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Show MEM PACKERS RELEASED FROM j F00DJMR0L WASHINGTON, April 1 All meat packers were released today from food administration control. Under a proclamation signed by President Wilson at Paris, effective today, "all persons, corporations or companies engaged in importation, manufacturing or exporting, parking ! or distribution of fresh, canned or cured beef, mutton, pork or lard," are 'released from license by the food ad-nunisl ad-nunisl ration. Under the authority of the Lever food control act. by which the food administration had authority to put the packers under license, control was exercised, in addition to limiting I margin of profit over unfair prac-tlces, prac-tlces, wasteful practices, extortionate I charges and hoarding. The only control over food commo- dities left to the administration is on 1 cottonseed and cottonseed products, j sugar, and wheat and its products These commodities come under the j supervision of the grain corporation in New York. The enforcement division will be maintained for the purpose of impos- j ing penalties should any become j necessary while these commodities remain re-main under license Packers Made Small Margin. CHICAGO, April 1 Packer representatives repre-sentatives here, upon receipt of t he j news of the release from governmen-; tal control, today said they wish to i read the text of the new order before I discussing its effects Several said that the effect probably prob-ably would be negligible Whether livestock prices advanced, one pack-i ing house representative thought, depended de-pended on the foreign market, and he said he docs not now know what effect, ef-fect, if any. the release might have on the export market Another pointed out that as the packers made a smaller profit than the food administration perniitlefl. removal of this limitation! was not likely, in his opinion, to have! much effect. The limitation was 9 per cent on capital invested in meat products, pro-ducts, and 2V? per cent on turn over. At the United States bureau or markets here It was pointed out that the removal of restric'ions applied directly di-rectly to dealings in packing house products and not dirertly to the pur- J chase or sale of livestock. All dealers deal-ers in livestock arc stiH subject to government license. This license is from the bureau of markets of tbe United States department of agricul-turo. agricul-turo. Inasmuch as, for sufficient reason any license is necessarily exposed to possible cancellation, it was pointed out, the livestock Industry it. hy no means yet taken altogether from under un-der the federal control which resulted result-ed from the stress of war time conditions. con-ditions. Even without actual withdrawal with-drawal of license in any given case, much margin for regulation exists through a hint or warning to licenser:, that practices objected to as against. Che public welfare would result in a definite license withdrawal. |