Jamestown weekly alert. [volume] (Jamestown, Stutsman County, D.T. [N.D.]) 1882-1925, 1905-03-02
NUMBER %

mating. He directed the prosecution
for violations of the Sherman anti
trust law in making combination In
restraint OF trade. After conference
between the President and Attorney
General Knox United States District
ttorney Bethea was directed by
the department of justice to draw up
a petition to the United States Cir
cult court for the northern district
of Illinois for an Injunction restrain
ing the beef trust from depressing
the price of cattle on the hoof, divid-
ing territory for the sale of the tinsih-
ed product, controlling the price of
dressed beef and other products,''
and number of other things.
This bill of complaint was prescott
ed before Judge Grosscup on May 10,
1902, and ten days later he granted a
temporary injunction.
GOVERNMENTS CHARGES.
In order to give clearer idea of
The nature OF the violations of law
laid at the doors of the packers, the
full text of the charges made by the
government at that time IS repro
duced as follows:
l. That the packers restrain each
other from competition in the live
stock market, and by combination
and conspiracy among themselves,
thereby fix ard regulate by fraudu-
lent and perfunctory bids the prices
of stock on the hoof to their own ad-
vantage and to the loss of the stock
men
2 That by manipulating the prices
of live stock without regard for the
law of supply and demand the defen.
dants have curbed the shipments of
stock to the markets. and by further
manipulation obtained such live stock
at prices much less than it would
bring if such combination and con-
spiracy we're not existence.
3. That by combination and con-
spiracy the defendants, or their
agents. have raised, lowered, fixed
and maintained Uniform prices arbi-
trarily contrary to law. which prices
are made in secret meetings of the
defendants and their agents, made
known to agents by letters N code,
and maintained among themselves by
fixed penalties for violation of agree
ment. And, further, that monopoly
of tile business is carried on by the
giving of credits to certain dealers
and the maintenance of "bIacklist"
against delinquents.
4. That the defendants or their
agents have maintained uniform
rates of carriage for the delivery Of
their sales to dealers, althO such
charges are not customary in trade
or commerce, thereby preventing the
purchase of meats by those who are
unwilling to pay more than the price
of the meats, without additional
charge, all of which is in restraint of
trade and commerce.
5. That the defendants have been
guilty of conspiracy to create mono
poly in securing rebates from rail-
roads, in violation of the published
rates required by th5 interstate
com merce law, the whole design to
throttle competition. /
6. That the defendants have been
for years in conspiracy with the rail-
roads to obtain monopoly of the
supply and distribution of fresh meats
thruout The United States and fore
ign countries, thereby imposing abb
normal, unreasonable. and arbitrary
regulations for the conduct of their
own and each others business, affect
ing the same from the shipments of
the live tsock from the plains, to the
final distribution of the meats to
the consumer, all to the manifest in
jury of the people of the United
States and in defiance of the law.