OCR Text |
Show PACKERS AGREE TO IE TRIED TOGETHER Final Preliminaries to Formal Trial Beef Trust Gases ro Held. CHICAGO. Dec. 12. Attended hy an Imposing amy of legal Lii lent and crowds of spectators, the last preliminary to the formal trla of tho "beef trust" CSSSS began here today before Judge J Otis Humphreys. In the United States court. The Isaucs to he tried were on ten special pleas raised bv the packers nd which must be settled by S Jury trial before action Is taken on the indictments returned by the Federal grand Jury. Clash nt the Start. The case had scarcely opened before the Government and lh defense clashed In a mil l wuj . Attorney John S Miller, acting for the packers, demanded without with-out qualification thnt the charges uiiainst Samuel A McRobrrts. of Armour & Co.. one of the defendants be dismissed St once. District Attorney c ij. Morrleon, for the Government, asked for one day s time in which to consider the matter. McRoberts Dlscha-?cd. Mo admitted that Mr M'-Rolierts had (stilled In-fore the grand j try which returned re-turned the indictments. Attorney Miller declared that in view of that fan, al-though al-though the defendant had entered special pleas under the law, McRoberts must be discharged. Judo Humphrey said that he understood under-stood the law to be as stated by Mr Miller, whereupon tit- District Attorne'y entered a nolle prosequi, dlsmlsklni the use ikj I lis I McRi ibi :t Onrficld Is on Hand James R. Garfield, Commissioner of Corporations, upon whose testimony most. ot the Government s case d ipsnds, was I among those In the court roi ni tlds morning. morn-ing. He was subpoenaed to f,'il what he did while Investigating the beef industry in-dustry and whether under that investigation investi-gation tho present defendants were promised Immunity in this cose. Five men from Mr. Garfield s department vvin be here tomorrow to give evidence ln the case. Try Burglars Together. The attorneys for the defendants de- iiiandcd for their clients n separate trial In each case. District Attorney Morrison objected. Attorney Miller spoke at i length on the rlfiht of ihc ili f. inl.ints to separate trials and WOS finally Interrupted Inter-rupted by Judge Humphrey, who asked: "In case of two postofllcc burKlars we would require them to stand trial together to-gether would we not?" "Yes, your honor," replied Mr. Miller. Agree to One Trial. Other attorneys for the packers made lengthy arguments for separate trials and District Attorney Morrison objected for the Government. The debate finally subsided sub-sided Into a conference and It was agreed that all the defendants would tarnl trial together, the defense announcing it h id no desire to prolong the trial indefinitely It war also agreed that both sides should have seventeen peremptory chulluigcs for each Juror, or twenty-four In all No proceedings ware h Id niter the agreement regarding the triiis had been reached and the selection of u Jury will commence tomorrow morning. |