The Birmingham age-herald., 1919-08-07

The evidence in hand, Attorl antitrust laws"
 Whether the prosecutions would be civil or criminal, the Attorney General decliied to say, merely recalling that the law provided for both.
 The history of all the government, antitrust prosecutions in 25 years does not show a single individual ever serv- ing jail sentence for violation There are evidences that the govern ment hopes for some in the presen' campaign
 PALMER'S ANNOUNCEMENT
 MT. Palmer's announcement follows
 "The Department of Justice has
 made careful review of the evi-
 dence developed by the investiga-
 tson into the combination of pack
 CTS, both by the federal trade com
 mission and the hearings before
 the committees of Congress. This
 review has been made hy lawyers
 specially retained for the purpose
 nnd their report is now ia hand.
 I am satisfied that the evidence
 nadueed indicates n clear vioIn-
 ton of the anti-trust laws and
 prompt action will be taken nc~
 cordingiy. Further proceedings,
 while under the immediate direc-
 tfon of thr Department of Jns-
 tice. win be In charge of Isidor !.
 hresei, of the law firm of Jerome,
 Sand and kresei, Of New York,
 who will he given such assistance
 ns the case seems to warrant
 While he was announcing prosecu- tons of the packers. Attorney General Palmer was unleashing his special agents on country wide trail of proffteering and food hoardlng. These prosecutions come under the food con trol law.
 All United States attorneys were in- structed to ferret out food hoarders and libel them under federal law.
 s"rhis is the most important
 business before the country today.s
 announced the Attorney General.
 and propose to have the law
 enforcement machinery of the gov
 ~rnment sidetrnck everything to
 this job.-
 PRESIDENT SPEAKS FRIDAY r President Wilson continued to give close atteation4to the food cost prob lem and declined proposal to post pone his address to Congress unti Tuesday of next week instead of this Friday. Republican Floor Leader Mon- dell of the house suggested the post ponement because of absence of mem bers from Washington, but the Presi- dent declined in the following letter to the republican leader:
 T am very sorry indeed that I can- not comply with your suggestion ot delay in the matter of my address to a joint session of Congress The. situa- ton which impelled me last week to ask Congress to postpone it's recess until my recommendations could sbe submitted is stiil acute. I have had under very serious consideration the proper action of the government with reference to the high cost of living. and l feel that it is my duty at the earliest possible moment to present certain recommendations now ready for submission to Congress-
 I have, therefore, asked the vice presi- dent and the speaker to arrange if pos sible for joint session for Friday after noon next at o'clock"
 There was no intima ton from the White House as to the nature of the recom- mendations the President would make in addressing Congress From the trend of the governments activities in an attempt to solve the living cost problem, however, in the view of several officials. the Presi- dent probably would deal with those SUD. jects:
 PROBABLE SUBJECTS
 Enlargement of the provisions Of the iGFSi lOcA SCHhiCi id w. tO IletAC IL OPci a- tive after the proclamation of peace, and applicable to shoes clothing and all ot life's necessaries, in addition to food
 Legislation to reach the small or in dividuaI sprofiteer as well as Dig busi- ness'' extortion.
 Legislation to define profiteering, there by making easier prosecutions under ex- isting laws to make speculation in neces- saries crime.
 Legislation limiting the margin of profit on necessities.
 was the making public of the federal trade commissions report on the shoe industry investigation. This report charged that the high price of shoes re- suited from excessive profits taken by every factor in the trade The packers, tanners, manufacturers and retailers all shared in the blame The report was placed before Attorney General Palmer today.
 The hoarder is the big part of the game right now in the opinion of the govern ment officials in charge of the effort to bring down prices, and Attorney General Palmer indicated today that he was oe pending largely on the section of the Lever act dealing with hoarding. as ono of the most immediate means of forc- ing prices down.
 "The price gouger can be reached in an other way,'' the Attorney General said. adding that there wasn't much difference between hoarding and profiteering.
 WARTIME LAWS IN FORCE
 The Attorney General today pointed out that all of the war time laws governing production and distribution of foodstuffs still were in force and that these would he used to fullest extent. The conditions confronting the country now. he said. are properly classed as resulting from the war and are a part of war condi- tions.
 Shortly after announcement was made that the department of justice would in- stitute suits against the big packers, Thomas E. Wilson, president of Wilson & Go, and chairman of the Institute of American Meat Packers. issued a state ment declarins there were no facts brought out by the federal trade com mission justifying suit by the govern ment and that the, department not only would get no satisfaction from the pack CTS, but it also would do no good in prices.'
 Testifying today along with William Diesing of Cudahy & Co. before a Senate committee Investigating living conditions in the District of Columbia. MT. Wilson declared that the packers were not prof. iteering The high cost of living, he told