The Birmingham age-herald., 1918-05-30
CLAIM INJUSTICE
 ID WILSON & CO.
Federal Trade Commission Statement Tended to Gre
 ate Wrong Impression

| Chicago, May 28.--(SpeciaL) )--Thomas k. Wilson, president of Wilson & Co, said this morning: "A gross injustice has
 been done to our company by the state
 ment given out yesterday by the federal trade commission. Even the manner of it's issuance adds to it's utter malicious ness It was given to the prss on Sun day afternoon--a day and time when our
 offices were closed and it naturally would be hard for the newspapers to To-
 cate our own officials
 'I want to say to the public that our company is clean in this matter; that the charges in that statement are with out foundation and that we shall insist | upon being set right before the public. We have been immeasurably hurt, and we shall insist that the trade commits sion make reparation. We win not only take 1t up with the federal trade com | mission, but with the food administration, and, if necessary, we will appeal to the
 President of the United States to see that
 an immediate investigation is held and our company be justly treated.
 "The whole story is deftly worded, SC that the tissue of insinuations it con- tains may have the semblance of being based on something tangible. The ref erence to an indictment in Texas is brought in, in a way which gives the 1 impression that we were indicted for selling spoiled beef. The absurdity of | this and the delberated malice involved | is shown when the facts are given. We 1 had barrel of beef hearts and a box | of kidneys in the public cold storage warehouse al San Antonio. These hearts l and kidneys were not offered for sale to | the government nor to anyone else, but were overlooked by our own people and | by the municipal cold storage officials in | San Antonio. A purely technical indict-
 ment was returned. alleging hoarding of
 food. Upon proper investigation, this in | dictment was not pressed. The whole l thing was so absolutely trivial, no wrong intent could be magined-and yet this | incident was woven into the statement l in way calculated to damage us and
 our reputation.
 1 'As to the beef and chickens-we have had no fresh beef contracts at Camp Travis and have sold no fresh 1 beef there nor have we sold any dressed poultry there. There is simply
 no truth in the statement as far as Wilson & Go. is concerned.
 We have sold and are selling large quantities of meats and food products to the government for our own forces and those of our allies. T personally instructed every plant and branch of Wilson & Co. to redouble their care and watchfulness during this war period--for I wanted every man in our institution to realize our heavy responsibilities.
 Tt is my business to know that my instructions are carlAed out, and know they have been. There is nothing our company has done that is not open to the light of day. I resent this un- ljust accusation personally, and my re- sentiment is all the more bitter when I think of someone raking and scraping around, and dragging in box of kid neys and barrel of hearts to give color to a vague batch of baseless in situations. Anyone who reads the whole article as published sees it's complete lack of grounds for such charges against us. The trouble is, it was given out as on official statement and the busy public gets it's impression from the headlines and few of the general assertions.
 "Consequently a wholly baseless and
 a very malicious impression has been planted in the public mind regarding Wilson & Co. which is something that an organization with the reputation and principles of ours cannot tolerate"