The Montgomery advertiser., 1905-09-22
BIG FINE FOR THE PACKERS
  Four Offic:s.s Pay Down
 ,s.L5,OOO. THEYs .ccEPIBD REBATES District Attorney Talks of
 the Result. Thinks Government Has Lodged an .opcnisE Wedge late Question snd Will Break Up the
 Evil Entirely.

Chicago. Sept. 2i.-Four, officials or Inc Schwarzchiid & suizberger Packing Company of Chicago were lined an az xrccate of t25.0o0 by Judge Humphrey of the United States District Court here today. The fines followed plea or ruiIty to indictments charging con splracy to accept rebates. The deneno- ants were Samuel Well of New York, Vice-PresIdent of tho company; b. D. c,usey, Trafic Manager; Vance ID. SKID worth. and C. F. Todd. Assistant Traf-
 Mir. Well was fined s1e,ooo, the other three $5.o00 each.
 ,,sclaratfon as made that unless at least one of the cases Is immediately settled, the life of Samuel We'll, who ia vice president of the company and one of the defendants Is in jeopardy. He Is said to be nervous wreck, and fears were entertained for his life, If he had been allowed to continue under the stigma of an indictment.
 The plea was entered. 1t Is declared, after a complete understanding had been reached between counsel for the defendants end Attorney General Will liam H Moody. While in Chicago the att oYfcy- general was apprised of the condition oe Vice President Veil and 1t is said agreed to the entry of a plea of. guilty with the understanding that the jail provision of the law under which the indictment was returned should be waived and merely fine imposed The same concession was made in the case of the other three defendants.
 The four defendants were charged with unlawfully co nbining and agree ing to solicit rebates for the Schwarz- child & suizberger Company from the i ID .a1 Ia nv the Chicago, Rock Island and Pacific, the Grand Trunk Western Railroad, the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company, the Boston and Maine Railroad Com pany, and the Mobile and Ohio Rail fcgd Company ssz, e s...es
 ChargSs were made that the defepds ants conspired with each other In pre- senttng supposed claims for damages which ~ ere in reality claims for, rec bates. q
 The plea made today (Thursday)' does not in any way affect the charge of interference with Government wit nesses made in a previous indictment returned against Cusey and other Sulz- berger men. The four defendants were in the Federal Court building and all but Well appeared before Judge Hum- phrey. 4.
 An Interesting Scene.
 The scene In the court when the four defendants in the Schwarzchifd q Sulz- berger cases entered was most inter esting. All the defendants except Well went imediately before the bar, the center of the gaze of every person In the crowded court room The three traffic managers are young men and they showed their emotions visibly. The fourth defendant. Well, as he en- tered the room, slipped into a seat near the door. He Is sn elderly man weigh ing more than 10 pounds. His face was lined with deep marks. apparently showing the suffering he has passed through since he was indicted.
 You are charged with conspiracy to commit an offense against the United states law said Judge Humphrey. Your counsel have entered pleas of | guilty and If you have anything further to say other than has already been spoken, you are at liberty to speak" The three younger defendants shook 1 their heads; the fourth. the man of years looked at the floor and said noth- l ing, nor did he make a sign.
 The court then said: Punishment for this oftense as fixed by Congress has wide range. giving the court unusual latitude. ranging from a nomi- nal inc without imprisonment to 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 of the court in the case of the defen- dant Well will be a fine of $1o.o00 and costs and commitment in the county jail until the fine is paid. and in the cases of Todd Skipworth and Cusey a
 fine of s5.ooo and costs with the same provision in regard to the payment"
 The F1nes PnIa.
 l During the sentence the court room | At | of the court there was a general stir, a buzz of conversation and 1t was neces- sary for the court crier to rap for | order Meantime the payment of the ! fines was quickly made out and the four Schwarschild and Su1zberger officials stepped out of the court room free. The fines carried with them a pro- vision that the defendants be confined | in jail until the fines were paid The MT. Max Sulzberger giving his check | for the total amount. $25.o0o. The check, after being duly certified was 1 accepted as payment Of the fines and | the defendants then left the court | room.
 District Attorney Morrison. discuss | ing the case after adjournment of the court said: T am perfectly satisfied with the matter as 1t stands. The de- fendants came into court. pleaded guilty | and the court showed leniency in it's ] sentence. The fine is heavy. but the 1 imprisonment provision Is there, the most important part of the law. I think 1t was a fair consideration of the matter It was proven conclusively by the government thaG after the Isst- ance of the injunction by Judge Cross cup the Schwarzchild and SulzberEer i Company withdrew from the combine. i They were indepedent. but in order to carry on their business in so strenuous 1 a competition against the other packers | # seems 1t was necessary for them to accept rebates. The results today has now lodged an opening wedge into ! the question of rebates. We have | found a way to proceed and It seems ! the proper one. It seems to mo that
 the government is in a fair way of
 breaking up the entire rebate evil in