The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1919-02-06
POULTRY HEAD
HIT IN PROBE
Priebe Brought Into the Packer
Hearing as the Result of Com
munications Before Commit
tee--Weld Against Control.
By United Press.

H .E
Washington. Feb. 1.-Two memoran-
nams referring to connections Of w. F.
Pr:ehe. poultry man and member Of
the food administration, were read at
the Senate packers hearing today by
Francis j. Iieney.
One signed IL. r. s." said:
"Priebe matter shows up rotten. I
am ashamed 1t got this way and sorry
we cannot change over to Swift &
Company or sell Out. Think we must.
l.. f.. s."
Priebe is head OF the w. +. Priebe
& Company, poultry dealers, alleged to
be owned by Swift Sc Company. This
was denied, however. by swift and
Herbert Hoover, when criticism arose
after riebe was appointed head cf the
poultry division Of the food admins
tration. The second memorandum APP
parentlyi II. answer to the first, was
signed Il. A.. c." said to be l.. A. Car
ton, treasurer of Swift e. Company.
1t read: TT is embarrassing-the
whole poultry business Is. Whether
would be less so by changing name to
Swift e. Company is matter have men,
toned to you and the others and Is
without conclusion. l.. A. c."
Held Public Matter.
Heney said he found the memoran-
dunn among his papers last week after
Swift had been cross-examined before
the Senate agricultural committee. 1t
apparently got into his papers by acci-
dent, Heney said. Senator Page sharp
ly questioned the propriety Of using h
memorandum but 1t was later read into
the record.
This memorandum was strictly pri-
vate and confidential" Page objected.
1T was obtained by mistake and to
take it up Is absolutely without justif-
cation"
Senator Gore said IL was a public
matter and not solely a private com
m~unication. q
Washington, Feb. 4.-Edward G.
Lasater, member OF the executive COM
mittee of the national livestock asso-
citation and formerly connected with
the food administrations meat division,
asserted before the House interstate
commerce committee today that the
food administration and department of
agriculture aided the five leading
meat packers In obtaining a monopo-
listic control of the meat industry.
During the last IS months the food
administration has served as a screen
behind which the packers operated il
legally against the public's interests"
Mr.. Lasater said. Realizing that the
practices and policies Of the depart
ment were harmful to the common
welfare, I resigned from the office in
the meat division" y
Answer in Detail.
Asked by committee members what
the packers had lone under the guise
of cooperating with the department,
Mr.. Lashe: said he would answer In
detail later. He said the department
of agriculture had followed the wishes
of the packers in preventing an inves-
tigation of the producers at the time
the packers themselves were being in
~vestigated. ..
when the packers were before you,'
he told the committee, they said one
of the best proofs of the incomplete
ness of the federal trade commission's
report was that it covered only the
packing end Of the industry. They
failed to say that they had opposed a
complete investigation. Such an in
v~estigation would have robbed them of
the argument hat he producers and
not they, were making the big profits
on meat" -
MIR. Lasater introduced a letter from
w. ]. Spillman, former chief of the
bureau OF farm management Of the de-
partment of agriculture. to support a
charge that Secretary Houston 'retard-
ed the Investigation OF the producers
by refusing to authorize the appoint
ment Of Is investigators. Mr.. Spill
man said in the letter that Secretary
Houston told him the investigation
should be discontinued entirely be-
cause the farmer was not entitled to
any information on the subject, but
finally consented to the appointments
after pressure was brought to bear on
him" "
'The only use ever made of such in
formation" the secretary was quoted
as saying, twas for agitators like Baer,
of North Dakota, to go out AMI stir the
farmers with It,"
Bills to regulate packers are merely
a sop to a misinformed public and
radical agitators," l.. d. II. Weld,
Swift & Company employee, declared
today at the Senate meat hearing.
Weld, formerly a Yale professor, was
hired to write a defense of the packers
Francis j. Heney. examining for the
Senate agricultural committee, prev
iously disclosed. Oh
Weld said the Kendrick bill to license
packers is impossible"
The federal trade commission, the
ex-professor said, does us a gross in
Justice 90, p -@%
The report of the federal trade COM
mission has not developed a single
evil In connection with the packers that
needs a remedial legislative action
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