The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1918-03-01
PACKING PROBE
WILL CONTINUE
Despite Plea Of Owners That 'nvesti'
cation Is Hampering Work OF
Patri otto Citl-
ZenS,

limited Press Leased Wire Service.l
CHICAGO, March 1.-The packing
industry probe will continue In spite
of pleas by the packers that 1T may
hamper conduct Of the war, Specla'
Government Counsel Francis j. Hen
ey declared today.
This was Heney's reply to formal
statements by J. Ogden Armour and
Henry Veeder packers attorney, that
the inquiry is ill-timed, "travesty on
Justice. serving some private or po-
litical ambition"
Veeder's statement replied to
Heney's appea, for congressional act
removing restrictions TO government
seizure Of packers papers by charging
Heney with using papers already in
his possession in campaign OF
back stairs gossip to harass loyal
American citizens
Heney is receiving daily information
volunteered by persons throughout
the country showing, he said. that
ramifications Of the packers control
extend beyond the meat. poultry. but
ter cheese and canned goods bust
ness"
Although the probe may not be con-
cluded for sixty days, Heney is max
ing preliminary plans for his final re-
mort to the federal trade commission.
The report, he indicated, will charge
felonies. activity in legislative matters,
oppositf6n to union labor, collision on
army contracts and excessive profits.
The federal court of appeals today
nostponed until Monday argument on
the governments right to use papers
taken from Veeder's files and now
under the courts protection pending
a decision on the constitutionality of
tho federal search and seizure war
rant.
More Letters Read.
CHICAGO Mar 1.-Francis J.
Heney, struck again at the food al,
ministration, In itoday's session of
the federal trade commission food and
packing probe.
He read into the records letters
taken from packers files in an effort
10 show that ]. P. Cotton, head OF
the food administration meat com
mission, and E. Dana Durand, another
Hoover official, gave the packers
secret information to their advant-
| age.
At the same time Heney plainly in
timated that food profiteering is go
ing on under the food administration
ewes. introduced evidence to show
that the Hoover wheat substitute
order had caused hardships to the
consumer.
| Heney read a letter signed by +. T..
Wilhelm, OF the Cudahy Packing COM
pany. dated December II. 1917, 10 w.
! blessing, another Cudahy official,
which read as follows
yesterday Mr.. Shepherd, vice
president of the Cudahy Co, attended
| a meeting of packers with Mr.. Cotton.
He SAWS the other day Mr.. Cotton
smoke to the five big packers in a
yery confidential manner, saying he
| didn't want this known to the others
! at all. that the industrial situation in
the Argentine was very much upset
| and on that account the allied com
mittee would be buying larger quaint
tiles of food for the English mission
"In this way" observed Mr.. Heney
"the small packer was kept off the
market because he didn't know when
TO buy heavily, as he did not have
the information the big packers had
Heney then read a letter, dated
| Chicago. December 1S. 1917. purport
ing TO be from g. c. Shepard to NJ. F.
Murphy. of the Cudahy Omaha branch
as follows:
81 attended the meeting OF the
food administration officers at which
there were representatives OF three or
! four of the principal packers. The
purpose of the meeting was to dis
cuss the general situation in regard