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Show PACKERS BID NOT FIX MEAT PRICES Chicago, Jan. 3. Methods declared to have been used by the packers to control tho price of fresh meats aud apportion 'tho business on a noncompetitive non-competitive basis wore further revealed re-vealed today by Henry Vceder, In tho trial Si the ten Chicago packers, charged with criminal Iolatlon of tho Sherman anti-trust law. Tho witness produced no document-ar document-ar eidence, how oxer, declaring that all records of th old packerR pools had been destroyed, so far as he knew. A hen confronted with letters sent out by tho packers referring to tho shipment and price of fresh meat In periods In which ho said there was no pool In existence, the witness apparently ap-parently grew nervous, but declined to denv tho genuineness of the documents. I would not say whether thoso lot-tors lot-tors were not sent out from my of-flce,"' of-flce,"' Mr. Vceder Bald. The government read a number of new letters and telegrams purporting purport-ing to have been sent out by tho combination com-bination while Mr. Vecdcr was secretary. secre-tary. Th witness testified that tho prico of meat was discussed nt meetings of tho packers where ho acted as secretary; sec-retary; that instructions were sent out from his office regarding tho uniform uni-form system of figuring tho cost of slaughtering animals, based on instructions in-structions received from tho packers at the weekly mootlngB. The witness also gave from memory mem-ory tho percentages used in the distribution dis-tribution of business In torrltory "A" under tho packers' agreement of 1S9S, us follows; Armour & Co., 21.50; Armour Packing Pack-ing company, 5.50: Cudahy & Co., 5 00; G, H. Hammond & Co., 12.50; Morlrs & Co., 14.00; Schwarzchlld & Sulzborgern S.S0; SAvIft & Co., Ilo.OO He said other percentages wero used in other territories. Tho basis on which this system of calculation was figured, he said, was known as the maximum weight method. On cross'-examlnatlon, Veoder flatly flat-ly denied the government's conten- tlnn Mint bo nlil nnokers' nool be tween 1893 and 1902 atempted to fix tho prico of fresh meats or tho price to be paid for livestock. IIo declared that the only object or tho combination was to regulato the amount of fresh meat to bo shipped into tho different markets. The witness sahl that each of the agreement mado by tho packers In the period described contained a provision pro-vision that no effort should be made to fix prices. Tho defense alBo brought out that under tho agreements, oach member of tho combination frequently pyor-Bhjppcd pyor-Bhjppcd the maximum percentage, al-' lowed. The object of this was to rerutc the chargo that tho operation of the combination had the" offect of re-', straining tio trado lu frosh mcat3. -op |