The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1910-03-03
AFTER BEEF TRUST
Six Companies and Twenty
One Packers Are Named
i'm Bill of Indictment.
ACTION FEDERAL COURT

Conspiracy In Limiting the supply
OF Meat and Poultry Is Charged
by New Jersey Grand Jury-The
Inquiry by the Grand jury Began
More Than "a Month Ago by Inves-
tigating the Cold Storage Plants
of the Company-Prominen Men
to Stand Triai-Grand Jury Re
sumes Investigation.
New York, Feb. 25.-The beef
trust OF the United States, embracing
six great packing companies and
twenty-one packers, several OF them
multi-millionaires, socially and in
dustrially prominent, were indicted
by a grand jury in Hudson County,
n. j., to-day, charged with conspir-
acy in limiting the supply of meat
and poultry.
The indictment is drawn under
the law of New Jersey which pro-
vides upon conviction a maximum
penalty of years in the peniten-
tiary or $1,000 fine or both.
The offense is extraditable, which
means that practically all the meat
successfully resist extradition or
come to Jersey City for trial.
Pierre Garven, the public prose-
cutor Of Hudson County, announced
tonight that he would forthwith no.
tify the defendants of their indict-
ment and would be ready to force
extradition in each and every case
where the individual concerned is
not willing to face trial voluntarily
None, he says, will be spared. The
defendants as named are as follows:
The Defendants.
Corporations: The National Pack
ing Company, Armour & Co.. Swift
& Co.. Morris & Co., Hammond Pack
ing Company, G. H. Hammond &
Company.
The individuals include J. Ogden
Armour, A. Watson Armour, Louis
F. Swift, Edward Morris, Ira N. Nor
ris and fourteen others.
Ira \. Morris sent lawyer to Jer-
sey City this week from Chicago to
inform Prosecutor Garven that he
had retired from the directorate of
Morris & Co.. but nevertheless he
was indicted.
Frederick B. Cooper. James E.
Bathgate, George J. Edwards, D. Z.
Hartwell, H. B. Darlington and A. A.
Fuller are said to be officers and
Eastern agents of the National Pack
ed are either directors or officers or
former directors Or officers of the
National Packing Company. Capiases
for the arrest of all the defendants
will be issued Immediately and the
grand jury will resume it's investi-
cations on Wednesday next. Cooper
is the New Jersey Manager for Swift
& Co.
The indictment, which bristles in
its arraignment of the men named
also refers to divers others; as be-
ing responsible. These latter, how
ever. are not specified. The fore
going names, it will be seen repre-
sents the very backbone of the great
packing industry of this country,
containing as it does two Armours,
three Swifts and two Morrises, all
for the most part residents OF Chi
cago, together with less important
figures in the packing world.
Their indictment brings to eli
| max the first concerted effort In the
East Ito fix responsibility for the
prevailing abnormally high price OF
commodities.
Cold Storage Warehouses.
| Jersey City. as cold storage CEN
ter, where the packing companies OF
| the West maintain vast warehouses
in which countless thousands OF
pounds of meat and poultry are
stored, proved a fruitful source OF
investigation. More than a month
ago the inquiry by the grand jury
was started, cold storage plants were
inspected, witnesses were examined
and to-day the indictment was hand
ed up in the Supreme Court before
Justices Blair and Carey. The pre-
sentations of the document will meaI
the trial by jury of some of the mos
prominent men in the United States
charged in effect with cheating tn,
public through the medium of col,
storage.