The nonpartisan leader. [volume], October 07, 1918, Image 9

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
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&Sfl£ir SSi? County Council of Defense call, and tt herefcy
does call, upon all local councils of the county and all mem
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deft'"fe councils and all other loyal citizens to
daicourage tar. all honorable means, during the existence of
the war, the organization or agitation for the purpose of or
ganizing or of teaching the doctrines of the Nonpartisan
league within Dunn county.
J66 it .further resolved, that a copy-of these resolutions
be "tnauea by the secretary to the chairman of every defense
council in Dunn couftfy, accompanied by a request that the
local defense council of which he is chairman ratify this
resolution, and take such action toward the carrying out of
its purpose as shall seem best to such local defense council.
Be it further resolved, that a copy of these resolutions
be Bent to the clerk of every school district in Dunn county,
accompanied by a "request that all school officers aid in car
rnng .out the purpose of these resolutions, and particularly
they forbid and prohibit the use of the schoolhouses under
their/^jurisdiction by said Nonpartisan league or its repre
sentatives daring the existence of the war.
Be it further resolved* that a copy of these resolutions
be sent by the secretary to the captain of each school district
In Dunn county, accompanied by a -request that such captain
and his lieutenants aid in all honorable means in carrying
out the purpose of these resolutions.
And, be it further resolved, that a copy of these resolutions
be forwarded to every county council of defense in Wiscon
sin, with. a recommendation that action similar to the above
be taken by each of them, and further, that a copy of the
same be furnished for publication in Forward, the organ of
the state eouncil of defense, and to all papers in Dunn county.
Wherein the activities of the organized farmers
are or have been interfering with the prosecution
of the war, .the council of defense does not state.
'Wherein the Nonpartisan league is dividing the
citizens into classes in a way that will hinder the
prosecution of the war, the council of defense does
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BY THE FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION
*|HE agreements and close rela
tionships among the big pack
ers are by no means confined
to the purchase of livestock and
the sale of meats. Here, for
example, are extracts from
a few letters taken from the
files of the Neenah Cheese &
Cold Storage company, one of
the subsidiaries of Armour & Co., which neglected
to "comb" its files before the visit of the commis
sion's agents. These extracts, more or less typ
ical of a hundred or more letters in the commis
sion's possession, reveal how closely the American
cheese market is controlled.
This control of the cheese market is of par
ticular interest in view of the enormous hoarding
of this food indicated by a letter, dated November
4, 1917, from C. E. Blodgett (who, with Armour,
owns the C. E. Blodgett Cheese, Butter & Egg
company) to-I. P. Laing of the Neenah company,,
another Armour concern:
You and I both know that there are enough twins (a
form of American cheese) in storage in the United States,
if England doesn't come back and buy of us, to last' fcr
the next twoyears to come.
On June 30, 1916, J. W. Brown (manager of the
butter, egg and poultry department of Armour &
Co.) wrote to I. P. Laing:
Your Mr. Nesbit at Spring Green raised the market to
„14% on cheese. Don't you think this is very bad work?
How do you expect we can influence the people at Plymouth
(the principal cheese board) to hold the market at 14%
cents if you raise the figures? Wish yon would tell this
gentleman that he must not do this, because our interests
elsewhere are so great I that we can not afford to raise
the market on otirselves, and Plymouth will certainly go
up if you bid over the Plymouth
prices oh other boards. They all
seem .to be worked up about thia,
Relations between the 'Dig
packers in the cheese market
are /well shown by the follow
ingigtters:
Marshfleld, Wis., July 8, *1916.
W. Brown,
Care Armour & Co., Chicago,
lit
'Dear: Mr. Brown: Referring
to 'your wire of even date in re
gard to getting the market down
at Plymouth. I doubt very much
if this can be done. I have had
this up with Plymouth and She
boygan (twobig cheese boards)
this week, and again today. Al
so, talked with Mr. Pauly(Pauly
A Paulr, Swift buys four-fifths
of saletf) about it, ana they com
plain bitterly about what Blanke
is doing down in that section
about going out to the factories,
and paying premiums for cheese
and claiming that the dealer are
all sore about it, and they can't
handle, them, although they'have
agreed with me to put the mar-.
ket down a quarter of a- cent, if
KV possible, but I tell you one
filing, Mr: Brown, I can't handle
these people down there any
longer on less something can be
done to keep Blanke from antag
onizing them the way«he is, and
you are the only man that can
handle this. I am doing the
very best I can, and sending a
carload of cheese down there a
week, to be distributed among the
brokers, to keep the market in
MM
iii
not state. Wherein the teachings of the Nonpar
tisan league tend to incite class hatred and dis
trust, the council of defense does not state.
However, in answer to these absurd and ridicu
lous charges, it is only necessary to say that the
Nonpartisan league, since the start of the war,
has devoted its entire strength of organization to
help win the war. The "argument" of the Dunn
County Council of Defense is absolutely destroyed
when the facts concerning North Dakota are
stated. Nearly every farmer in North Dakota be
longs to the League, and farmers constitute 80
per cent of all the people. The state is_ governed
by a governor and administration elected-by the
League, and its laws are made by a legislature
elected by the League. North Dakota is second
to no state in war activities. It has doubled or
trebled every Liberty loan quota. It holds some
of the best records in the United States for sub
scriptions to the Red Cross. The state has pro
duced record war crops. What has the Dunn
County Council of Defense to say to this
As to the charge that the Nonpartisan league
will stir up class hatred and destroy the efficiency
of Dunn county in the war, no more ridiculous as
sertion could possibly have been made. Does it
stir up class hatred when the farmers organize,
but does not stir up class hatred when lawyers,
More Revelations of Packers' Methods
How They Control Other Lines—Joint Funds Maintained by the Big
Five—Methods and Results of the Combination
lin&
it, but I can't do it without some help from you.
