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Show HENEY READS SWIFTIETTERS Proving Packers Had "50-50" Agreement Relative to Purchase of Hogs. OMAHA, Nob.. March 20, Letters and statistics takon from the private desk of Edward Swift at Chicago were read today by Francis J. Heney, attorney attor-ney for thc federal trade commission, in its investigation of the packing industry in-dustry in an effort to prove that tho Swift and Armour companies had a "50-50" agreoment rolative to the purchase pur-chase of hogs at Fort Worth and Denver. Den-ver. Among the witnesses heard were E. J. Stason of Sioux City; T. H. Foster Fos-ter of Ottumwa, la., and Eugene Powell of Lincoln, a member of the stnte railway commission. Foster, who is vice president of John Morrell & Co., Ottumwa, la., ono of tho largest independent packing plants west of the Mississippi river, testified that he had no fear of tho competition of the big puckers. He said that Morrell operated a plant at Sioux Falls and was in competition with Wilson & Co. Tho Sioux Falls stockyards, ho testified, -vas owned by Denver capitalists. Ho told of the establishment at Creston threo years ago of a Cudahy concentration point and said ho opposed this because it cut out part of his territory. He said that many times his firm had been unablo to buy sufficient hogs duo to the competition of concentration points maintained by the packers and to this natural shortage of cattle. Stason who was attorney for the Hurnie Packing company of Sioux City, testified that the late R. Hurnie was forced to sell his plant to Swift in 1917. He declared that the Sioux City Stockyards company was controlled con-trolled by Armour, Cudahy and Swift and that tho stockyards company controlled con-trolled the' terminal railway. Because of the opposition of tho railway to extending ex-tending a switching "spur" to the Hurnie Hur-nie plant he said, Mr. Hurnie was unablo un-ablo to meet tho opposition of the big packers. Honey then read into the record a letter from Phil D. Armour to J. O. Armour, dated Denver, October 19, 191G, in part as follows: "My Dear Uncle Ogdon: I cannot tell you how surprised I was in going over the plant here. In my opinion tho best part of it is as bad as tho worst part of any your other plants, Swift's plant is far ahead of ours. Of course you know everything hero is done on a. 50-50 basis and with the facilities fa-cilities we havo it is almost impossible ; - h to keep up this rate." . Reading from a report to the com- 1 1 H mission, Heney gave figures to show ; that in 1916 at Fort Worth, Swift ) bought 1S2.936 head of cattlo and Ar-ruour Ar-ruour 182,010, a difference of only four cattle in an entire year, he pointed j ouL j |