The Birmingham age-herald., 1905-09-22
Fines Aggrtgating $25,OOO Arc
 Assessed by thc Court
FOUR MEN PLEAD GUILTY
Court Valves Imprisonment, Fines Are Immediately Paio By Mr. Sulz- berger and the Indicted
 Men Go Free.

the SchwarzchiId & Sulzberger Packing 1 company of Chicago were fined an aggre- gate of S25,OO0 by Judge Humphrey in the United States district court here to- day. The fines followed a plea of guilty to indictments charging conspiracy to accept rebates. The defendants were Samuel Well of New York, vice president of the company; B. s. Cusey, traffic man. ager; Vance D. Skipworth and c. E. Todd, assistant traffic manager.
 Mr Well was fined s1O,OOo; the other three $5OOO each.
 I With the entering of the plea the | declaration was made that unless at least | one of the cases is immediately settled, the life of Samuel Well, who is vice pres ident of the company and is one of the | defendants, is in jeopardy. He is said to be d nervous wreck, and fears were en- tertained for his life if he had been al- lowed to continue under the stigma of an indictment. The plea was entered, it is declared, after complete understanding had been reached between counsel for the defendants and Attorney General Will liam H. Moody. While in Chicago the attorney general was apprised of the con dition of Vice President Well and 1t Is said agreed to the entry of plea of guilty with the understanding that the l jail provision of the law under which the indictment was returned should be waived and merely fine imposed. The l same concession was made in the case | of the other three defendants
 Charged With Unlawful Combining. The 4our defendants were charged with unlawfully combining and agreeing to so- licit rebates for the Schwarzchild & Sulz- berger company from the Michigan Cen | tral Railroad company, the Chicago Rock Island and Pacific, the Grand Trunk Wes- tern railroad, the Lehigh Valley Railroad company, the Boston and Maine Railroad company. and the Mobile and Ohio Rail- road company.
 Charges were made that the defendants conspired with each other in presenting supposed claims for damages which were l in reality claims for rebates.
 The plea made today cThursday) does not in any way effect the charge or inter ference with government witnesses made in previous indictment returned against Cusey and other Schwartzchild & Sulz- berger men. The four defendants were in the federal court building and all but Well appeared before Judge Humphrey Showed Emotions Vlsibly. | The scene in the court when the four defendants in the Schwarzchild & Sulz- berger cases entered was most interest," ing. All the defendants except Well went 1 immediately before the bar, the center of the gaze of every person In the crowd | ed court room The three traffic managers | are young men, and they showed their emotions visibly. The fourth defendant, | Well, as he entered the room> slipped into a seat near the door. He is an elderly man, weighing more than ITO pounds. His face was lined with deep marks, appar- | ently showing the suffering he has passed 1 through since he was indicted. s.You are charged with conspiracy to | commit an offense against the United States law" said Judge Humphrey Your counsel has entered plea of guilty, and If you have anything further to say other l than has already been spoken, you are | al liberty to speak.
 The three younger defendants shook | their heads, the fourth. the man of years, looked at the floor and said nothing nor | did he make sign.
 The court then said:
 Judge Imposes Sentences. Punishment for this offense as fixed | by Congress has a wide range, giving l the court unusual latitude, ranging from | a nominal fine without imprisonment to l a heavy fine, and two years imprison- ment, all in the discretion of the court. | I am disposed to consider the case With reasonable moderation. The sentence or
 the court in the case of the defendant | Well will be a fine of $10,00O and costs, | a nd to county | the fine is paid, and in the cases of Todd, 1 Skipworth and Cusey a fine of 5000 and 1 costs, with the same provision In regard i to the payment"
 During the sentence the sourt room was absolutely still. At the last word of the l court, there was a general stir, buzz l of conversation, and 1t was necessary
 for the court crier to rap for order. | Meantime the payment of the fines was | quickly made out and the four Schwarzs- child & Sulzberger officials stepped out 1 of the court room free.
 The fines carried with them a provision | that the defendants be confined in jail
 until the fines were paid. The fines, how | ever. were paid immediately. MT. Max i Sulzberger giving his check for the total
 amount. s25,0o0. The check. after being 1 duly certified. was accepted as payment
 of the fines. and the defendants then left 1 the court room.
 District Attorney Morrison, discussing
 the case after adjournment of the court,
 said:
 Morrison Makes Statement.
 s'I am perfectly satisfied with the mat
 ter as 1t stands. The defendants came
 into court, pleaded guilty, and the court
 showed leniency in its sentence. The fine
 is heavy. but the imprisonment provision l is there the most important part of the
 law I think 1t was a very fair consid- eration of the matter. It was proven con-
 clusively by the government that after
 the issuance of the injunction by Judge | Grosscup, the Schwarzsehild x Sulzberger
 company withdrew from the combination
 They were Independent. but in order to | carry on their business in so strenuous
 a competition against the other packers, 1t seems. it was necessary for them to ac- | cept rebates The results today only go
 to show that the government has now
 lodged an opening wedge into the ques-
 ton of rebates. We have found way to proceed and it seems the proper one. | If seems to me that the government Is In