The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1908-01-30
DRASTIC FINES
FOR CONSPIRACY
MULCTED FOR SCHEMING TO
PAY SHIPPERS REBATES.
JUDGE OMITS JAIL PENALTY
Court Denounces Vicious Practices Of
Defendants and Believes Same
Have Been Generally Checked All
Over the Country.

Kansas City.-Geo. L. Thomas, a
freight broker of New York City, and
L. N. Taggart, his clerk, pleaded gull
ty in the United States district court
here to the charge Of conspiring to
pay rebates to shippers. Judge Smith
Mcpherson then fined Thomas $4,000
and Taggart $4,000, emitting Jail
sentences previously assessed. Both
defendants were in court and after
sentence was passed checks covering
the fines were rendered and accepted
by the judge.
Thus ends the case against these
m eeh.n Tjcmfwyy cmfwyp fwyp
men. The Jail sentence which was
omitted was the first sentence Of i'm
prisonment ever imposed for rebat-
ing.
Geo. L. Thomas maintained brok-
erage office in New York City and
represented all the important ship
pers on the Missouri and Mississippi
rivers under contract to route their
freight from the east and to collect
over charges to freight bills. Thomas
with his clerk L. N. Taggart, was in
dicted in December, 1905, charged
with conspiring with Barton Bros,
wholesale shoe merchants of Kansas
City to pay rebates on the latter
firms shipments. They were found
guilty. Thomas, as the principal, was
fined $4,000 and sentenced to serve
four months in Jail and Taggart was
fined $4,000 and sentenced to serve
three months in Jail. This was the
first Jail sentence ever imposed in
this country for Relating An appeal
was taken, and the verdict was re-
versed on the ground that the lower
court had failed to instruct the jury
on the presumption Of the innocence
of the defendants, a technical point
At the time that Thomas and Tag
CART were found guilty, the following
other verdicts were also returned in
the federal court, on charges of max
ing concessions and accepting and
conspiring to accept rebates:
Swift & Co., $4,000; Cudahy Pack
ing Company, $4,000; Armour Pack
ing Company, $4,000; Nelson, Nor
ris & Co., $4,000, and the Chicago,
Burlington & Quincy Railroad Com
pany, $4,000. The fines assessed
against the packing companies were
affirmed April 20 last by the circuit
court of appeals at st. Paul. The Bur
hngton case, which also was appealed,
is still pending
When the case of Thomas and Tag
CART was called before Judge McPher-
son today, Judge O. M. Spencer, of
st. Joseph, Mo-, general solicitor of
the Burlington road appeared for the
defendants. Judge Spencer entered
plea of guilty on behalf of Thomas
and Taggart.
Judge Mcpherson in passing SEN
tence upon Thomas and Taggart
said:
In the full belief that the vicious
practices Of these defendants and the
payment Of rebates have been stopped
ana in the belief that the practice Of
rebating generally over the country
has been brought to an end by the
vigorous action Of the government.
through the office Of the United
States attorney Of this district, as
well as other districts, there is no
occasion for the Imprisonment.
The fine imposed upon Thomas is
$1,000 heavier than that imposed two
wears ago, while the fine assessed
against Taggart was the same as pre-
viously.