Harrisburg telegraph. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1879-1948, 1914-01-28
COLD STORAGE LAW
HOTLY ASSA|LED
Philadelphians Say That 1t Is Hurt
ing Their Business and
Causing Loss

Philadelphia cold storage ware
housemen and wholesale fish dealers
declared before President Judge Kun
kel in the Dauphin county court to-
day in the first hearing of the action
in equity to test the constitutionalfty
of the cold storage act of 1913 that
the operation of the law was causing
heavy loss financially and that it was
actually hating shipment OF fish to
Pennsylvania, which used to be the
greatest fish consumer on the North
Atlantic coast.
The suit was brought by the Penn
sylvania Cold Storage and Market
Company, the Industrial Cold Stor-
age and Warehouse Company, Phila-
delphia Warehouse and Cold Storage
Company and the Philadelphia
Wholesale Fish Dealers Protective
Association, on August 15, to restrain
enforcement of the act. To-day At
torneys s. II. Clement, John z. Con-
nelly, j. M. Shoemaker and F. r.
Shattuck, OF Philadelphia, and Chas.
H. Bergner, of Harrisburg. presented
the big men of the cold storage and
wholesale fish business to show the
onerous effect of the law. The COM
plainants assert that the law provides
for State inspection whereas the
Constitution, in their opinion, restricts
such matters ito municipalities and
that the provision for tagging foods
stored beyond certain limits as "out-
lawed' is confiscatory.
The witnesses included III. Roland
and F. II. Hurst, of the Pennsylvania
cold storage; w. G. Martin, or the
Philadelphia; F. p. Larkin. of the
Fish Dealers; ]. A. Guise, Philadel-
phia Warehouse; Robert Beatty, Jr.,
of the Industrial; Jacob F. Miller, OF
the Linfield, and others.
Mr.. Larkin, who gave extended
testimony, asserted that the market
for fish in this State has been re-
stricted by the law and that inability
to sell fish marked cold storage had
driven small dealers out of the fish
/ line. He charged that hundreds OF
dollars worth of fish had been de-
clared outlawed and made unsalable
bv people who did not know anything
about the business and asserted that
the law was causing loss of money
| and business.
Rebe Case Argued
President Judge Kunkel early in the
| day heard argument on test or an
important clause of the cold storage
| act of 1913 affecting the right to place
in storage foods which have been
| withdrawn from a licensed cold stor-
|
Dairy and Food Commissioner Fous'
against III. w. Rebe, identified with
Harrisburg plant, on the charge thai
he had placed in an unlicensed colo
| storage room on January s crates OF
eggs which he had received from Chi.
! cago. where they had been In cold
storage from September to Jan.
uary 3.
The defendant claimed that in plac.
ing the eggs in a room which was moi
licensed as a cold storage plant there
was no violation of the act, but the
answer Of Deputy Attorney Genera
w. NJ. largest and A. Fl. Woodward
attorneys for the commissioner. was
| that the room was to all intents and
purposes a cold storage plant because
the temperature was "a degrees.
Ex-Judge NJ. w. Jacobs presented
the argument for the defendant and
pointed out defects In the statute.
Arrests of ten persons in Philadel-
phia for violating the cold storage law
by selling cold storage products al
fresh were ordered to-day.