The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1919-02-06
POULTRY HEAD
HIT IN PROBE
Pr!ebe Brought Into the Packer
Hearing as the Result of Com
mun'catIons Before Commit
tee--WeId Against Control.
BY United Press.

BY United Press.
washington, Feb. 1.-Two memoran-
uafns referring to connections of w. r..
ii'epe. poultry man and member of
eH iood administration, were read at
the senate packers hearing today by
FRANCIS j. Heney.
one signed IL. f. S. said. g
irlepe matter shows up rotten. L
am ashamed it got this way and sorry
we cannot change over to Swift &
Company or sell out. Think we must.
l.. II. S."
Priebe is head of the w. Il. Priebe
q Company, poultry dealers, alleged to
DC owned by Swift e Company. This
was denied, however, by Swift and
ueri'eft Hoover. when criticism arose
ahler Ffiebe was appointed head Of the
poultry division of the food admins
tratlon. The second memorandum APP
parently in answer to the first. was
signed Il. A. c." said to be l.. A. Car
ton, treasurer of Swift & Company.
1T read: 1T is embarrassing-the
whole poultry business is. Whether
would be less so by changing nam to
SWIFT " Company is matter have men
TONED TO you and the others and is
without conclusion. L.. A. c."
Held Public Matter.
lieney said he found the memoran-
dun among his papers last week after
SWIFT had been cross-eXamined before
the Senate agricultural committee. 1t
apparently got into his papers by acct
aent, Heney said. Senator Page sharp
~ questioned the propriety Of using the
M aton ~ - l,,~. IA
the record.
This memorandum was strictly pri-
waite and CONFIDENTIAL Page objected.
1t was obtained by mistake and TIC
take 1t UP is absolutely without :justii-
cation"
Senato Gore said it was a public
matter and not solely a private com
m~unication.
washington, Feb. 4.-Edward G..
Lasater, member of the executive COM
lnittee or the national livestock asso-
clatlon and formerly connected with
the rood administrators meat division,
asserted before the House interstate
committee today that the
1000 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 We're harmful to the common
welfare, I resigned from the office in
the meat division"
Answer in Detail.
Asked by committee members what
the packers had done under the guise
of cooperating with the department,
MIR. Lashe" said he would answer il
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 old the committee. they said one
Of the best proofs of the Incomplete
ness of the federal trade commissions
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
vestigation would have robbed them of
the argument that the producers and
not they, We're making the big profits
on meat"
Mr.. Lasater introduced Il letter from
w. j. 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
| mar 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, was 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 misinforined public and
radicai agitators." l.. d. III. Weld,
Swift & Company employe. declared
today at the Senate meat hearing.
Weld, formerly a Yale professor, was
hired to write a defense OF the packers,
Francis J. tieney. examining for the
Senate agricultural committee, prey
!ously disclosed.
Weld said the kendrick bill to license
packers is impossible"
The federal trade commission, the
professor said. does us a gross in,
Justice"
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
EIHLT NhMEC Hu En-