The Detroit times., 1910-02-19
HEADS OF BEEF
TRUST INDICTED
Grand Jury of Hudson County, New
Jersey, Charge Food Is Stored
To Boost Price.

JERSEY CITY. N. j., Feb. H.
Charged with, conspiring TO control the
output OF beef and defrauding the pub
lie the Hudson county grand Jury late
yesterday returned indictments against
Armour & Co. Nelson Morris & Co.
the Cudahy Packing Co, Swift 4 Co.
and the National Packing Co.
They are charged with conspiracy
IN that they kept foodstuffs In cold
storage with the purpose OF raising
the price. The indictments are 10 be
handed up TO Supreme Court Justice
Francis j. SwayZe next Wednesday.
The directors OF the National Pack
ing company, according to the pub
lished records, are: j. Ogden Armour.
l.. f. Swift, Edward Morris. Z, F.
Swift. Ira " Morris. Arthur Meeker.
Edward Tilden, T. j. Connors, L. A.
Carton. X X. McLaren. 4. f. VIII
son, c. II. Swift, l.. III. Heyman, Sam
nel- AcRoberts, Fowler IA
Armour The exempted member OF
the directorate is Kenneth X. Nc
Laurin treasurer of the Corporation
Trust company OF New Jersey, an in
cooperating agency with Offices at Is
Exchange place, Jersey City. Mr..
McLaurin's place in the directorate
Is said TO be purely nominal and not
connected in any way with the active
business OF the corporation.
The National Packing company
was incorporated in New Jersey on
March Is, 1903, and IL owns the CAPT
tai stocks of the following companies
engaged in the business of packing
meat products: The Fowler Packing
company. the st. Louis Dressed Beef
& Provision company. the Fowler Can
adam company, Ltd, Fowler Brothers,
Ltd, of Liverpool, the Omaha Pack
ing company, the Hammond Packing
company the G. III. Hammond com
pany, the Anglo-American Provision
company. the United Dressed Beef
company Its capital stock was $l5.'
100000
The voting OF these indictments Is
believed to be the forerunner OF the
finding of more true bills by the Jer-
sey grand jury.
The investigation was started Feb.
| 8, when Justice Swayze charged that
| IL the evidence adduced showed that
there existed a combination OF indi-
viduals Or concerns an indictment Tor
conspiracy was justified, provided II
could be shown that the combination
had for its object merely TO enhance
the price OF foodstuffs and has no
lawful aim The law governing such
cases is borrowed from the New Jer'
sey statutes from the old common law
OF England.
The inquiry mas been conducted
under the direction of County Prose
cutor Pierre 2. Caravan.
Officers of the packing houses IL
Jersey City have been called and
have testified before the grand jury
Another of the chief witnesses has
been DR.. George F.. Mclaughlin, O
| bacteriologist OF Jersey City. He was
before the jury last Friday. and his
/ testimony was along the line OF prov
ing that bacteria developed In meat
that had been taken from cold stor
age and treated TO freshening-ul
process. Experiments had proved to
Ibis satisfaction, he. declared, that
meat treated in this way was men
acing To the public health. One of the
officers OF the Merchants Refrigerat
ling company, a cola storage concern
/ Of Jersey City, brought before the
grand jury a turkey that he said mad
/ leen in cold storage seven years. II
was still. he maintained. a perfectly
good turkey. and he would be glad t.
have chance TO eat II himself. This
was by way OF refuting the ideas al
vanced by DR.. Mclaughlin.