Kingsbury County independent. (DeSmet, Kingsbury County, S.D.) 1894-1929, 1911-03-31
DENIED
BEEF TRUST MEN
IN FEDERAL CASE
Judge Carpenter Holds fna'
1906 Affair Doesn't Let
Accused Out of the Pres
emit Prosecution.

Chicago. March 23.-The Indicted
Chicago packers lost their fight against
going to trial on the indictments Sc
cured by the government several
months ago, when Judge Carpenter In
the United States district court To-Day
overruled their demurrer to the charges
and held that the immunity granted
bv Judge Humphrey, of the federal CIR
cut court, in 1906, did not apply 10 the
| present charges, which he held. were
based on evidence not included IN the
Humphrey decision.
Judge Carpenters decision coupled
nearly an hour in reading, and went
into the controversy relating to immun-
ity with great detail. In brief the
packers position was that any con-
spiracy tina might have existed was
the plotting prior to Judge Humphreys
immunity decision, and the immunity
from prosecution granted them extend
ed over all future time so long as the
acts covered by the 1906 decision re-
manned the same.
Applies Only to Old Case.
Judge Carpenter ruled that the immun-
ity granted then was only for acts which
had occurred prior to the date Of the
Indictment. and could not pertain to
any ulli1 W u "NN w IN 60
after that time. The evidence given by
the packers before the grand jury, he
said, could not relate to that which
had not occurred and hence could have
no future application.
AS to the contention Of the defense
that the conspiracy ended with the first
plotting, he ruled that so long as the
acts complained of continued the con-
spiracy remained in effect; unlawful
acts growing out of the conspiracy. II
continuing after the indicted had testi-
fed before the grand jury, were new
and separate offenses and subject to
the operation of law.
May Use Former Evidence.
In addition the court defined the Of
fences admitted before the jury by
packers prior to their immunity, and
from the criminal responsibility for
which they were freed by the Humph-
reg decision, as none the less criminal
in themselves, and he said they could
be used in prosecutions which were
p~redicated on a continuation Of the Of
lenses.
Judge Carpenter denied the govern
ment's motion TO strike the packers
pleas in abatement from the records
and instructed the government 10 re-
ply to the pleas. He said q demurrer
might be filed, however.
Inc DdChtIS were INSTRUCTOR 10 De III
court March %. and report what action
they proposed to take. They were given
20 days in which TO file exceptions, h
order given today being without ap.
peal.
List of the indicted.
The indicted packers are:
Louis F.. Swift, Edward F. Swift,
Francis A. Fowler and Charles III.
Swift, or Swift & co.
Edward Tilden, president of the Ma
tional Packing company.
J.. Ogden Armour, Arthur Meeker,
Thomas J. Connors, of Armour e. CO..
Edward Morris and Louis Heyman,
of Morris &, Co..
The chief object of the governments
attack is the National Packing COM
pany. of which the indicted men are
directors, or in which they are other
wise interested. 1t was organized in
1903, with a capital stock of $4,000, 900.
1t is chiefly a holding company, and
owns or controls, according to the
government claims, q minor compa-
MES, including the various Hammond
properties, the Anglo-American compa-
MES. Detroit Beef company, Fowler
company, of Kansas City; United
Dressed Beef company, of New York:
three refrigerating car companies, the
st. Louis Dressed Beef and Provision
company, Hutchinson Packing COM
pany of Kansas and Continental Pack
ing company.
Judge Humphreys immunity deci-
sion in the United States circuit court.
was given March 81, 1906. The investi-
cations against the packers really be-
gan in 1903, when Judge Peter S.
Grosscup enjoined them from entering
into a conspiracy to control the in
dustry.
The present indictments-three or
them-were returned last September,
n there still exists a subsequent in
dictment, returned in December. which
was obtained by the government to GO
into effect should Judge Carpenters
decision be against the prosecution.