Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-01-06
Cheerful Practices Of Pool
And Other Devices.
Documentary Evidence Given
To Support Government.
Old EmpIoye Placed Upon Stand--
His Sensational Testimony.

Chicago, Jan. documentary evil
dence in support of the government s
charge that the practices of the old
packers pool in fixing the price of
fresh meat by means of Il system of
profit margins and apportioning the
business on a competitive basis
Were continued after the organization
of the National Packing Co, in
March 1903 was read to the jury, to-
day, in the trial of the 10 Chicago
packers under indictment for crimi-
nal conspiracy in restraint of trade.
The government brought the opera
tons of the alleged illegal combina-
ton down to within seven months of
the period covered by the Indictment.
The Information was furnished by
Jerome H Pratt, an empleye Of Ar
mour & Co, for more than 20 years,
and at one time assistant manager
| of the dressed beef department.
He testified to having attended
meetings of the old pool between 1896
and 1902, at which, he said, percent
ages of shipments to different mar
kets were decided by ballot and the
profit of margin was determined by
lagreemont among the members.
In support of his statements the
witness identified a dozen letters he
received while in the employment of
Armour & Co.
Three of the letters bore notations
in pencil of the shipment percentage
and profit margins in the handwriting
of j. Ogden Armour, Arthur Meeker
and Thomas Conner of the Armour
Co. according to the witness.
fdantifna the hand
writing of Meeker and he was almost
certain the other memorandums We're
written by Armour and Corners.
Pratt was on the stand when court
adjourned and will testify again, to-
morrow.
The first document introduced by
the government was a copy of reso-
Tuition said to have been adopted by
the packers pool May 8. 1900, fixing
q penalty of one-half cent pound on
lall over-shipments to competitive
points made in excessive of $4,000
pounds a week above the maximum
allowed. This was said to have been
sent ont to members from the office of
Attorney A. II. Needer. The next was
a list of shipment percentages agreed
upon by the packers Jan. Is. 1901 for
territories a. c, d and Z.
Pratt identified a letter dated Oct.
lis, 1904. addressed to j. ogden Ar
mour, which read:
L attach herewith margin memoir
andum for the week. We shipped 921&
per cent. to Armour & Co. houses and
81 per cent. to Armour Packing Com
pany. Today's margin will follow. j.
H. P"
Pratt testified that the letter was
returned to him the following day with
Figures of percentage margins for other
firms in the combination. which he be-
lieves were written by Mr.. Armour.
Another letter dated June 20, 1905, con
tanning a memorandum of margins which
the witness identified as in the hand
writing of Meeker, who is another de-
PENDANT, read as follows
.Mr. Meeker-our shipments, last week
So per cent. Margins. Yesterday, work
ing minus IS, closed minus TO- Have
complaints of encroachments on our ter
rtory by Swift and Greenburg. also from
st. Adams into Plattsburg territory, al
Waterville from Augusta and at Olean
from Bradford. This later is accounted
by our business at jamestown from
clean. This, however, has been stopped
y. II. PRATT
The figures said to have been written
by Meeker on this letter are 80, said to be
the shipment per centage, and 95.1, 9S and
94S, interpreted. as the profit margins.
Various other letters We're introduced.