Omaha daily bee., 1920-01-10
.FRAMEUP IS
IN
RED RAIDS
Federal . Trade Commission
Member Intimates Chicago
Packers Connived to Have
Its Employees Arrested.
AMBASSADOR MARTENS
INVOLVED IN ATTACK
Claim of Soviet Agents That
Packer Has Agreed to Fur
nish Meat to BoIshevists
Said to Be "Significant."

niSh Meat to B0lShevIStS
Said to Be ''Significant."
Washington, Jan. 9.-Charges that
arrests of federal trade commission
employees, made in the recent De-
partment Of Justice campaign
against reds" have been the result
of frame ups" designed to build the
theory that the commission is hot
bed of bolshevism" were made to-
day by w. B. Colver of that body
before the senate agriculture COM
mittee. Co1ver left the intimation
that the larger Chicago packing
concerns had connived in some de-
gree to attain that result and in
volved Ludwig c. A. NJ. Martens,
self-styled Ambassador" for the
Russian soviet republic. and S.
Nuorteva, Martens secretary, in his
account of instances to prove the
point.
Colvcr likewise voiced a vigorous
demand for legislation to regulate
the industry, need of which was
proved. he said, by the recent agree
ment between the packers and the
Department Of Justice in settlement
of antitrust proceedings.
Criticizes Witnesses,
To this testimony, the commits
sioner added critical analysis of
motives of witnesses who have op-
posed packer regulation during the
prolonged hearings of the agricul-
ture committee on the Kenyon and
Kendr;ck bills last year, concluding
with the assertion that in the meat
industry competition is continuing
to lessen and monopoly to increase
even though we exhaust the powers
of present federal laws Intended to
restrain it."
The first instance, the commits
sioner said, of the frame up" had
resulted in the arrest of Rafael NAL
len, a former clerk for the trade
commission, in raids directed last
week at Chicago by the Department
of Justice. H. J. c. Claybaugh, head
Of the secret service at Chicago, and
his assistant, "a man named Barry"
Colver said, both of whom have
since resigned, were responsible, and
Barry now was special agent" for
Swift and Company. Mallen later
was released. Johann Ohsol, an
other employe of the comm ssion,
Colver said, was arrested in Wash
ington this week, while on a visit
to S. Nuorteva, having been pointed
out to police officers as Martens,
who is being sought by the secret
service.
Reds Buy Meat.
Reading an alleged claim OF Nuor-
>teva and Martens that purchase OF
arge meat supplies from an un-
uemed Chicago packer had been ar
ranged with the object of getting it |
into Russia through the allied block
ade, Colver said he considered this
connection between meat packers
and the soviet representatives, "sig-
nihcant" as it concerned OhsoPs
ar{est, especially since the latter had
been taken. into custody when he
came to see Nuorteva in answer to a
specific telephone call.
Reverting to the agreement pre-
pared by Attorney General Palmer
in concluding the Sherman law
prosecutions against the packers,
Colver said that merely settled the
rSherman law phase of the matter"
Separation of the packers from
their grocery holdings, however, as
in the case of the transfer by Wilson
& Co., of its grocery business to
Austin Nichols Co., of New York,
a wholesale grocer" he asserted
merely means that the stockholders
of Wilson & Co., have added the
Austin Nichols concern to their
holdings"
Quotes Meat Prices.
Principles incorporated in the
settlement decree, he urged, had
been worked out in legislation and
amplihed. The Federal Trade COM
mission would not stop because Of
the settlement of any of its pro-
ceedings against the packers having
to do with unfair trade practices,
he said. ~.
Dealings with persons who have
discussed regulative legislation be-
fore the committee since the Kenyon
and Kendrick bills were advanced
Colver said that out of 181 heard,
144 had opposed any federal con-
troll of the industry, many, he said,
because they had been influenced
by propaganda from packer insti-
tutions.
To show that the consumer was
not getting any benefit from lower
live stock prices. Colver presented
a diagram showing that on Agust
/. live hogs sold at % cents pound,
pork loins sold in Boston for 34K
cents on October %. when live hogs
sold at l2K cents, loins sold at 37M
cents in Boston.