Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-01-07
PRICES FIXED BY COMPANY
Evidence Indicates Packers Con-
tinued Practices with Big Firms.
PRATT AND COLBY TESTIFY
Former Officiui Of National Corpora
tion Gives History of OrRnnizn-
tlon of National Packing
Company In 1908.


| CHICAGO, Jan. G.-Documentary ev
dence I'm support OF the governments
charge that the practices OF the old
packers pool In fixing the price of fires
meat by means OF q system OF prof.
margins and apportioning the bushes
/ on noncompetitive basis were continue,
after the organization OF the NatIona
/ Packing company IN March 1908, was
read TO the jury yesterday In the trial Of
ten Chicago packers under indictment
] for criminal conspiracy IN restraint OF
trade.
! Tho government brought the opera
! lions OF tho alleged Illegal combination
Of packers down to within seven months
OF the statutory period covered by the
Indictment
The information was furnished by
Jerome II. Pratt, an cmproye OF Armour
y Co. for more than twenty years and
AZ one time assistant manager OF the
dressed beef department
He testified TO having attended a num-
Der Of meetings Of the old pool between
1895 and 1902 at which. he said, per-
centages OF shipments TO different mar
kets were decided by ballot and the profit
margin was determined by agreement
among the members.
Identifies letters.
The witness Identified a dozen letters
he received while IN the employment Of
Armour & Co. IN support OF his state
ments.
Three OF the letters bore notations in
pencil OF the shipment percentages and
profit margins in the handwriting OF ].
Ogden Armour. Arthur Meeher and
Thomas J. Connors OF the Armour COM
pany. according to witness. lie posi-
lively identified tho handwriting OF
Arthur MeelSer and declared he was as
certain that the other memorandum
were written by J. ogden Armour and
Thomas j. Connors as man could be
who had not seen the figures written.
Pratt was on the stand when court adj
jounled, and will continue his story to-
morrow.
List of Plants bought.
Arthur Colby was In the wholesale
jewelry business In the east until 1903.
when he came to Chicago and obtained
employment with the National Packing
company as assistant secretary. Two
years later he was elected director and
made assistant treasurer.
Are you familiar with the business OF
the National Packing company" asked
District Attorney James p. Wllkerson.
"Only with the offices and accounting
end Of the business" replied Colby, who
then gave list OF the subsidiary com
panies operated by the National Packing
company as followsi
q. II. Hammond Il Co.
Hammond Packing company.
Angio-Amerlcan Provision company.
Omaha Packing company.
/. United Dressed Beef company.
-. Louis Dressed Beef and Provision
company.
New York Butchers Dressed Beef com.
: pany.
= Western Packing company.
. Colorado Packing company.
/ Ruddy Bros
q Plankington Packing company.
G Smith Bros
Z Handy Bros.
I charter Allows Wide Range.
r District Attorney Wikersou intro
n duced In evidence the minutes OF the
first meeting of the National Packinl
G company, held March IS, 1903, in. Jersey
9 city. and the by-laws of the corporation
. were read.
, II was organized under the laws Of
p New Jersey with a capital stock oil
G Slb,O 1900. to engage In the packing
10 business and such other enterprises a.
/
- provision created an executive board
> with authority to exercise all the powers
OF the board of directors. Details OF tn,
purchase Of the thirteen independent
packing companies for $i5,OOO0O0, which
formed the nucleus of the National Pack
ing company, We're given in a resolution
I. adopted by the directors at their frs
. meeting. The contracts relating TO tn
!. transfer OF the properties specified tina
. each plant was to be operated independ
}. lently under the old name.
Two ledgers containing the records o
directors meetings OF the National Pack
ing company from March o. 1903, to Jun
s, 1910, were offered in evidence.
, Judge Carpenter overruled the objec
\ tlon and permitted the records OF tn
directors meetings to so IN evidence {
show what business was transacted, bu
s not 10 prove that certain defendants wer
~ present az certain meetings.
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