Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-02-27
HOOVER AID IS
SW|FT'S H|REL|NG
PRIE6E, HOLDING IMPORTANT
PLACE ON FOOD BOARD, Al.
LEO WITH PACKERS
MERE DUMMY FOR EGG
AND POULTRY TRUST
Attorney Honey Shows Priebe 10 o..
tensibIe Owner Of Numerous Branch.
es in Iowa and Other States Mas.
querading as Independent Concerns
in Reality Owned by Swift.


of the poultry and egg division Of the
Hoover food board, and H. B. Collins,
assistant chief Of the division Of CO.
ordination of purchases for Hoover.
were revealed yesterday by Francis ].
Heney as dollar year men" for the
government and at the same time So
called $4,000 a year men" on Swift
& Co pay rolls.
Priebe has long been known as "the
biggest Independent butter. egg, and
poultry man" in the middle west. Evil
dence was produced to show that his
firm, w. F. Priebe & Co.. Of Chicago.
is 100 per cent owned" by Swift &
Co. and that he. as manager. draws
so75 per month from Swift. plus 25 per
cent Of the profits after the company
has paid per cent on its investment.
co1troIs Small Concerns.
Letters and documents read into the
testimony were offered to show that
Priebe & Co. owns outright scores upon
scores Of smaller concerns turnout I'LL
nois. Missouri and Iowa, operating I'M
der the trade names OF their former
owners and so masquerading as Gin
dependents" in the public eye.
These men. according to the evidence
produced by Mr.. Heney before the fed
eral trade commission hearing at the
federal building are now salared en-
ployes on the Priebe pay roll. reporting
to Priebe and obeying his orders, their
operations financed by him.
Lobbies and Politics.
But other documents offered showed
other ramifcations leading into politi-
cal. labor. and Industrial activities.
Some of these are:
Directions to lobbyists and legisla-
tive manipulators.
Orders to find cause other than be-
ing members Of labor unions" for drop
ping two men.
Instructions to see that Is per cent
OF the employees in Swift's Denver
plant are negroes.
Orders for $15 gift to Mrs. J. J. Healy.
wife OF stateindustrial board arbitrator.
package to look as big as possible" for
church bazaar: suggestion being to
keep right" with arbitrator.
Instructions for activities to defeat
female labor law in Kansas limiting
hours OF work for women.
posed legislation in Springfield.
Swift Tries Threat.
A threat letter" signed by Louis F..
Swift to Edward F. Swift was also read
by Mr.. Heney. dated Aug. II, 1917,
which said:
IF II looks as tho our Sioux City
men are going out, what would you
think of telling them, Just before they
go out. that II they go out. the plant
will be closed down permanently?
This. to a certain extent. Is threat:
something we have never done. but
sometimes like to try a thing once
to see whether or not it will work.
Independents Fear Revenge.
Several surviving poultry and egg
men, independents were sworn as wit
nesses Among these are T. A. Buch-
anan. Hardin, Mo-; Rudolph Miller.
Macon, Mo-: and J. p. Hoban. Carroll
ton. Mo. Both Miller and Hoban ex-
pressed fears of the coming wrath Of
the big packing organizations as ven-
geance for having testified against
them before the federal trade commits
sion.>
Il am -sorry I was called in here"
said Miller. closing his testimony I'M
der oath. They have tried to hurt me
all they can. I've laid down, given up
the fight. Men who havc-fought them
have gone broke
They even send to Omaha to buy
butterrnilk to feed to milkfed chickens
when they could buy 1t from me RI GIT
across the street."
IT, Swift Letters Read.
1.-THE world is fighting for democracy
right now" replied Mr.. Heney. Many
men are getting killed at It. ! guess
I'm not making any big clients for my
self by being here. That has been my
experience So that there will be, no i'll
feeling in the matter, will now pro-
coed to read into the records some more
letters from the Swift & Co. files" He