, their successors and assigns, from owning any capital stock or other interest in any corporation which is in the business in the United States of manufacturing, jobbing, selling, transporting, distributing, or otherwise dealing in— (1.) Fresh, canned, dried, or salted fish, including therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, tho following, to wit: Canned oysters ; canned mackerel; bulk mackerel; bulk, canned, and cured herring ; canned salmon ; canned sarelines ; canned shrimp ; canned tuna fish. (2.) Fresh, dried, or canned vegetables, except in combination with meats, including therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, the following, to wit: Asparagus, navy beans, lima-beans, peas, beets, corn, okra, potatoes, tomatoes, celery, garlic, horse-radish, pumpkins. (3.) Fresh, crushed, dried, evaporated, or canned fruits, including therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, the following, but not including tho same when used as an ingredient of mincemeat, to wit: Ginger, cherries, apple-butter, apricots, blackberries, peaches, pineapples, raspberries, currants, figs, gooseberries, oranges, strawberries, apples, prunes, raisins, dates. (4.) Confectionery, syrups, soda-fountain supplies, and syrups and soft drinks, not including grape-juice, including therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, the following, to wit: Apple-cider, cherry-juice, coca-cola, creme-de-menthc, crushed-nut frappe, ginger-ale, green-pineapple syrup, lemon-extract, marshmallow-topping, orange-extraeit, root-beer, vanilla-extract, vin-fiz. (5.) Molasses, honey, jams, jellies, and preserves of all kinds. (6.) Spices, sauces, condiments, relishes, anel sauerkraut, inchuling therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, the following, to wit: Catsup, chili-sauce, cinnamon, cloves, mustard, mustard-seed, olives, oyster-cocktail sauce, pepper, pickles, spinaco-chili, tomato-catsup. (7.) Coffee-, tea, chocolate, and cocoa. (8.) Nuts, including therein the following, to wit: Almonds, pecans, walnuts. (9.) Flour, sugar, and rice. (10.) Bread, wafers, crackers, and biscuits. (11.) Cereals, including therein, but in no wise limiting the foregoing general description, the following : Grits, oats, hominy, hominy-feed, horse-feed, brewers' flakes, brewers' grit, brewers' meal, buckwheat, canned hominy, clipped oats, corn-grits, ground meal, ground corn, ground oats, cracked corn, crushed white: oats, feed-barley, feed-wheat, rolled oats, standard middlings, standard spring brand, feed-meal. (12.) Grain. (13.) Miscellaneous articles, to wit: Cigars, china, furniture, bluing, standi, fence-posts and wire fences, alfalfa-meal, babbitt, bar irein, binding and twine, brass castings for heavy ordnance, brick, builders' hardware, bnmping-posts for railroads, cement, lime plaster, doors and windows, elrieel brewers' grains, lath, pitting and fruit-handling machinery, roofing, sand and gravel, shingles, soda-fountains or parts thereof, structural steel, tile, waste. (14.) Grape-juice. And, further, perpetually enjoining anel restraining said corporation defendants from engaging in or carrying on the manufacturing, jobbing, selling, transporting, or otherwise elealing in any of those articles, with the exception of grain and cereals and a few articles more or less necessary in the conduct of their business. The exception of allowing some of the corporations to continue the business in cereals was considered necessary because some of them had been in business since prior to the time they engaged in the meat business, and the prevention of their use of the distributing system minimizes the evil of their continuing in the cereal business. But, in general, the elecree eliminates all the defendant corporations from all unrelateel lines or products not containing meat. The decree further enjeiins the individual defendants from individually or jointly owning 50 per cent, or more of the voting-stock in any corporation e-ngaged in the business of manufacturing, jobbing, selling, transporting, distributing, or otherwise dealing in any of the unrelated commodities ; or from adopting any device or arrangement which, by reason of their relation to the corporation defendants or any of them, would have the purpose or effect of giving to such unrelated lines any advantage over their competitors similar in purpose or effect to any advantage now enjoyed by any of the corporation defendants through their distributing system. The elecree further enjeiins the corporation defendants, and each of them, from engaging, cither directly or indirectly, in the United States in the business of buying, collecting, selling, transporting, distributing, or otherwise dealing in fresh milk and cream. The Bill provides that immediately upon the entry of the decree the defendants shall commence to elispose of such commodities eiwned or handled by them as have been herein describee!, and shall commence to divest themselves of all interests in firms, corporations, and associations elealing in any of the so-called "unrelated commodities," and shall continue in good faith to dispose of saiel commodities anel to divest themselves of said interests as rapidly as may be consistent with the nature of the business and the seasonal nature of the merchandise involved ; that, in fact, they shall have completely disposed of said commodities and completely divested themselves of those interests within two years from the date of the entry of this decree. The- Attorney-General may apply to the Court at any time within saiel two years to compel the defendants, or any of them, to make report to the Court as to the progress being made by the, defendants in divesting themselves of said interests. The decree further places all of the defendants under a perpetual injunction, anel the danger of punishment for contempt for failure to obey the same, from engaging in any illegal trade practices of any nature in relation to the conduct of any business in which they or any of them may be engaged. The decree will further provide that nothing therein containeel shall be held to preclude (he Government from proceeeling against any or all of the, defendants, either civilly or criminally, for any violation of any law in connection with the carrying-on of the business of buying and selling poultry, butter, cheese, eggs, and milk. I! did not seem just, in view of the percentage of control, and in view of the present freedom of the markets, for the Government to insist that the elefendants should cease dealing at the present time in eggs, butter, poultry, anil cheese ; but the Government is loft free at any time it feels the conditions warrant to fake the question of these allied refrigerated foods before the Courts. Jurisdiction is retained by the Court for the purpose of taking such other action, or adding at the' foot of the decree such other relief, if any, as may become necessary or appropriate for the carrying-out and enforcement of this decree, and for the purpose of entertaining at any time hereafter any application which the parties may make with respect to the decree. In general, this decree prevents the defendants from exercising any further control over the marketing of livestock. It forever prevents them from any control eive-r the retailing of meat products. It eliminates them from the field of meat-substitutes, with the exception of eggs, butter, poultry, and cheese, which are left for future consideration anel appropriate 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 establisheel the principle that no group of men, no matter how powerful, can ever attempt to control the food table of the American people, or any one of the necessities or component parts of it. Tho Department of Justice, having in mind the necessities anel interests of the whole American people in this critical reconstruction period, feels that by insisting upon this surrender on the part of the packing interests it, has accomplished more for the American people than could have bce-n hoped fen- as the result of a long-drawn-out legal battle.
Authority : Marcus F. Marks, Government Printer, Wellington. —1920.
Use your Papers Past website account to correct newspaper text.
By creating and using this account you agree to our terms of use.
Your session has expired.