The Van Buren press., 1902-01-11
pAcKINGHoUsE CASES.
v,o,ot,ons of the Provisions OF '"e
Interstate Commerce La"
Freely Admitted.

'Cbicaoo. Jan. s.-Prosecutlons
against all the big packinghouse con,
Germs in the west for violations oi
the provision of the interstate com
merce law against receiving preiereh-
tial rates are contemplated py 'he
interstate commerce commission
This fact developed yesterday dur"
ing an investigation begun by the
commission into the hanuilhs y,
packinghouse products and dresseu
meats. 1t also became apparent 'h"'
the commission and the railway man
agements of the entire country praI'
tically had entered into an ailiahce
for the purpose Of inducing congress
to pass legislation permitting the
railroad to pool under certain reg
ulations by the interstate commerce
commission, and that it is believed
such law can and will be passed
The third development of the d"y
was the announcement that the COM
mission had requested the attendance
here of all the leading men III tbe
advancement of the community-o1-
interests idea, including j. 7. Nor
gan. James j. Hill and E. Il. Harri-
man. and that if these men failed 10
respond to the request harsher meas
ures would be taken to compel their
coming.
Evidence upon which to base pros
ecutions against the packers was OBJ
tained in abundance. Traffic manag-
ers and vce-presidents of roads east
and west threw up their hands and
admitted freely that thee was no
pretense toward maintaining tariN
rates on packinghouse products ana
dressed meats for export or domestic
use except for very short period OF
time at the beginning of each year.
Paul Morton, second vice-presidert
Of the Santa Fe; A. C. Bird, third
vice-president of the st. Paul; j, NJ.
Johnson, third vice-president of the
Rock Island and other men OF the
highest standing in the railroad
world, took the stand and stated
boldly that they are now and have
been continual violators of the law;
that they are sick and tired Of being
such; that present conditions are III
tolerable; that they are powerless to
secure maintenance of rates, and
that millions of dollars are paid to the
packinghouse interests yearly by rail
roads at the expense of legitimate
revenue.
The packinghouses ana their repre-.
resentatives to whom rebates were
paid during 1901, according to Com
missioner Prouty, will, if possible be
amena5le to maximum fine OF $4,000
for every violation Of the law.
Regarding this phase Of the ques-
ton, Commissioner Prouty says;
II am heartily in favor of punish
ing the packers for violations of the
law, IL the evidence proves suiii-
cient, and | think il will. Under the
law we Gun Hpi phhioh WV '"'' '''
men who testified, for their testi-
mony absalvcs themselves, and they
do not testify specifically against any
one else. All the punishment that we
can, if any, obtain against the pack
ers, is in the way Of fine not TO eN'
seed $1,000. for each violation.
Speaking of the scope of the invcs-
tgaton into the effects of combinn'
tions between the railroad interests,
Commissioner Prouty said;
1--WE have asked the presidents OF
al the roads comprised in the South
ern Pacific combine and the Northern
Pacific combine to attend, and also
j. p, Morgan II they do not cor,c
we shall take steps to compel them
to appear later But ] do not wish to
be understood as presuming that they
will fail IA rpsnon1 IN our rpuupst "