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Show If COURT PAYS NO ATTENTION TO . COMPROMISE I Judge Landis Instructs Spe-I Spe-I cial Federal Grand Jury to Investigate Alleged Frauds by Oleo Manufacturers. SAYS CONSPIRACY I . MUST BE PUNISHED f Doubts the Legality of Ar-i Ar-i ' rangement by Which Of-l Of-l fenders Escaped by Pay-i Pay-i ! ing Sum of $101,000. I ; HICAGO, March 17. Judge Landia j in the United States district court j .today instructed a special grand I jury to investigate butterino ' frauds compromised by tho internal rcTcnuo department on March 4. The trrand jurors are to learn i the manufacturers manu-facturers were not guilty of conspiracy ! to defraud the government under soc-I soc-I tlon 3" of the national penal code. ' The jurors were also instructed lo ascertain if any member of the national government was guilty of conspiracy. 1 On this point the court said: Expounds the Law, "If, therefore, tho officers or agents or attorneys of a corporation tax dobtor I haro conspired among themselves, or I with officers of the United Stntcs or ' -with other persons, to defraud tho gov-I gov-I crnmont out of tho revonuo tax, any one I of mich persons hns dono any act to ( carry such conspiracy into effect, they may all be proceeded against on account of such conspiracy, eyen though the criminal liability of the tax debtors for the fraud itself hns been specially extinguished ex-tinguished by tho commissioner of internal in-ternal revenue, with tho concurrence of tho secretary of the treasury." I Duty of the Jury., The jurors wore informed that they had authority to look into the oleomargarine oleomar-garine business and that of manufacturing manufac-turing cotlousccd oil and to "bring witnesses wit-nesses horo from auy part of tho country. coun-try. If there was a common understanding under-standing among them, Judge Landis instructed, in-structed, "it will bo your duty to inquire in-quire with very great euro whether any public officor or ncnt of tho govern- inont had a conscious part in the ar rangements." Judgo Landis told tho jurors that it was discovered two years ago that big olcomargarino manufacturers wore using us-ing cottonseed oil treatca with Bulnhur which resulted in the imitation looking liko real butter. The manufacturers. , he said, were warned that thc' would I use tho colored oil at their own peril. Finding of Committee. A committtcc of tho house of representatives repre-sentatives investigated, the court related, relat-ed, and calculated thnt the government had been deprived of $1,200,000 in taxes. Tho committee also recommended recommend-ed that the cases be not compromised. Novcrthcloss, as one of the last acts of his lato administration of the treasury department, Secretary MacVcngh compromised com-promised tho penalties at $101,000. This compromise. continued ,Iuclso Landis. 'was based on tho law giving tho internal revenue bureau authority to compromisf eases where the revenue law has boon violated. "If the- manufacturers have been guilty of conspiring to defraud the irovornment, however, thc ease comes under section 37 of the federal ponal rode," s-aid tho court, "and a charge mado under that law cannot bo com-' com-' promi.H'd by tho treasury department." MacVeagh Unmoved. ' WASHINGTON". March 17. Franklin K MarVengh. former secretary of the treasury. when Informed of .Judge Jjndls'n notion In the olcomargarlno case, and ho "stood jvit" on tho state-i state-i ment lie Issued n few dny ago. cxplnin- , Ing the compromise and that he did not tlilnk It "worth while" to comment on I itiilge LstndlVs Instructions to the grand J'iry. |