Ottumwa semi-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1916-1918, 1918-01-29
HEnEy SAYS
MEAT KINGS
KILLED OFF
COMPETITION
Five Great Packing Firms
Are Charged With Divid-
ing Country Into Trade
Zones; Extensive Interests
Traced.
EFFORT TO INFLUENCE
WILSON is ALLEGED

1E TOII1 IL 12NT LOGNCE
WILSON is ALLEGED
Washington, D. c., Jan. 26.-Sensa-
donal disclosures in the federal trade
commissions investigation of the
packing industry today ranged from
efforts to head off the inquiry to evil
dance Of packing house interests in
Kansas City street railways, in the
tin industry and finally to documen-
tary evidence of an agreement of the
i've great packers to divide the coun-
try into five districts for buying live
stock for the purpose of limiting COM
PETITION between them.
ANCIENT RECORDS Barred.
An old and creased bit of paper was
put into the records to show" that the
agreement between the packers made
in 1903 under the name of the Ma
tional Packing company had been con-
tfnued and extended after the Nation
al Packing company had been dis
solved by the federal courts in 1912.
It was memorandum addressed to
H. A. c." said to be H. A. Chatham,
private bookkeeper for Edward F.
Swift, who had asked: Can you give
me Nat P. Co. percentages
PRIVILEGES RETAINED.
Underneath this was written: "a.
and Co., ALL; S. and Co., 1870; M. and
Co., 1872" which were said to be rep
resentative of the holdings of Armour,
Swift and Morris in the National
Packing company.
Attorney Heney, for the commission,
declared it had been found that when
the National Packing company was
dissolved the properties were divided
so that each of these three packers
could retain the same percentages OF
business in each city which they had
enjoyed before the dissolution.
Furthermore, he added, in 1913 the
Sulxberger corporation, which later be-
came Wilson and company, and Cuda-
nv and company were brought IN on
= new basis which, he declared, was
sim n force. This basis, he said, COW
cred the purchase of cattle. sheep and
hogs throughout the United States.
even the country buying.
He called attention to the second
notation, which read as follows:
"A. 1926; S, 1915; NJ, 1893; S. and
8. 1000; c. 100"
eLEuTH TELLS OF DISCOVERY.
Walter Twombly, trade commits
sion special agent who found the men,
orandum in the Swift files, was put on
the stand to testify regarding the cir
cumstances. He said that Edward T.
Stephenson, an employe OF the swirl
company, entered the room Where ne
was working and noticing the memoir
andum, asked him if he had found
something. Twombly said he told him
that he did not know and asked him
whether he had.
mo; just forget it." Stephenson
was said to have replied.
STILL IN EFFECT.
Mr.. Heney told the commission that
n addition to showing that purchases
Of livestock we're made in the exact
proportions set forth in the memoran-
1um, all Joint expenses Of the packers
erch as the opposition to the Borland
resolution in congress for an investiga-
ton of the livestock industry were met
IN the same proportion.
1--WE have letters to show that this
understanding has been in effect since
1913 and is still in effect" Mr.. Heney
Baid.
HENEY CHARGES SPYING.
Evidence that the packers had OBJ
tanned confidential information in 1916
caused Francis ]. Heney, counsel IN
the meat packing investigation to pro-
test publicly to the federal trade COM
mission today against the practice OF
leaving the offices in the commissions
building unlocked.
II have several times returned and
found an attorney for the packers
alone in my office" Mr.. Heney said.
SEEK WILSON'S AID.
The big packing interests were
charged by Heney with having at
tempted to bring influence to bear on
President Wilson to have the present
Investigation stopped.
Mr.. Henev told the commission that
he would show later that joint telc-
gram sent to the president recently by
a number of Detroit bankers protest
ing that the investigation was disturb
ing economic conditions, had been in
spired by the packers.
EXHIBITS MORE LETTERS
Mr.. Heney's statement was made in
connection with the reading Of further
confidential documents taken from the
files of the Chicago packers, which
showed that the pockers planned an
elaborate campaign in 1916 to influ-
ence congressman against ordering an
investigation into the livestock and
meat packing industry, as was pro-
posed in the Borland resolution. The
recomm endation was made by counsel
for the packers that they should under
take to have the judiciary committee
flooded with kilograms from all over
the country, especially the congress
sioual districts where the members
came from, protesting against passage
Of the Borland resolution, on the
grounds that livestock was selling at
very satisfactory prices and any inves-
tigation would only disturb such salts
factory conditions.
TELEGRAMS NOT IDENTICAL.
1T is quite important 20 reach Gard