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The Commoner.
VOLUME 11, NUMBER 3
. v
Nine Years of Beef Trust Immunity
The Amaxlng Record of Governmental Delay, Inefficiency and Blundering In Du'lng With tho Trust
That Most Vitally Affects tho Cost of Living
ANYBODY
CAN LAY IT.
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11
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Warranted For Twenty-Five Years.
CRETE ft JUT DAM) To Any Station EaitefRoeky Hra
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NEPL7 - - - WciRha 35 lbs., 108 flqnaro Feet, 81.10 per roll.
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TlHItKE-PIiY Weighs 05 lbs., 103 Brjnuro Feet, 1.50 per roll.
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THE AMERICAN HOMESTEAD, Lincoln, Nebraska
H
r fH,
1902
May 10 Government files petition
for an injunction against the beef
trust in the federal court in Chicago.
May 20 Judge Peter S. Grosscup
issues temporary injunction.
September 10 Packers file a de
murrer alleging they are not engaged
in interstate commerce.
1903
February 18 Judge Grosscup
overrules tho demurrer and orders
tho temporary injunction to remain
in force, giving the packers till
March 2, 1903, to answer, appeal or
default.
March 1 Counsel for packers an
nounce their intention for appealing
to supreme court of the United
States against the overruling of their
demurrer, but do not do so. Judge
Grosscup then fixes Anril 18 as the
date for the packers to file answer
to tho government's bill.
May 27 Judge Grosscup makes
the injunction permanent, and the
packers enter an appeal to the su
preme court against the injunction.
June Mr. Cortelyou, as secretary
of commerce and labor, orders Com
missioner of Corporations Garfield
to investigate tho beef trust.
1904
The government, considering the
Grosscup injunction as a complete
victory, waits for the defendant
packers to ask the supreme court to
fix a date for hearing the appeal.
July 25 President Roosevelt or
ders the department of justice,
through Attorney General Moody, to
advance the beef trust case to the
calendar of the United States su
preme court in order that it might
be tried early in October.
1905
January 4 Briefs filed in tho
supreme court by both the govern
ment and the packers.
January 16 Beef trust case ar
gued in the supreme court.
JanuaTy 31 United States su
preme court sustains Judge Gross
cup's injunction, and the way is
clear for the federal authorities to
prosecute and punish packers who
continue to defy the decree of the
lower court.
February 21 Special federal
grand jury called in Chicago to pass
on evidence of violation of anti-trust
law by packers. Criminal indict
ments sought.
March 4 Roosevelt transmits to
congress Commissioner Garfield's re
port on the beef trust.
MaTch 29 Thomas J. Conners,
general superintendent of Armour
& Co., indicted for attempting to in
fluence a witness before the grand
jury In Chicago.
April 14 Four officials of the
Schwarzschild & Sulzberger Co. in
dicted for obstructing the service of
federal subpoenas.
July 1 Federal grand jury in
Chicago indicts seventeen individ
uals and five corporations; bonds
fixed at $5,000 in each case.
September 4 Indicted packers
obtain an adjournment on the
ground they are not ready to plead.
Sepember 21 Four officials of the
Schwarzschild & Sulzberger Co.
plead guilty to conspiracy to obtain
rebates from the railroads and are
fined $25,000.
October 23 Packers file a special
plea In bar claiming immunity from
prosecution under the indictments
on tho ground that the evidence on
which it was based had been ob
tained by tho bureau of corporations
under authority of congress and that
immunity had been promised them
by Commissioner Garfield.
November 17- In an official state
ment Attorney General Moody de
clares that no immunity was
promised and that none of the in
formation obtained by the bureau of
corporations had been used before
the grand jury.,
1906
February 22 Commissioner of
Corporations Garfield admits under
oath that he had worked in conjunc
tion with the department of justice
and '
March 21 Judge J. Otis Hum
phrey holds that the individuals are
immune from prosecution under tho
criminal indictments, but the indict
ments against the corporations
stand.
April 6 Attorney General Moody
decides that no appeal can be taken
from Judge Humphrey's decision.
October 13 The department of
justice decides to drop the prosecu
tion. 1907
September 18 Another federal
grand jury called in Chicago for the
prosecution of the packers for viola
tions of the anti-trust law. No in
dictments returned.
1908
December 7 Grand iurv investi
gation of railroad rebates to the
packers and violations by the latter
of the anti-trust law is begun in
Chicago.' No indictments.
1909
February 9 Renewed investiga
tion by a federal grand jury of
charges of rebating and price-fixing,
and effort by government to prove
"that the meat trust exists and that
the National Packing company is its
operative machinery."
1910
March 21 Attorney General
Wickersham files a petition against
the beef trust the National Packing
company and ten subsidiary corpora
tions for restraint of trade.
September 12 Federal grand
jury returns three indictments each
against L. F. Swift, Edward II.
Swift, Charles H. Swift, Francis A.
Fowler. Edward THrlnn. J Ocrden
Armour, Arthur Meeker, Thomas J.
Conners, Edward Morris, Louis II.
Hey man.
September 12 Folowing these
Indictments the government files a
civil suit for the dissolution of the
National Packing company and tho
appointment of a receiver. In this
suit ten subsidiary corporations and
sixteen additional firms and individ
uals are named.
September 13 The packers give
bail in $30,000 apiece.
November 17 Packers protest
Judge Landis on the ground that in
1895 he had been employed as a
special assistant United States attor
ney in connection with a prosecution
against them under the anti-trust
act.
December 15 Tho indictments
against the packers are amended and
strengthened.
December 24 The packers claim
the right to have the civil suit tried
before the criminal indictments.
December 27 Attorney General
Wickersham orders the civil suit dis
missed in order to avoid delay to
the criminal prosecutions.
December 28 Packers Proti
against tho dismissal of the civil
suit. Aro overruled.
1911 .
January 2 Judgo Carpenter doj
nles a motion of Uio packers tnw