The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-12-27
RELATES HISTORY
OF BEEF TRUs
Attorney for Packers TelI4|
How Combine Was
Started n
THREE FIRMS IN
THE GREAT POOL
Capitalized for S773, SGT GOO
Representing the Earn
ings for Quarter
Century

CHICAGO, Dec. 2ss---AIbert
Veeder, the master mind. the nx1 81
witness on The stand to-day in th1
trial of the men who have be1a
clients of his for two generations
iished into an old handbag and pre-
duced in court contracts which we1Os
to have been the foundation OF tn
most owe - pitalized and secon4
greateGt trust in history. sss
This great beef trust was to hay4M
been capitalized for three-quarteru o.
billion OF dollars and seventy p0As
cent. of that capitalization was to-
have been water. The companies t4ss
be consolidated were the Swift, Ar.
mour and Morris interests. Accord4s
ing to the inventories the assets O.
each were: Swift, $4,000. 900: AEA#
mour. s73,000,ooo. and Morris. $2AsAE
900. 000--a total of S1S2,000,00o. To.
this was added $591. 100000 OF wato1M
and the total capitalize ton OF th4N
trust was to have been $773,567 .000Ss
The austere old attorney mopp0NS
sweat from his brow as he told how
Gustavus Swift, Edward Morris and
J. Ogden Armour had worked daJs
and night for Ave months, In 10044&
building the foundation OF the coioe~ss
sal trust, only to see the impending
panic in 1903 send the whole stzuO@
ture tumbling about their heads. No
moral or ci~ic influences tempero0
their action. Only the lack OF money!
punctured the scheme.
Undoing Work Of Lifetime
Veeder evolved the test cost" sy1o
TEN by which the packers were ab1m
to write two figures on a postal cara
and tell what each competitor hA0S
done the week previous and what
he might do and what profit he woul6
he allowed the next week. Ho sent
his clients to the grand jury to tAkG
the immunity BATH" which hA0
kept them out of court for eigh&
years. And to-day he was engage0
in undoing the work of a lifettmo4
He told--with frequent and serious
lapses of memorable history OF the
beef trust. his formation of the Old
pool and OF the giant combinex
And he produced musty contrActA ~
signed by ], Ogden Armour. 6.
Swift and Edward Morris. which laid
bare the innermost secrets of the
Beef Trust.
Veeder erected lasting monumem4
to his own ingenuity. He barely exA
posed one corner of system Oh
blind pig corporations which Wc9QA
organized by the packers to take CARE
of ponderous profits and then sa14a
nonchalantly: 3xSH
things in my head. There are In M
such corporations in my office and ia
do not remember the names or pu1sN
poses OF many Of them. / have servxSs
ed as official or director in many go
them, as have the clerks in my OeEa
fee. But l don't remember whtcll
ones. That is too far back for NM
memory. sS
OTeo Oil in Pool.
will Oh hnt
was a pool of the beef packarm
and was devoted to the sale OF '.oleG
oil" It's directors met every TuAnEs
day morning and declared Weoki1M
dividends. According to the governs
ment Information it was capitalists
for S14. 900 and declared divideud4a
OF $4,000. 600 annually.
Thus the Aetna Company and IT,
Oppenheimer Trading Company wero
subsidiary pools which divided tt
profits OF the hog and beef castn&
business and kept part of the prontms
of the business out of the annua4R
statements OF the three major com~S
panieS. s9s%
The immunity bath which Veedn
invented and Attorney John 5. Miltqm&s
'discovered' was invoked today In a1fS
attempt to prevent the governmeu4s
Introducing as evidence of dates px4NuS
to the time the famous bath W1a IL
duiged In 1906. AT that time g.
of the packers went before the grnR%
| jury to, get his hath and the - I'll
furnished Commissioner James r. Car
field with discriminating eviden0G$5
against themselves and gained immn1
ity. yzS
The objections were reduced to WE1f<s
ing and injected into the record. IT,
government will reply tomorrow 4ME4
Judge Carpenter will rule on the 0lAs
lection He allowed Veeder to tasli8I6S
to ancient history on the promfGS35
that If he rules against the defense hGS
win strike from the record all evideucSSS
dates prior to 1905.
Asked About Contract. $S
Attorney Veeder when brought doS13
to the time OF the formation % n
great but Inflated combine was aa1E1
by Attorney Butler for the packers
he had the contract entered into
Swift. Armour and Morris looking
the formation Of the giant trust
Il have" replied Veeder. 4ssS
will you produce Ii? asS
Veeder looked around the ~
glanced at his clients and then grin1
He dug into his pockets and produ
the document
who helped you to draw thf1
Veeder was asked as he heaved
Of relief.
II represented G. F. Swift and n
Krauthofr represented Mr.. Armour. 4
represented Morris jointly"
Here Veeder paved over the
bundle and identified the dim r
lures Of J. Ogden Armour, E10
Morris and GustAvus Swift. S
Have you any other contracts
ed by these same men :" asksA tho
ernment's attorney.
Produces Truss ccWtr,ee.
veeder pointed 70 ereat N4
of documents and sAid that tn
pile was composed at such caGA
After long night hA $3.50 ~
produce connNct hQs N1i1S<