The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-02-26
Six Comp anies and
T w en- ty- One Indi-
viduals Are Indicted.
SW EEPING CHARGE
is MADE BY j u r Y
Beef Barons" Alleged to Be Re-
sponsiblc for Abnormally High
Prices of Food-Multirnil-
lionaires, Prominent So
cially and in Business,
Among Defendants.

| New York. February 25.--The beef
| trust of the United States embracing
six great packing companies and
! twenty one packers. several OF them
/ multimillionaires, socially and indus
| trially prominent, were indicted by u
! grand jury in Hudson county. N j.,
to-day, charged with conspiracy in
! limiting the supply of meat and ponl
| try.
The Indictment is drawn under the
law of New Jersey which provides
upon conviction a maximum penalty
of three years in the penitentiary or
1 q $1,000 fine. or both. The offense is
! eXtraditable which means that prac-
| tically all the meat barons of this
country must either successfully resist
cXtradition or come to Jersey city tor
4 trial.
i Pierra Garven. the public prosecutor
\ of Hudson county announced Tonight
that he would forthwith notify the de.
i PENDANTS of their Indictment ana
would be ready to enforce eNtraditio't
in each and every case where the IN
dividual concerned is not willing TO
! face trial voluntarily. None. he SAYS
will be spared. The defendants as
named are as follows;
Corporations: The National Packing
Company, Armour and Company, Swit1
and Company, Morris and Company.
Hammond Packing Company. G II.
Hammond and Company.
The individuals include j. ogden AZ
nour, A. Watson Armour. l4outs =.
swift, Edward +. Swift. Charles u.
swift Edward Morris, Ira \. MOTIFS
and fourteen others.
ira N Norris sent a lawyer to Jer-
sey City this week from Chicago to
a Inform Prosecutor Garven that he had
!. retired from the directorate of Morris
: & Co, but nevertheless he was indicted.
I Frederick B. Cooper. James p. Bath
: gate. George j. Edwards, 2. 2. Hart. Hart.
% are said to be officers and Eastern
9 agents of the National Packing Com
! pany. while the others named arc either
!, directors or officers or former d5reet;ors ;ms
n or officers of the National Packing
u Company. Capiases for the arrest OF
g all the defendants VIII pc isSnou Iii III,
= resume its Investigations on Weones-
o day Cooper is the New Jersey mah-
: : ager for Swift & Co.
= Bristlcs In It's .Arraisnment
d The Indictment, which bristles in its
arraignment OF the men named, aiso
: refers to divers others" as being re-
n sponsible These latter. however, are
\ not specified The foregoing list OF
a names 1T Will be seen, represents the
very backbone of the great packing
industry OF this country, contalniNg. as
1t does two Armours, three Sw1tts ana
two Aorrises, for the most part resi-
dents OF Chicago together with less
" Important fSureS IN the packlhs
world.
: Their indictment brings to to eiimaX r,ast
i to fix responsibility for the prevailing
- ! ubnormally high price of commodities
!, Jersey City as a cold storalSe centre
- where the packing companies OF the
:. West maintain vase warehouses IN
- which countless thousands of pounds of
d meats and poultry are stored proved
. a fruitful source of investigation.
g More than month ago the inquiry,
S by the grand jury was ,aa started' ,;,. s9,e
:. nesses were examined. and to-day the
= Indictment was handed up in the SUI
n preme Court before justices Blair and
9 The presentation of the document
70 will mean the trial by jury of some
a of the most prominent men IN ,,1,, tne
y cheating the public through the me,
: dium of cold storage. OF this alleged
manipulation the indictments charges
: that the defendants did meet ana con-
5 spire ''within the iurisdiction of this
court, wilfully and unlaw-
fully and feloniouslN devisingN SON
- rving and intending, l9r q, ths,f,,own y, ".
unjust excessive, immoral and unlaw-
II fui profit and gain, To injure, defrnna,
TX nreip,lice. damage. cheat, impoverish
as and opprcss the pubic ana ,ne psupse
sary and reasonable suppty OF meats
iN and poultry for consumption nN me
~ public aud the people Of said city isn.l N
- said county, 50 as ~ PioaI, 80 ,n;. !,
vn m,ents and poultry, and to greatly, eN-
nj nassfyelv aud cNtortionatoly enhance
Ell and increase the cost and price there
Of"
" Monopoly Sought.
~ According 10 the Indictment, an iller
~ gal agreement to thus control prices
~ was entered into by tho defendants as
far hack as March /, 1905 when, II IS
charged meeting was held IN Jersey
City, At which the defendants viii
fully, unawfully, fraudulently and en-
tortionutely" hound themselves 10
or maintain and exercise control over Y
Imcnopoly OF the meat and poultry sup-
ply, and TO arbitrarily and unlawfnllS
"A increase the price OF meat and poultry
I'M and not to sell To the public meats ana
~, poultry except at eNorhltant prices
n, agreed upon
n The indictment states that mere drib-
i =. let's OF tho supply were put on the mar
IL ! let at stated intervals, small quanti-
. ties agreed upon by the defendants,
nd thus to curtail and restrict the supply
ar for. the purpose ot tctitiously, arbi-
,,,, to the public
lm ,,t Warehouses; are held spechcally To
ri blame. and this means. it is charged.
~ Tho defendants We're successful u.
Keeping off the markets large quant-
ties Of meat and poultry. which, II put
upon the ~ fets, would have been
sufficient TO ,aeet the reasonable de-
manl.
,cs Interesting and significant relations
;cc Interests, through tho medium Of thn
o. National Packing Company, are sci
rs forth, In order TO carry out the eunI
lctst spiracy, it is charged. certain adjust
he lional Packing Company were neces-
am sary. To this end, tue Indictment says
M II meeting Was held IN Jersey Gtty
or- December 4, l9cs, &C wRirh Ynripna
,.. Il 30. -