The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1919-12-20
Wholesalers Association Will
Not Drop Its Suit Against
the Big Five
Packers.
CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE
Until Actual Proof Is Shown That
Meat Men Have Given Up
Their Grocery BusI-
ness.

United Press Leased Wire Service.1
CHICAGO, Dec. 20.-The National
Wholesale Grocers' association today
refused to drop its suit against the
"big five" packers before the federal
trade commission.
Clifford Thorne, general counsel
for the grocers, said the suit will be
dropped only if the government and
the packers produce a detailed state
ment Of the agreement and present
conclusive evidence that the meat
packers will withdraw permanently
from the grocery field.
j. Ogden Armour said today that
Armour & Co. would sell their In
terests in every stockyard company,
close out their grocery business and
discontinue all unrelated. lines at
once.
The Chicago Stockyards company,
Maine corporation with capitali-
zation of $S,000,0 900, owned Jointly by
the five big packers; the Chicago
Junction Railways and Union Stock
yards company, a New Jersey eorpo.
ration, and the Union Stockyards and
Transit company, a S13,200.G00 Hi
nois corporation, will be dissolved,
packers said
United States District Attorney
Cline announced that the grand jury
investigation here into the packing
industry had been dropped.
Forty Alleged Violations.
[By Don E. Chamberlain, United
Press Staff Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec. 20.-The fed
eral trade commission is ready to
proceed against the pacl,ers for more
than forty alleged violations Of the
Clayton antitrust act, it was learned
today.
Compromise Of the department of
Justices case against the ''big five"
whereby they agreed to abandon
trade in certain side lines within
two years, affects only those charg-
ing violation Of the Sherman anti
trust law.
Under the Sherman law. it is
proper that criminal prosecutions
shall be instituted by the department
OF justice. 1t is these prosecutions
that have been compromised.
Under the Clayton law. it is proper
that civil actions for dissolution OF
alleged trusts shall be instituted by
the federal trade commission. These
prosecutions have not been compro.
missed.
Section seven of the Clayton law
empowers the commission to investi-
gate unfair and unlawful methods of
competition and to try the offenders
before a court composed of members
of the commission, which has power
to order the defendants to cease
and desist" from the violation. En-.
forcement of this order can be OBJ
tanned through the federal courts,
provided the judge approves the le-
gality of the commissions finding
Under this law, the commission can
order trust dissolved, but if the
trust fights. the case eventually gets
into the federal court.
The object Of the commission in
the present instance is to force dis
solution of the alleged meat trust
itself-not merely divorce it from
certain side lines-and to do it as
soon as possible, not giving the pack
ers two years in which to do it, as
the compromise with the justice de-
partment provides
That the commission means to
drive right ahead regardless OF the
iutice department action is indi-
Gated by the following paragraph
from a letter sent to President VIII
son by Commissioners Murdoch,
Thompson and Colver within an hour
of Attorney General Palmer's an
nouncement that he had made an
agreement with the packers.
The letter said:
1--WE should say to you. that in this
(of the trusD the COM
mission has brought out certain facts
having to do with the laws, the ad-
OF which it is particu-
larly charged In a number of these
(ContinGSd on page ~