Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-27
PACKERS GIVEN
Time TO PLEAD
ANSWER TO CHARGES MUST BE
MADE IN TWO WEEKS
DEFENDANTS WILL ATTACK VA
LIDITY OF INDICTMENTS
Hudson County Official Promises to
Move Forcibly if Directors of
the Beef Trust Fail to
Appear in Court
ASSOCIATED Pressl

ASSOCIATED Pressl
NEW YORK. Feb. 26-Two weeks
will be allowed the indicted directors of
the National Packing company in
which to appear for pleading to the true
bill of conspiracy found against them
yesterday by the Hudson county grand
jury in Jersey City.
Prosecutor Garven said tonight there
was no disposition to be unreasonable
and that every opportunity would be
given the indicted corporations and
their officers to come into court of their
own free will. If this opportunity were
diSregarded, however, or if any DISPOSE
ton were shown to treat the proceed
ings with levity, as has been intimated
was the case in some quarters, he
should move with speed and severity.
"Capiases will be issued at once"
said Mr.. Garven, land if those. named
in the papers refuse to answer of their
own free will, eXtradition proceedings
will be started and some of these gen.
tlemen will find themselves in Hudson
county with what perhaps may be un-
expected celerity.'
Mr.. Garven believes he has evidence
to prove the National Packing compa-
ny, though not a holding company for
the Armour, Swift and other properties
in the same sense that the Northern
Securities company was adjudged a
holding company, is nevertheless, by
virtue of its influential directorate, a
clearing house for the packers, who
thus retain a semblance of competition,
while in reality forming a close corpo-
ration to "defraud, cheat, impoverish
and oppress the public as charged in
the Indictment. He will therefore move
for the dissolution of the company, as
we'll as for the sentence of its officers.
Defendant Avoids Capias
Lemuel B. Patterson, a defendant,
narrowly escaped summary arrest yes
terday. 1t is understood that he came
all the way from Chicago to testify
should his testimony be desired, and
unfortunately for him arrived at the
court house just as the grand jury was
going into court.
Prosecutor Garven Immediately had
a capias issued for him, but he hurried
from the building and across the Hud-
son river to New York.
Besides being a director of the Ma
tional Packing company Patterson is
shown by the records of the secretary
Of state of New Jersey TO be ltS nfSt
vice president
There was surprise today at the In
dictment of Ira n. Morris as it was
known that he had sent lawyer to
Jersey City last Wednesday and that
he had resigned from the board OF
directors of the National Packing COM
pany. At that time Prosecutor GarVen
Informed the lawyer that no Indictment
had been found against his client.
In exclamation of the returning of an
indictment yesterday, Prosecutor Gar
ven now says that although Morris Is
not at present a member of the board of
directors of the National Packing COM
pany he was on the directorate at the
time the conspiracy is alleged to have
been committed
The fact developed today that the
meat investigation and the indictment
which followed had so far cost the
New Jersey county of Hudson, where
the proceedings have been conducted,
the net sum of only 40 cents. Thls is
approximately the value of the sta
tionery used by the district attorneys
office and the grand jury.
Prosecutor Garven will appear before
Supreme Court Justice Swayze IN
Trenton, N. j., next week and ask that
the National Packing companys char-
ter be nullified on the ground that the
company has violated the states laws
L. C. Krauthoff, local counsel of Ar
nour & Co., said he would not discuss
the indictments.
Prosecutor Garven said he was LED
into starting the investigation by read
ing an item that eggs were selling at
from so to so cents dozen in New
York. He commented on TINS TO
workingman who had been employed
in the packing houses and who told
him that thousands and thousands OF
dozens of eggs were in the Jersey city
cold storage warehouses, being with
held from the depleted market. He
said he considered this all wrong, ana
started the cold storage probe, Whicn
finally led him deep into the meat IN
vestigation. ~. ,,,
talent of the defense VIII coneentraoe Y;si1,r of
itself in an attack on the validity Oh
the Indictment when Mr.. Bathgate
makes his plea.
The instrument was fashioned in
large part by Joseph NJ. Noonan, VINO
has a reputation of being one OF the
most accomplished indictment makers
in New Jersey. ,,,
Mr. Noonan said tonight: 'The
question to be determined is whether
there is evidence enough to substan-
tiate the charges of wilful and unlaW-
full conspiracy. 1t is alleged that the
conspiracy was formed in Illinois ana
was carried by letters and telegrams
into New Jersey, the legal nome OF
the company.
necessary for the person accused to
he actually within jurisdiction at
tha time of the formation or the con-
spiracy. . Co,;
"Three men may conspire in Cali
fornia 10 murder another in New Jer-
sew and send one of their number TO
commit the crime The two who re-
main in California are then none the