The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1911-11-17
PACKERS make
SUDDEN MOVE
Surrender Into Custody and Ask
Writ Of Habeas Corpus.

Chicago, Nov. 15.-The indicted Chi.
cago meat packers, by precipitating
federal court decision on the constitu.
tionality Of the Sherman antitrust
law, when they surrendered them
selves into custody and asked for
writ of habeas corpus, merely took
steps necessary to carry the fight be-
fore the United States supreme court
without the cost or delay of trial, it
was announced.
Government attorneys, taken I'M
awares, were cut off from much of the
results of their long investigation into
the meat packing industry by the sud
den move of the packers. Instead of
promise to be supported by evidence
carefully brought together the fight,
for a',time at least, must be conducted
purely as an argument of law, cOnse
quently the fight will not be ques-
ton of first issue as to the guilt or in
nocence of the packers, but plain at
tack on the validity of the Sherman
act, according to attorneys for the
packers They explain their position
briefly in this wise:
The supreme court in the tobacco
and oil cases converted the Sherman
law into an illegal enactment. since
the court, by placing each individual
or corporation on standard of it's
own built up on it's peculiar individual
acts, took away from all individuals
the possibility of knowing how their
acts were to be viewed by jury, "in
the light of reason, that this obscurity
of definition of what constituted crime
was contrary to the eighth amendment
to the federal Constitution.
Trial May Be Postponed.
In short, the petition, say the attor
neys, charges the supreme court inter.
probation with multiplying the Sherman
law, in spite of the courts action in
ordering the dissolution of the Ameri-
can Tobacco company and the Stand
ard Oil company. Only an adverse de-
cision to the packers contention by
the United States supreme court viii.
give the government attorneys an OPP
portunity to use the material they have
gathered for the prosecution. In the
meantime the trial. scheduled for Mon
day of next week, undoubtedly will be
postponed, pending the decision OF
the higher court on the new question.
The move made by the packers was
a complies surprise to the government
and consisted in the surrender of the
packers to the United States marshal
and an immediate appeal to United
States Circuit Judge G.. &. Kohlsaat
for a writ of habeas corpus. The ar
guments will be heard Thursday.
Violations of the fifth, sixth and
eighth amendments to the United
States Constitution. ambiguity and its
alleged failure either to create an of.
Tense against the government or SO to
define wha; it set up as an offense i'm
a manner that would enable the citi-
zen to know when he erred and when
not were charged against the Sher-
man law as interpreted by the United
States supreme court in the Standard
Oil and Tobacco cases.
Attorney John S. Miller, who as
chief of counsel for the packers con-
Quoted the court move, characterized
the Sherman law as follows: Not
large enough to catch all possible of.
tenders it leaves to the courts to step
in and say who rightfully can be de,
tanned and who set at large"