The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1904-08-19
ROOSEVELT STANDS PAT
Though the Beef Trust Still
Plumbers the People.
LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE PLAN.

injunction Proceedings Against the
Packers Combine Useless-POtnts
to Collision Between Federal Of
fcials and Beef BarOns.
Knowing that a handsome contribu-
ton to the Republican campaign fund
has in the past secured immunity from
prosecution for the worst Of the great
criminal trusts; the packers combine
evidently does not fear being further
molested now Chairman Cortelyou is
holding out the contribution box In
spite OF all the legal efforts of the adj
ministratlon. the beef trust is still
at it's old game of squeezing the
farmers and plundering the consumers,
for a special from Sioux City to the st.
Louis Post Dispatch says:
with the opening Of the season for
marketing grass fed cattle from the
ranges, most dealers at Missouri river
points are confident there will be
drop in the high prices of meats. There
is little difference at present from the
retail prices Of one and two years ago,
the packers being able to hold their
rates for meat about as high as ever
despite that they are not paying nearly
so much for the cattle Whatever diff
ference there is is in the direction Of an
advance as compared to last year
whether the arrival Of the grass
cattle will lower prices in eastern cities
is considered doubtful, for the packers
have more complete control Of retailing
facilities there than in the western
cities. But in the Missouri river cities
there are many independent retail
ers who, when prices warrant it, kill
their own cattle and thus are able
to undersell those who handle the
packers meats and charge the schedule
of prices fixed by the packers. Meat
dealers say that the reduced consump-
ton of meats, owing to the high prices,
is certain to force lower retail rates
soon and that this effect would have
been felt before this time but for the
war in the east, which has added an
immense market for American food
stuffs of all kinds and especially for
meats from the western packing
points"
That is sad statement after all the
efforts the administration has made to
reduce this only bad trust" to a state
Of innocuous desuetude Here it is
charging about the same high prices
for beef as two years ago and paying
the farmers less for cattle and still
debating what the retail butchers shall
charge after all that President R00s1-
velt and the courts have done to curb it,
But for some occult reason President
Roosevelt and the federal law officers
have evidently overlooked one. impor-
tant sectiOnOf the antitrust law, known
as the criminal clause, which provides
for the imprisonment Of those who dis
obey the law. That section has been
80 often published that nearly every
one is familiar with it, and it can only
be through collision with the trust
that the federal authorities have never
enforced it. The attorney generals Of
1ce has ample evidence to convict the
packers combine under that criminal
section Of the antitrust law, for the
same evidence that was produced to
the court which granted the injunction
would be ample to convince jury of
their criminal acts.
But President Roosevelt stands pat
and has evidently told his attorney
10 UoA ,IO