New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-04-04
Sold Eggs at Higher Price
Than Government
Fixed
Can Sell No More
For Month, Is Order
Must Refund $4,000 Over
charge Also; Other Firms
Are Punished

Swift & Co., Inc, have been found
guilty by the Federal Food Board for
New York, of ovcrcharging for eggs.
The board has recommended to the
food administration at Washington that
Swift e. Co. be forbidden to buy or sell
eggs from the New York branch for
thirty days. beginning April 9, and that
they be ordered to- give the Red Cross
or some other Federal war effort $4,000
the approximate amount of the over
charge.
NO dealer, be he large or be he
small can, for the sake of his own
personal gain, disregard the directions
of the government which are made
said the report of Alan Fox, head of the
food boards bureau Of licenses, after
summing up the case.
The board has also recommended that
c. Ii. Zinn e. Co., of New York, from
whom Swift & Co. bought the eggs, be
forbidden to trade in eggs for thirty
days, and that the Elmer Wood Com,
pany and c. A. English, of Moulton,
Iowa, the original seller, and the
broker, respectively, be brought to
speedy trial on charge of proiiteering.
The recommendation regarding Swift
& Co. says: 'Suspension of all selling
and buying and other egg transactions
from New York branch" The Food
Board was asked to explain this, as
Swift e. Co. have many New York
branches, and the word from" ap-
peared ambiguous.
Explains Sentence
1T means that all dealings in eggs
in greater New York by Swift &, Co.
must cease for thirty days was the
interpretations eve don't expect Swift
& Co. to bubble over the wordng:' 1t
was pointed out that the New York
branch distributes eggs throughout the
Eastern states.
Mr.. Fox's report laid emphasis or
Swift & Co.'S admission that they
bought the eggs from Zinn & Co. at
.Sis cents dozen and sold them at 81
'snts a dozen, knowing that the food
administration had fixed the price at
4o.15 cents a dozen
clusion that both Swift and Zinn de-
lberately and knowingly violated the
wishes Of the government" says the re-
port. "They do not seem to have I'M
derstood that, especially in time of
national crisis such as the present, di-
rections of the United States govern
ment are for the purpose of being
obeyed and not to be lightly Disregard
ed at the convenience of any dealer
who sees fit to disregard them.
Rebukes the Company
I'VE should have supposed that firms
of the standing of Swift & Co. and
Znn & Co. would have desired patrl-
otically to take the lead in observing
those regulations which are made by
Mr.. Hoover. not for the purpose Of in
terfering with legitimate business, buc
Tor the common welfare of all the peo
pie of the United States"
The case against Swift & Co.. proba-
bly, the most important that the Fed
eral Food Board has had to deal with,
began some weeks ago as an investga-
ton, not as trial. The Federal Food
Board stated at the time that there
We're no definite charges. Before the
inquiry had gone very far it was evil
dent that there had been violations of
The food rules. While Swift e. Co.
We're not charged with direct protiteer-
ing. for their profits were not regarded
had bought and sold eggs above the
governments price, and 50 had Zinn
{; CO.
The question Of re-sales, which are
ministration, also entered into the case.
but the decision Of the Food Board was
not based upon this.
In the case of Taxin & Shapiro, North
& Dalzell and r. c. Williams E. Co.,
however the board based its finding
upon evidence that there had been re-
sales OF canned peas within the trade.
and that through these re-sales the
price Of the peas had been forced up.
lhey ordered the excess profits re
funded.