New-York tribune., 1910-02-19
JERSEY JURY TO
INDICT PACKERS
UTLL MOVE AGAINST
BEEF TRUST.
Directors Must Plead to
Charge Of Forcing Up
Prices of Food.

The Hudson County Grand Jury. SIT
ting in Jersey City. voted yesterday to
indict the National Packing Company. OF
the so-calIed Beef Trust. The allegation
was that the trust depressed the market
to enhance the prices OF foodstufs- The
true bill has rot been handed into court
II must be drawn and signed. and the
grand jury. pending this formality. ad-
journed until Wednesday. when it wih
file into court and present the bill
The Indictment IS ordered against the
directors Of the National Packing Com
pany. The list of directors on record is
as follows: J. Ogden Armour. L F.
Swift, Edward Morris. E T. Swift, z. M.
Morris. Abraham MeeIzer. Edward TIL
den. T J. Connors. L A Carter, T z
Wilson. c H Swift. l. H. Heyman.
Samuel L McRobe-ts. F. " Fowler and
y ". Armour One director. Kenneth
K McLarer. is not indicted He IS ide1-
tilted with q corporation agency in Yer
sey City. through which the National
Packing Company fled It's articles Of IN
corporation in New jersey. and is merely
a nominal member OF the directorate 70
comply with The law.
The headquarters Of the company =
The Rookery. in Chicago. but the an
nuaI meetings are held IL jersey City az
the Office of the agency 70 conform with
the New Jersey statutes Indictments
may follow against the directors cf rhe
company and also the directors Of the
cold storage plants, as il is alleged that
food products kept in storage generate
disease germs.
This phase Of the investigation is now
being taken up by Dr.. George NIcLaugh-
lin. a bacteriologist OF Jersey City. and
Assistant Prosecutor vickers. Of Hudson
County. VINO have conferred with the
officials of the State Board OF Health OF
New Jersey. the cooperation Of which
has been guaranteed
CALLS EVIDENCE AMPLE
When the grand jury convened yes
terday afternoon Prosecutor Garvin i'm
rnediate1y went before II and urged that
an indictment be forthwith ordered. The
evidence. he said. was ample TO warrant
il and was adequate, he asserted, 70 Sc
cure conviction. The National Pack
ing Company being z New Jersey CIR
poratiou Il could be forced to produce
the records of its proceedings. and he be-
Iieved they would show that the market
had been manipulated. The evidence, he
said, clearly proved that there was such
an Illegal conspiracy as Justice Swayze
had explained in his special charge on
the subject must exist 10 warrant the
finding of an Indictment
The Jury Immediately discussed the
case and voted 10 indict the directors.
except 11cLaren, who will be summoned
as a witness next Wednesday, and may
BE- called as witness for the state in
the subsequent prosecution. The Prose-
cutor anticipates an early trial as ne
believes the indicted men will promptly
surrender, furnish bail and avoid the
necessity Of delay and expense IN requi-
sitior proceedings Il was said that
some of the managers OF the local plants
ran TO cover when before the grand jury.
and said that they We're mere employees
who were acting under orders; that 4
schedule OF prices was issued weekly
from Chicago by the way OF New York
and with the covert threat that effi-
c5ent agents would get the prices fixed
bv the company. and those who sue
ceeded would be cIassed as good and
competent representatives When the
GRAND jurors visited the Merchants re
frigerating plant they saw a turkey that
rha agent in charge boastfulIy remarked
that he wouldn't mind eating il himself
They found in the place other turkeys
that had been in storage for an equally
long period. and other foodstuffs were
seen that had been frozen stiff for years.
CONTROL OF THE COMPANIES
Swift & Co. of Illinois. own s7.o0o.0"o
Of the stock Of the National Packing
COMPANY, according 10 the testimony Of
G. F. swift, of Chicago. before special
Examiner Dillon. al jefferson City. Mo.
y, Thursday. Mr.. SWIFT said that the
stock was owned through the estate OF
his father. G. w Swift. and that Swift
E Co also owned stock in the Schwarz-
schi1d & SuIzberger Company. He also
said that Swift & Co. Of Maine. and
s1rfft {. Co. of West Virginia, were SELF
ing companies for the Illinois company,
to which all business and dividends were
reported
The National Packing Company was
INCORPORATED in New Jersey on Iarch
Is. 1908 The authorized capital stock
was S15.OO0,O0O. on March 26 OF the
same wear the company filed a certificate
with the Secretary OF State setting forth
that the entire capital stock had been
paid I'D by the purchase Of the property.
The original incorporators were uis B
DALEY. Kenneth K McLaren and Joseph
NJ Mitchell, all representatives OF a cor
poration agency al No. 15 Exchanges
Place, Jersey City
The last annual report OF the company.
fled on December 81. 1909. gave the fol-
lowing officers whose terms expire this
December: President Edward Tilden:
vice-president L B. Patterson: treas
urer. A. T FULLER; assistant treasurer
Arthur Colby. and secretary. c. G.
Snow.
The National Packing Company con-
trolls the Fowler Packing Company. the
ST. Louis Beef and Provision Company.
the Fowler Canadian COMPANY 1iua-