The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-06-23
AGGREGATE FINES
 ARE BUT $85,O00 Thomas and Taggart Must Go
 to Jail CONSPIRED FOR REBATES Judge McPherson at Kansas City Passes Sentence on the Seven De- fendants Recently Convicted.
 Appeal VIII Be Made.
CONSPIRED FOR REBATES

Appeal VIII Be Made.
 Kansas City, June 22.-In the United States district court here today Judge Smith McPherson of Red Oak, Iowa, passed sentence on the seven defendants recently convicted in this court of mak- ing concessions and accepting and con spring to accept rebates on shipments. Judgments in the nature of fine were as- sessed as follows:
 Swift & Co.,, $l5,0O0.
 Cudahy Packing company. sl6,00o.
 The Armour packing company, s15,OOO.
 Nelson Morris & Co.,, $15O0o.
 Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Rail way. $15.OOo.
 George l.. Thomas of New York was | fined s6o00 and sentenced to four months in the penitentiary.
 L. B. Taggart of New York was fined s4o00 and sentenced to three months in the penitentiary.
 The fine of $l5,O0O assessed against the Burlington covered all four counts, the aggregate amount of the fines in the seven cases totaling $s5O00.
 | stay of execution was granted until June go, until they could be perfected. The bonds In the case of Thomas and Taggert were fixed at $6O0O each. These two men appeared in court personally and upon be7 l ing sentenced promptly furnished the re- | quired bond. The bonds in the case oS the packing companies and the Burlington were fixed at $15,000 each.
 Motion for New Trials. | The sentence was passed in the various cases after which motions for new trials were made by John c. Cowan of Omaha and Frank Hagerman of Kansas City for the packers. and by Judge 0. M. Spencer | of St. Joseph upon behalf of the Burling- ton Railroad and Thomas and Taggart All these motions were overruled Judge McPherson made a statement of the cases before passing judgment, in which he reviewed the various charges brought out at the trial. In the case of | the four packing companies accepting | rate of g cents a 100 pounds on export | shipments from the Burlington railroad. 1 together with connecting lines between | the Mississippi river and New York, when | the published tariff was 35 cents, and the | case of the Burlington railroad, convict ed of granting these concessions, he said:
 Is Unlawful Concession.
 q state these facts in writing to try and correct the oft-repeated statement that these are rebate cases. It is not so. | It Is case of unlawful concession after | August G. at a rate of 12 cents less than shown by the tariffs then on file at Wash ington under a contract of June 16 of 23 cents the lawful and duly established | rate"
 He continued:
 When the Clover Leaf increased the rate August 6 to 8 cents, the Lehigh Val ley and other connecting lines in the east filed 'eoncurrences,' that is to say. the eastern lines agreed to such increase.
 And in the trial of the packing house | cases the agreed statement of facts re- cited that the Burlington company agreed to such increase
 Tn the Burlington case it refused to | sign this statement. So that like many | other crimes, two must be engaged. Or | to restate it, If one is guilty the other | is. If the carrier makes the concession it Is guilty and if the shipper accepts the | concession it is guilty.
 "The only difference in the evidence in l the case is the shippers agreed that the Burlington Is a party to the increase of rates filed by the Clover Leaf August 6.
 Did Not File Concurrence. I not file a concurrence with the commis- sion increasing the rate over the Glover | Leaf and Eastern connections connecting with the Clover Leaf and as to that con tention of no possible importance. This is so because on the same or following day the Burlington filed with the inter state commerce commission tariff rate of S5 cents from the Mississippi river to New York. And on and after that date no one of the public could ship from the river to New York for less than B cents and 1t was the same whether the shipment east went from St. Louis over the Clover Leaf or northwest over the Burlington to other points on the Burling- ton lines at the Mississippi river.
 And the contention that the Burllng- ton did not file a 'concurrence' to the new and increased tariff rate of the Clover Leaf is of no importance for another req | son, namely, the Burlington after August | ( did turn the freight prepaid over to 1 the Clover Leaf and in the language of the Elkins law participated in any rates | so filed or published.
 50 that on and after August all shippers of, like prodeats of like classifi- cation were compelled to pay 35 cents. while the four packing houses got their goods through at 8 cents.
 Tt Is my opinion the contract of June 1T was of doubtful validity when made, | and after August :, was device within | the meaning of the law
 | "Whether the statute covers export l shipments is a more serious question. Like many other questions, there is no way of concluding the question except | by a decision of the highest court in | the land.'
 Judge McPherson said that the conclu- sions of the interstate commerce commis- sion on the point of exports are embar- rassing and added
 But regardless of what the commission said those indictments have been return ed and prosecuted to conviction.
 "The constitution covers exports in the same clause that it covers commerce be- | tween the states.
 And the statutes in question do the same and after a great deal of concern and thought, I am not able to see the distinction that defendants counsel seek | to make"
 Verdict Is Right.
 Judge Mcpherson said that he was fully persuaded that the verdict in the packing house cases and that of the Burlington are right and he assessed the fines against all of said corporate at the same sum.
 In speaking of the Thamos and Taggart cases, Judge McPherson said that evil dence had been adduced to show that George A. Barton, for the firm of Barton Bros, wholesale shoe and leather dealers, had received large sums of money from various railways through the defendants.
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