El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1919-01-23
FEDERAL TRADE
BODY AS5IILED
That Packers Were Not
Allowed to Defend Them
selves Is Asserted.
CONTINUED from page -


experimental operation. with the
packing industry as the patient II
the patient survives. II can be tried
on other industries. There is just as
much sense in a railroad building
Hotels TO take care Of passengers dur
ing a several DAYS stopover as there
is in their building packing house
branches. The branch house Is not a
freight terminal; il is merely a mar
ket house, where food prOducts are
sold"
II remember.s he continued,
when we paid four cents pound
for good live cattle and the pro-
duccr was satisfied Now we pay
four TO is cents and nobody Is
The witness said that only two
Chicago packers canned salmon-Wll-
son and company and Libby. Mcneil
and Libby. OF the 100000 cases
only per cent and Wilson 1 = per
Methods Are Attacked.
Methods Of the federal trade COM
mission in condueting its meat pack
ing inquiry were attacked at -oday's
hearing OF the house interstate COM
merce committed
Levy Mayer, counsel for Armour
and company, was on the stand dis
cussing the constitutionality Of the
bill and the commissions inquiry.
when the federal trade commits
sion took testimony and found YER
dict OF guilty against the packers. do
you mean TO say your clients were
given no chance TO replyE' asked rep
resentative Sanders. Of louisiana
None whatever" Mr.. Mayer said
ssYou don't mean TO say that
when n witness took the stand 10
give damaEinE testimony against
your clients, you were not al
lowed to question himf7
II was not allowed even to par
ticipate IN the hearing at all"
you are not allowed even to es-
tablish the credibility OF the wit
nessT'
'Then what credence can we give
to these findings2- continued Mr.
Sanders
None whatever"
DO you mean TO say the federal
trade commission undertook to inves-
tigate a great Industry without Civ
ing the industry chance to represent
its sideZ"
Absolutely noue.- Mr.. Mayer said.
7 made three trips 70 WASHINGTON to
plead for the opportunity. but they
refused ard gave no reason
Files Are Examined.
They sent scores and scores OF
examiners to 90 through the files OF
Armour and company and took many
letters
~Of course. they tool, all the letters
to show the context2" Mr.. Sanders in
terrupted-
swered.
The witness said a mistaken infer
ence drawn from one letter. referring
to an agreed price on lard compound,
was due 10 the failure OF the commits
sion to take other letters. which
would have explained that the price
was fixed by the food administration
and not by the packers
1T il the most remarkable
thing I ever heard OF in my life"
Mr.. Sanders remarked as he fin
ished HIS questiOning.
Drastic war measures were given
BY Mr.. Mayer as the reason FOR an
''unclean tendency" in legislation OF
which he said the pending bill was an
example"
Representative Winslow. OF Massa-
chusetts. questioning J. Ogden Armour
Wednesday regarding his company
campaign Of publicity. ELECTED reply
to which the questioner heartily sub
scrfbed- Armour appeared again
Wednesday before the house inter
state commerce committee.
IF Il is commendable for the ad-
Of this country to spend
untold millions TO defend its conduct
of its business" Mr.. Armour said.
cit certainly IS not reprehensihle for
an ordinary business corporation 20
follow its example"
Fort Worth Transaction.
As 20 packers interests in stock
yards. Mr.. Armour said that his firm
had bought a half interest in the
Fort Worth yards year ago and
when Swift and company found II
out, they purchased a small yard IN
Dallas. Texas Rather than have
stock shipments divided. llr Armour
said he allowed Swift to purchase
OF his interest in the Fort
Worth yards. provided Swift gave up
his Dallas location He said 1t was
more economical to have only one
yard operated. but did not believe that
prices could have been any higher,
4 Swift had stayed at Dallas
as there any real competition
between Armour and Swift In
buying cattle Mt Fort WORTH
4. Representative Barkieys Of Ken
lucky, asked.
Il should say there was.s Mr..
Armour answered 'sThey bid
against each other right along.
That market, unfortunately, al
ways has been very high.1
nents were made to commission mer-
;hants and why the packers did not 4
)uy directly from farmers Mr. Ar
nour replied that the raisers would I
lol ship direct. and II they did, they
irobably never would feel they had .
'eceived the full market price.
Mr.. Armour told representative !
Ray burn. OF Texas, that what the I
hackers objected to most in the fed
.ral trade commissions inquiry was
he commissions trial OF the pack
rs through the newspapers"
Did the newspapers ever give you
. chance 10 answer asked Mr. Ray
lurn.
Says Publicity Denied.
NO" Armour replied.
Levy Mayer, Mr. Armour's counsel,
hen arose and asked permission 70
ell the committee Of an effort he
made to put out statement through [
he Associated Press.
i made a special trip to New
FORK 10 see Melville K. Stone. gen
raj manager Of the Associated Press.
which you all know is the greatest
Jews organization Of this country"
lr. Mayer said My firm had been
ounsel for the Associated Press when I
hey were organized in Illinois and /
knew Mr.. Stone so well that we
allied each other by our first names.
told him that the way in which /
he federal trade commission was
roceeding was gross injustice. He i
greed with me and we came TO IN
understanding that we might reply to I
he federal trade commission inquiry.
Il returned home only TO re-
eeiTe letter from the assistant
general manager. M Martin. say
ing that the Associated Press
could not consent to earry any
abatement from the packers, IN