The original intent of this paper was to make an analysis of the regulation of the meat industry by the Federal Government. At the outset it quickly became clear that such a project was not feasible at this time. The fact that the government regulates many phases of the meat industry and any attempt to cover all would be beyond the amount of time we had at our disposal for this work. The Federal Government concerns itself with the cleanliness of packing plants and stockyards, the health of the workers, the wage-scale of the workers, the inspection of livestock for diseases, the dissemination of market information, the paying of subsidies, and the regulation of packers and stockyards. it is with the last that we are going to devote most of our time. Through the stockyards of America pass the majority of the meat that we consume on our table. Hence to the public stockyards of America, the hundreds of thousands of farmers and ranchers send their livestock for sale. The necessity of protecting the farmer from abusive practices on the stockyards quickly arose when the buyers of livestock assumed control of the stockyards. The necessity of inducing the packers to give up this control and to reform their business practices was also sought. The increasing and growing size of American firms caused Congress to act in the passing of antitrust legislation in 1890 and in 1914. The peculiar dangers arising from bigness in the packing and stockyard industry caused Congress to pass regulatory legislation in 1921. Just how effective this legislation has been administered, just how well the aims of the act were obtained will be the subject of much of our discussion. An analysis of the Packers and Stockyards Act of 1921 has not been made in recent years. What this study should show is mainly the kinds of problems that will face us if we attempt stabilization of our economy through government regulation.