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Show CISCO MEAT PACKERS LOSE I THEiR WARES i British Prize Court Decides Cargoes of Four Vessels, Worth Millions, Forfeited For-feited to Crown. i AMERICANS WILL APPEAL THE CASE U. S. Government Will Take No Action Until All Legal Remedies Are Exhausted. LOXDOX, Sept. 1G. S:33 p. m. The British prize court today condemned the greater part of the American products forming the cargoes of four steamships. The products, valued at several million dollars, are declared forfeited to the crown. The judgment, delivered by Sir Samuel T. 12 vans, president of the court, Involves In-volves the cargoes of the Norwegian steamships Kim, Alfred Nobel, Bjorn-stjerne-Bjornson and Frledland. All the goods on these vessels, consisting principally prin-cipally of American meat products, are confiscated, wiih the exception of a small proportion which the court released to claimants. The case has been pending for several months. The steamships were seized last November, and, although ' efforts were made by the American owners to obtain an early trial, the British authorities set the hearing for June. The hearing closed lat month and judgment was reserved until today. Proof Not Conclusive. In a lengOhy judgment. Sir Samuel said it was plain these ships were carrying toward to-ward Copenhagen, when captured, more than thirteen times, the amount of goods which under normal circumstances would have been taken to that port. That fact gave practical and overwhelming assurance assur-ance that the goods were intended to find their way to Germany, although, of course, it did not prove conclusively that they were destined for an enemy of Great Britain. One circumstance throwing light on the real destination of the goods. Sir Samuel said, was that the exportation of lard by one American company alone to Copenhagen Copen-hagen in three weeks after the outbreak of the war was twenty times more than in periods of peac. As to the tins of canned mea t, lie si id, it had not been shown that they had been sent to Denmark Den-mark in any great Quantity before thc war, yet hundreds of thousands were on the way when the vessels were captured. These tins, it seems, could not have been meant for any persons other than German sold it-1 s. Consignment of Rubber. Referring to the consignments of rubber, rub-ber, described as gum, the president said: "I have come to the conclusion that gum is not a true commercial description for rubber and that It was used in the ships' manifests in order to avoid the difficulty which would result in its capture cap-ture by a belligerent. Any concealment of this sort will, while I sit in the prize court, weigh heavily against those who adopt such courses." Sir Samuel allowed one claim of u Danish manufacturer for a quantity of rubber, which he said had been shipped in good faith for use in his factory. The meat cargoes, shipped for the most part by the great American packing companies a nrl valued by them at $15,-000,000, $15,-000,000, were found by the president to bo destined, except for some small Items, not for consumption in Denmark, but for delivery in Germany, lie held that their eventual destination was the German government, gov-ernment, for the use of Us naval and military mili-tary forces. To rule otherwise. Sir Samuel Sam-uel said, would be to allow one's eyes to be blinded. Claims Disallowed. The court disallowed sixteen claims, including in-cluding those of the Morris, Armour. Hammond, Swift and Sulzberger companies. compa-nies. H allowed eight dtaima, Including that of the Cudahy company of Chicago. The others were Danish consignees. Sir Samuel gave leave to appeal, fixing fix-ing security for the costs at $25,000, divisible di-visible among the appellants. He also gave the crown attorneys leave to appeal in the cases of the Cudahy and other claims which are allowed. Sir Samuel Evans's decision ha aroused Intense interest among all the representatives of Amertcan packing firms here as well as those immediately immediate-ly involved, as no American meat products prod-ucts have been shipped t European neutrals neu-trals since last May and the unfavorable result of the packers' case is likely to cause further stoppage of this trade. Will Appeal Case. "We Intend to carry the case to the privy council, where we expect to win," said Alfred R. t'rion. attorney for the Chicago packers, "but should the decision de-cision there be adverse, we shall carry it still further." 1; Is known tha t the packera, in the event of losing in the privy council, will (Continued, on Page Four.) CHICAGO PACKERS LOSE HEW WARES (Continued from Page One.) turn further appeals into diplomatic channels, with an international commission commis-sion as a possible court or final appeal. The packers contend that as the orders in council of last March were not in force when the ships were seized, the seizures occurring last October, it is not even incumbent in-cumbent upon them to prove that the cargoes were not destined for a nation at war With Gjeat Britain, and they expect ex-pect this contention would be upheld by an international tribunal. . Efforts to Settle. Since the cargoes were seized in October Oc-tober many efforts have been made to settle the matter out of court. At one time the opposing parties are said to have come within $2,000,000 of arriving at a settlement. While the negotiations were under way the representatives of the packers offered to sell the products In such a manner as not tn disturb the Knglish meat market and allow the authorities au-thorities to impound the money until the case was settled. Such' a procedure was lepresented to the government as meaning a great saving, sav-ing, no matter which side won. as the products were not suitable for i he English Eng-lish market and could not he sold by the admiralty auctioneers at prices much below be-low the ijormal. This offer was rejected by the government. .Ma ny consignments have been sold at . auction since then a I prices below the cost of the Chicago production. Several thousand tons of seized products also were allowed to spoil while being transshipped. trans-shipped. The approximate value of the cargoes actually owned by Chicago packers and shipped' to order was $1.".. 000.000, virtually all of which had been confiscated bv the prize court order. An additional $7. 000. 000 worth nf products, prod-ucts, consigned to and already paid for by Danish consignees, has been turned over In great part to the owners. The Cudahy consignment, valued at $110,000 a nd Consigned direct to Danish owners, also has been released. |