Courier Democrat., 1904-08-18
ROOSEVELT STANDS PAT
Though the Beef Trust Still
Plumbers the People.
LET WELL ENOUGH ALONE PLAN.
Injunction Proceedings Against the
Pnckers' Combine Cseless-Points
to Collusion Between Federal OF.
ac1als and Beef Barons,

Knowing that 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 DOW Chairman Cortelyou is
holding out the contribution box. In
spite Of all the legal efforts Of the ad-
mantstration, the beef trust is still
at its old game of squeezing the
farmers and plunderlng the consumers,
for 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 ore confident there will be a
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 bold 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
es 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
stufs Of all kinds and especially for
meats from the western packing
points,"
That is sad statement after all the
enors the administration has made to
reduce this only bad trust to q state
OF innocnous 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
d1ctating what the retail butchers shall
charge after all that President Roose-
welt and the courts have done 10 curb II.
But Tor some occult reason President
Roosevelt and the federal law officers
have evidently overlooked one impor-
tant section Of 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 1t, and It can only
be through colluxion with the trust
that the federal authorities have never
enforced it The attorney general's oe-
ice has ample evidence to csuvict tbe
packer1 combine under that criminal
section Of ths antitrust law, Tor IT,
eeme ev1de0ce that WAS producsd %
n court which granted ~ in3unetian
would b amp1s 10 eouvincs . lu1y z
fh1S criminal acts.
1e Rss1lsnt 0assosolt seoalesaot
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