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week, and Iioav was the price to the producer? The price 

 returned was an average of 25% more than was returned 

 the year previous or any other year in the history of the 

 Ijusiness. 



They tell you that the law of supply and demand regu- 

 lates prices and so it does if it has an opportunity to operate, 

 but if somebody has the producer by the throat Avith one 

 Jiand and the consumer by the throat with the other, that 

 man operates in his own selfish interests and the law of 

 supply and demand has not a single word to say about it. 

 That was the condition we were in in the live poultry busi- 

 i.ess in New York City. 



Now the United States Government was informed l>y a 

 gentleman who thought that he knew those frauds were 

 taking place upon the docks in the handling of eggs, that 

 ]')any men employed by the railroad companies were also on 

 the pay-roll of the so-called commission men or wholesale 

 merchants engaged in the butter and egg and dressed poul- 

 try business. They employed the Burns Detective Agenc\ 

 and at the end of six weeks they had considerable evidence. 

 A conference was held with those who had the matter in 

 charge and they said "Take only the rich, let the poor out 

 of this deal, they were obliged to come in on it or go out of 

 business." What was the result? 



That some of our most prominent butter and egg deal- 

 ers in the city, some men rated at a million dollars, decided 

 it was time to celebrate the Fourth of July and burned their 

 books before the United States Government could get hold 

 c 1* them. What was the further result? The men were 

 called into Court, and were asked to place their left hand on 

 the Bible and hold up their right hand to God and t«^ll the 

 truth, and they promised they would and then they Avere 

 hskeil, "Do you know for what you are indicted here? Do 

 you know the charges against you?" They were intelligent 

 men. bright, brilliant business men and they answered 

 ^'Yes. " "Are you guilty or not guilty?" Without a single 



