New-York tribune., 1911-12-20
BEEF PACKERS CALLED
THE WORST OFFENDERS.
Most Powerful Combination for
Suppression of Competition,
Says u. S. Official.
RULED BUSINESS 81 YEARS
System so Ingeniously Devised
and Guarded That Employees of
Combination Are Deceived,
Declares U. S. Attorney.

Chicago. Dec. 19-The jury which is
TO try the ten Chicago packers who are
charged with violation Of the criminal
provisions of the Sherman antitrust law
was completed to-day and the opening
statement OF United States District At
torney James II. Wilkerson was begun.
In outlining the case Mr.. Wilkerson
in speech replete with bitter invective
declared that the defendants through
the National Packing Company had con
tinued the old pooling practices Of the
packers and had actually put into ef-
feet the most powerful engine for the
suppression Of competition ever devised
IN the industrial world
Judge Carpenter had scarcely ceased
directing the summoning Of a new panel
of veniremen when counsel for the in
dicted packers declared they were salts
fed with the twelve men in the box
The government attorneys also were
content, and before the noon adjourn
ment the oath was administered 10 the
jury and the decks were cleared for the
actual beginning Of the legal battle
which Is looked upon as one of the most
momentous of the many in which the
federal power has clashed with corpora
tons
When Mr.. Wilkerson began his open
ing address all the defendants were in
the courtroom, and each listened in
tently as, step by step. the theory of
the prosecution and the facts on which
it is based were presented.
Conspiracy TO Violate the Law.
Tracing the history of the meat in
dustry in its relation to the men under
indictment and going into great detail
in his description of various phases of
the deeds which he declared marked a
conspiracy 10 violate the law Of the
land. Mr.. Wilkerson laid special empha-
sis on the following points:
That the combination represented by the
ten Chicago meat packers, under indict-
ment is the most powerful engine or sys-
tenn for the suppression Of competition and
the fixing Of prices ever known IN the his
tory of the Industrial world
That the system is so ingeniously devised
and so closely guarded that the men in
the lower grades Of employment are made
hination are actual competitors
That the indicted packers. or their pred
ecessors have dominated the meat indus
Try Of the country and fixed prices since
That the real purpose and design OF the
National Packing Company, which was or
ganized by members Of the combination.
March Is. 1903. is 10 continue the work "ac-
complished BY the old pool
That the key 10 the system is the uni
form method used by the members in ag-
uring the test cost Of the product.
That this test cost. arrived Al by adding
the killing charge 10 the price Of cattle on
the hoof and deducting allowances for hide
and fat. is In excess OF the real cost and
gives the packers a larger margin OF profit
than their own figures indicate.
That the country was divided under the
and each member OF the pool allotted a cer-
tain percentage Of the business. and that a
similar system is still in existence.
That a system Of forfeits was paid 10
members who failed % get their percentage
Of the business OF the different divisions
and these forfeits were IN the nature Of
fines on those members who exceeded their
allotment
combination met every Tuesday IN the
office Of a Chicago lawyer and fixed the
prices Of meat
That since the organization OF the Ma
tional Packing Company the directors Of
that organization hold meetings az which
the price of the product Is fixed
That a specially devised code Il trade
terms was used AZ these meetings where
prices were made
Continued Operations OF Old Pool.
The evidence which will be pre-
sented." said Mr. WilkArson. "will show
that no other conclusion can be reached
than that the Nstional Packing Com
panv was used FOR the purpose of con-
tinuing the operations of the old pool
and FOR that alone n gave first a pre-
text for these gentlemen getting to-
Eether and discussing their own bust
ness in terms Of the business Of the Ma
tional Packing Company. and the Ma
tional Packing Company itself operated
~ take the place Of the old system Of
fines which were used in the days Of Sc
cret meetings because. whenever one of
the parties 10 the combination over
shipped in any particular market and
thereby injured the business Of that
market. he was fined through the loss
which resulted 10 the National Packing
Company"
Mr. Wilkerson briefly reviewed the
history NJ the corporations mentioned TO
show the enormous growth Of their busi-
ness He said:
The evidence will show that during the
perfod OF the old combination parties 10
the pool dominated the Industry In the
markets which they served These cor
poratious were engaged In serving large
markets through refrigerator car lines,
serving markets where there was no locdl
supply ~ cattle sufficient TO meet the de-
mands Of the market and the test Is as 20
the control exercised by them over the
business Of these markets. particularly
Roston New York and Philadelphia Ths
pecuIiarity Of the meat business rendered
necessary the adoption ot unusual methous .Ils
~ combination. This was required by the
per4 r4shable nature Of the product and the
difference in the grade Of the meat pro-
duced IL was not possible 10 organize a
combination with reference 10 inc price or
meat such as could be made with reference
10 the price Of steel -four and so forth, IN
which there were fixed grades OF the prod
uct. There also was necessity OF Gonceal. nee.
inR from the public and from al but
few OF the important employees the exist
encs Of a combination 10 control prices.
Counsel for the defence will reserve
their statement until the conclusion Of
the governments evidence. Conserva-
tive estimates Of the length Of the trial
place its duration At between four and
five months The ten defendants are
7 ogden Armour. president Of Armour &
90 . Louis r Swift president of SWIFT ~ |
20 Edward F. Swift. vice-presldent OF
swift a Co. Charles II. Swift, director OF
Swift q 90 Edward Tilden, president OF
the National Packing Company. Edward
Morris. president Of Morris 4 60 Arthur !
WaaLer director Of Armour & Co. Francis /
a FoUler director OF Swift Co, Thomas |
I Connors superint endent Of Armour n |
Co. and Louis n Heyman. manager OF
Morris co.
MRS BAUDOUTNE REMARKED
Hurries from Reno Divorce Court and