The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-02-06
S1 A YEAR MEN IN PACKERS EMPLOY,
 LASATER CHARGES
 BEFORE COMM|TTE
Declares Policies of Food Administration Are Deter mined By Packers and Carried Out by Their
 Employees
Br Associated pre.s

W osoiiih 6 tOAt Il W. Nsf' " Edward c. Lasater of the Ma tional Live Stock association s executive committee charged before the House interstate com mece committee today that
 the policies of the food admin istration were determined by
 the five big packing concerns
 and carried out by employees of
 the packers serving the gov
 ernment for $1 a year.
 Mir Lasater formerly was chief of the administration's live stock and meat di- vision, and this was his third day on the stand at hearings before the commit- tee on legislation for government regula- tion of the meat industry.
 Before the Senate agriculture committee today letters were read disclosing that President Wilson last February declined, after a personal inquiry, to interfere with the federal trade commissions in- vestigation of the packing industry. The President had been appealed to by Of1i- 1 cials of the big packing companies, who asserted that the commission was not conducting a fair inquiry
 l In testifying before the House commit | tee Mir. Lasater said that when Herbert 1 c. Hoover first was appointed food ad- ministrator, he had told the witness that 1 he would not invite a single packer to
 .'sit at his council table because they had reputation that sunk to heaven DISREGARD THEIR ODOR But such an influence was brought to bear on him., said the witness, that he chose to disregard their odor. Witnll 1 three weeks he had arranged to have the
 packers take sole charge of the meNt end
 of the industry"
 | J. P Cotton, described by the witness
 as a packer lawyer from New York was appointed head of the meat division, MT 1 Lasater said, and Harry A. Wheeler, "a packer banker of Chicago was appoint l ed to sit with the packers at their meet- lings. Mir. Lasater declared that in addi-
 ton s1 a year men in the packers employ served the food administration in many departments and that not thing was tdone which was not known Of and ap- proved by the packers.
 yEEDER IS WITNESS ! IT, ! was the witness today before the senate committed He read letters and telegrams relating to. the unsuccessful efforts ol the packing companies to bring about l change in the federal trade commission's method of conducting its inquiry.
 l Mir. Veeder said he failed to obtain personal interview with the President and thereupon Louis F. Swift. president O: Swift & Co.,, wrote the President pro test that the commissions investigation was unfair. Secretary Tumulty replied lun6er date of February 2, saying thu President had looked into the matter and that "lris inquiry had convinced hin lthat there would. be no warrant for hi, Interfering with the judgment and actior of the commission"
 Repeated efforts were made to influence other officials to obtain change in thu manner of the investigation, Mir. Veede
 said. but they were unsuccessful. Thes' | criticisms brought from Francis Heney, conducting the cross-examination la challenge for the witness to name { tsingle case in which the packers had beer denied the right to be heard. MT Veede lsaid they had sought no hearing. hecaus' lttey believed it would be useless.
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