The Washington herald., 1920-12-01
PALMER PUTS
PACKERS SALE
UP TOCOURT
Failure Of Big Five to Agree
To Government Plan
Prompts Action.
TRUSTEES REQUESTED
Petition, Asks Appointment
Of Board to Dissolve Mo-
nopohstic Holdings.


decree taken to divorce the packing
establishments from all activities
except the meat business yesterday
caused A MITCHELL Palmer'to move
nggressively to force the packer
dissolution. The Department OF
Justice, through its special attorney
in the packer case. Isidor ]. Kresel,
filed a motion in the Supreme Court
of the District of Columbia for the
appointment of a board of trustees.
three or five in number. with the
final vieY to the sale Of the stock
yards. stockyard terminal railways
and stockyard market newspapers
of Armour and Company, Swift and
Company and Morris and Company.
Cudahy and Company. the fourth
big packer defendant in the govern
ment suit. is given a week more to
file a plan for disposition of its
properties in compliance with the
governments ideas of the dissolu-
ton This stay was asked by
Cudahy. Wilson and Company, the
remaining concern making up the
Big Five, does not appear in the
litigation. It is understood, how
ever. that Wilson and Company, as
far as interest in the stockyard is
concerned, goes along with Armour
and Swift
Deal Long Negotiated.
The summary action of the De-
partment of Justice comes as the
result of a long series of negotia-
tions over the method to be en-
ployed by the packers to rid them
selves of interests not wholly allied
with the meat packing industry.
Various plans have been submitted
none of which have met with gov
ernmental approval, and all effort
to settle the means Of disposing of
the properties in aecordante with
the governments ideas apparently
have failed. The motion filed by
the department objects in detail 10
the plan and suggests to the court
that the recommendations of the
Federal Trade Commission for the
disposition of the properties be fol-
lowed. The recommendations of the
commission, which were forwarded
to the Department of Justice, to-
gether with exhaustive objections,
to the packers plan of dissolution!
are briefly as follows:
That three or five trustees be ap-
pointed by the District court to sell
the stockyard holdings "at such
times and in such manner as will
afford the utmost opportunity for
he acquisition of such stock by the
general public, the disposition of
such stock to be made within two
years"
Public Ownership Aim.
The final ownership of the stock
yard securities of the packing COM
panies by the public has been the
principal idea of the Department of
Justice in obtaining the packers
consent to the decree for the sever
ance of their stock yard interests.
In carrying out the plan, II is pro-
vfded that the trustees shall be
given access. to all books and rec
ords relating to valuation of the
packers stock and interest, and, in
general. the decree would give them
complete control and suprvision over
the sale of the interests in the gem
eral direction of the court. All cost
of court administration is to be paid
by the defendants. The packing
companies are given until December
14 to file answer to the govern
ment's motion for the board of
trustees and the sale.
The Federal Trade Commission,
whose exhaustive investigation of
the packing industry was primarily
responsible for the governments ef-
forts to bring about its dissolution,
found important objections to all !
the plans proposed. The disapproyal
of the packers plans for disposition
of the stock yards were summarized
in the commissions report to the
Department of Justice made Noyem-
Der 13 as follows:
I. Inadequate assurance of 6nall
severance of the defendants in
terests.
2. Creation of monopoly which
would otherwise be fItgaI.
}. Failure of provision for sale of
all the yards separately to separate
interests.
4. Objection of combined yards to
the management of the Chicago
Stoekyards Company.
s. Expansion of stock values in
favor Of an underwriting syndicate,
including the defendants.
8. Vague and uncertain provisions
AchohuB " matters OF nnd0ce.
Lease Plan Opposed.
These objections made by the Fed |
sral Trade Commission and adopted
- the Department of Justice. were
Mined at the plan known as the
cArmour-Swift plan,' which pro-
vfdes for the placing of the seven |
stockyards controlled by Armour
and Swift under a 20-year operat-
ing lease to the Chicago Stockyards
Company. of Maine. a holding com ,
pany said to be controlled by +. H. |
Prince, of Boston.
The so-ca1led Morris plan de-
signed for the disposal of Morris in
terests. in stockyards and allied in
dustries, also objected to by the
Commission and the Department of |
Justice was disapproved. according
TO the petition, because 1t Is not /
a plan for the sale of the Morris i
stockyard interests as contemplated,
but instead amounts merely to
granting an extension of five years
to the Morris defendants In which
to comply with the decree, in con-
,sideration for which these defend
ants surrender ostensibly to a trus-
tee the voting power on their
stcck.'t
4 D;scussinv the nronosals7 q, to.f