New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-03-27

| law would make them liable to either a
hne OF 5000 EACH or Imprisonment for one
! year or both.
| The ten defendants are:
j; Ogden Armour, president of Armour
Arthur Meeker. director and general man
agCr OF Armour 4 Co.
Ihomas j. Connors, director and general
! superintendent of Armour & co.
Louis F. Swift, president of Swift & 90.
e. co.
Charles II. Swift director Of Swift & Co.
Francis A. Fowler. manager Of beef &C.
psriment Of Swift & co.
Edward Morris. president Morris 4 Co.
Louis H. Heyman, manager beef depart
ment Morris d Co.
Edward Tilden. president National Pack
ing Company.
The government contends:
That prior to 1902 prices were fixed. ship
ments regulated and territory DIVIDED ny
the old beef pool which met every TUESDAY
afternoon.
That after the old beef pool dissolved in
1862 the packers held secret meetings at
each others homes.
since its organization in 1903 has been used
as the clearing house for the alleged
combination.
That the packers adopted a test cost and
margin system which was used i'm the pur-
chase of cattle and the sale of fresh meat.
That the allowances made for by-productS
i'm figuring the test cost were inadequate
and the cost used by the packers was
fictitious and higher than the actual cost.
That the representatives OF the dlHeIenI
companies in New York, Boston ana otheI
Eastern cities exchanged information IN re-
gard to prices and shipments ahq le't
graphed the figures 20 their supeiloIS III
Chicago. -,
the packers has been continuous ana pTdt-
tically uninterrupted since lHN.
\ chronological history of the govern
ments investigation and prosecution of the
men alleged 10 control the fresh meat IN
dustry of ;hc country is as follows:
July l. IooS-Injunction issued by Judge
GrOSscup restraining the packers from en-
teTing into a combination. ,
February %, Decentralization of alleged
combination begun.
July |, l9O5-SiXtcen packers ana lour Coi-
pOrationS indicted
December 81. lp5-CaSes called for trial.
March 81. l9O5-IudGe Humphreys renders
tn" immunity bath decision, freeing inc
Indicted packers.
December D. Decentralization taken up
by federal grand jury, but soon dlScon-
tirucd without indictments being returned:
December Ii. Decentralization resumed
by the federal grand Jury. .a
March q. l9l0-lndiCtmentS returned
against the National Packing COMPANY ana ana
ten subsidiary concerns Nnd bill In equiv
filed asking that the National Packing
Company he dissolved.
June q. 19lo-Indictments against the Ma
tiOual Packing Company Quashcd by JUICE
lands and a special grand jury called 10
renew the investigation.
July a. l9lO-SpcCial grand jury lmpan-
ellcd and inquiry begun.
August II. 19l0-Thomds 6. Lee. manager
Of the dressed beef sales department OF
Armour & CO., indicted for perjury an"
pany, and three employees charged with de-
stroyng stenOgraphers' notebooks contain
ing important information desired by tne
government.
with a rcprimand and the other respond
ents held for further hearing.
September Y, Embellishments returned
charging ten packers with conspiracy III
maintaining a combination In restraint OF
December 6. lali-Trial Of the ten packers
begun before Judge Carpenter.
The trial was one Of the longest criminal
trials in the history Of the federal courts
II began December 6, 1911, and the jury
was sworn in December ~. The first wit
ness was called by the government De
cember o. The government put forty-nine
witnesses on the stand and introduced Lass
documents in evidence. The record of the
case contains FIVE million words.
It is estimated that the trial cost the
packers 100000 and the government about
100000
The first witness called by the govern
ment was Albert II. Needer, the dean OF
counsel for the packers and personal legal
adviser Of the late Gustavus F. swift
founder of Swift & Co. He gave graphic
description of the old packers pool. when
met every Tuesday afternoon prior to l*-'
and gave the details Of the method ny
which the fresh meat business OF the coun-
try was controlled. He declared that no
attempt was made 10 fix prices and DIVIDE
territory after the old packers pool was
dissolved in 1862. He also told Of the at
tempt OF the Armour, Swift and MOTIFS IN
terests to combine the packing INDUSTRY
into a 5000 ,OO0 corporation and how the
plan was dropped because OF the lnaplIlty
Of its promoters TO finance II.
Nearly every witness called by the gov
eminent in the trial was either an empioNe
or a former erplOye of one OF IN" corpora
lions controlled by the defendants.
The defence cross-eXamined every WIZ
ness at length and I'm this way got much
Of it's side Of the case before the jury.