Yours truly,
C. B. BLODGETT CHEESE, BUTTER ft EGG CO.,
(Signed) C. E. Blodgett.
(This letter had shorthand annotations, which stenog
rapher in office could not decipher.)
Mr. I. F. Laing,
Care Neenah Cheese & Cold Storage Co.,
125 W. South Water St., Chicago, 111.
July 11, 1016.
Dear Sir: Please note Mr. Blodgett's letter attached.
It this man Blanke is causing all this trouble I wish
you would put a muzzle on him. We must keep down the
markets if possible when we are accumulating these big
stocks.. Let me hear from you, please.'
Yours very truly,
ARMOUR ft COMPANY,
JWB—R (Signed) J. W. Brown
It is certain that by no means all the agreements
in effect between the big packers came to the at
tention of the commission. Thus, for example,
we have evidence of an agreement on lard com
pound, which was made at the time the commis
sion's investigation was being vigorously pressed
and came to light only by chance.
Letter, Armour & Co. to H. G. Sharpnack (Ar
mour's branch house superintendent at Pittsburg),
dated January 24, 1918:
It's alwbys been~ our understanding that if our organi
zation Jiad the same, price as the other fellow, that's all
they need. This is certainly a fact on Substitute since 0_
January 14th, and we will be very much'surprised if your
territory does not triple its business each month. We do
not recall having such an opportunity in the history of
the firm, and if this practice is maintained, it's a pretty
safe bet we will get our share.
This was followed on January 28, 1918, by a cir
cular from H. 6. Sharpnack to all managers giv
ing the following instructions:
Please give this compound all attention possible. Every
body^ price must be. the same as yours. If you find any
Profitable cattle raising, as the report of the federal trade commission points out, is es
f:| sential to prosperous American farming. But it is profitable only in small spots because
of the monopoly domination of the market for beef cattle and dairy products. ....
PAG?, NINE
doctors or bankers organize Have lawyers, bank
ers or doctors abandoned organization during the
war? What is the difference? The real force that
is stirring up class hatred in Dunn county, Wis.,
is the Dunn County Council of Defense, which
seeks to prevent, contrary to the laws and consti
tution, the citizens of the county organizing and
co-operating together politically and economically.
Has labor abandoned organization during the
war? No! In fact, the United States government
has announced a war labor policy encouraging and
protecting workingmen in efforts to organize dur
ing the war. When the Minnesota state govern
ment recently attempted to prevent the organi
zation of new labor unions during the war, the
governor of Minnesota was promptly challenged
by the president's war labor board, as such a pol
icy is contrary to the United States government's
policy. What have the Wisconsin patrioteers to
say to that?
All efforts by misinformed, misled or intention
ally vicious councils of defense to deprive citizens
of their rights is what is stirring up class hatred
in America today, more than anything else. The
farmers of Dunn county have a right to organize
and they will organize, as well as farmers of other
counties of Wisconsin and of other states in
America.
-•111
deviation make doubly sure that you are right by seeing
the bill, noting the date of same, quantity sold and the
price and let me have it.
This so pleased Armour & Coi that on January
SO, 1918, L. L. Whelan of Armour's lard depart-"
ment wrote Sharpnack:
Very glad to note your co-operation on White Cloud
as per your circular to houses dated the 28th. In this
connection, however, it occurs to. us that we should not
make any noise about competitors' prices being identical,
etc. Under present conditions this is not advisable, as
you are undoubtedly aware. Also you might destroy this
letter on the subject.
Evidence of other agreements might ibe quoted
at length and they will appear in the report. The
quotations already made would seem to answer
affirmatively the president's question::
"Are there manipulators, controls, trusts, com
binations, conspiracies or restraints of trade out
of harmony with the law or the-public interest?"
SLUSH FUNDS ON
PERCENTAGE BASIS
b.
'.istii
kK)
Further evidence of the existence of a conspir
acy among the five big packers was found in the
vault of Henry Veeder, in the form of documents
relating to funds maintained by the big packers and
oleomargarine manufacturers, primarily for the
purpose of protecting themselves from punishment
for the divers practices already described in part.
These joint funds, as will be shown in one of the
sections of the report, were used:
To employ lobbyists and pay their unaudited
expenses
To influence legislative bodies
To elect candidates who would wink at viola
tions of law, and defeat those pledged to fair en
forcement
To control tax officials and
thereby evade just taxation
To secure modifications of
governmental rules and regu
lations by devious and im
proper methods
To bias public opinion by
the control of editorial policy
through advertising, loans and
subsidies, and by the publica
tion and distribution at large
expense of false and mislead-,
ing statements.
Henry Veeder, the manager
of the Veeder pools of the 90s,
is the assessor, collector and
paymaster of these joint funds,
and his office is the clearing
house through which the
money, passes and to which
reports -are sent. Although
single assessments for these
funds range as high as $50,
000, Veeder claims that he
keeps no books showing the
disposition, of these large"
sums of money, but the many
letters now in our possession'
show specifically to% whom a..