The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-12-28
DISSOLUTION SUIT
 TAKEN OFF DOCKET Civil Case Against Packers Is
 Dismissed ACTION IS EXPLAINED Assistant District Attorney at Chicago Says Suits Are Dismissed to
 Make Way for Criminal
 Cases
ACTION IS EXPLAINED

Chicago, December 27.-United States District Attorney Edwin S. simms ap- peared today before Judge Ehlsaat in the federal court and asked that the dissolution suit of the government against the National Packing company, which had been accused of being a trust, be dismissed. The order was entered by the court.
 This move was declared by the gov ernment officials to have been made sith the object of clearing the way for the criminal trials of packers in- dicted on charges of conspiring against trade.
 Recently attorneys for the indicted packers appeared in the federal dis trict court and asked that the criminal proceedings be stayed until the civil suit was terminated.
 We are doing everything that we can to expedite the criminal trials, T said a government official. Every ob- stacle to ready trial raised by the packers we have removed, so far as we can. They wanted delay on the criminal proceedings to enable them to devote their time to this suit, so we had this one dismissed to expedite tho other.
 This does not mean that the gov ernment has or has not given up the idea of dissolving the National Pack ing company as an aleged trust An other dissolution suit may be filed later"
 Assistant United States District At torney James H. Wilkerson late today issued a statement regarding his ac- ton in sweeping aside civil suits to make way for criminal prosecution of the men composing the National Packing company. MT. Wilson says there is but one reason for the dis missal of the civil case and that is the desire of the government for immediate criminal prosecution of the packers.
 The statement issued by MT. Wilkerson is in part:
 ''The petition against the packers was filed March 21, 1910. Afterwards there was grand jury investigation, as a re- suit of which indictments were returned charged some of the defendants in the bill with criminal violations of the anti trust laws
 Since the return of those indictments the defendants in the equity case have asked several extensions of time within which to answer and those extensions have always been granted
 Tt was thought to be fully understood by the government and the attorneys for the packers that there was to be no fur ther proceedings in the equity case until the trial of the criminal cases
 The purpose Of dismissal of the equity case is to make clear the position of the government that the trial of the crim- inal cases is to be vigorously pushed and Is to be interfered with in no way whatever by the pendency of the equity cases in the circuit court
 Tt may be that a resort to the petition Tn equity to enjoin future violations will be entirely unnecessary if the govern rnent's contentious are established in the criminal cases.
 ''The attorney general therefore direct cd the dismissel of the equity case with out prejudice Further proceedings to enjoin future violations can of course be instituted if those proceedings should be found necessary to maintain fully the position of the government in this lltiga- tion."