Government Witness in Poultry Dealers’ Trial Tells of Sabotage

With 81 defendants pleading not guilty, the motion overruled of defense counsel that the trial be held by proxy in order not to block the supply of kosher poultry, half of whose $50,000,000 business the defendants control, the seating arrangements settled, the trial of the poultry dealers charged with maintaining a monopoly in Greater New York through a reign of terror, got into full swing yesterday in the United States District Court, with Judge John C. Knox presiding.

Practically the entire day’s proceedings were taken up with the examination of the government witness, Max Harnett, of 439 Hegeman Street, Brooklyn, by Assistant United States Attorney General Israel B. Oseas, who is prosecuting for the Federal Government.

Upon cross examination, Mr. Harnett testified that in July of 1926, an association of poultry dealers was formed in Brooklyn, later affiliated with the Greater New York Live Poultry Chamber of Commerce, defendant in the case together with Local No. 167 of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, Chauffeurs, Stablemen and Helpers, and the Official Orthodox Slaughterers of America, Inc.

This Association, according to Mr. Harnett, was formed to better business conditions. On the ground that poultry dealers were losing money, it was decided that a 7 and 8 cent profit above the commission man’s price was to be made. An organization was perfected whereby members were warned not to sell to customers other than those allotted to them by the organization. For the support of the organization and the payment of the salaries of the men who were directing it, each member was required to pay weekly an assessment of one cent for each pound of poultry sold.

Mr. Harnett testified that to his knowledge several thousand dollars in dues were paid in weekly, at open meetings of the organization, to Samuel Lipkin, a defendant, in some cases individual checks being as high as $300 for one week’s assessment. The principal organizers, he said were David Hirshon and Samuel Sahn, two of the defendants.

When he failed to abide by the rules and persisted in selling to customers not on his list, he testified, he was, prevented from obtaining poultry at the West Washington Market, or at any terminals in New York being forced to obtain poultry from Newark, Philadelphia, Baltimore, Bridgeport, West Virginia.

Following his break with the association in April 1928, Harnett stated, a watch was kept over his place of business, his shochtim were ordered to quit work, the tires of his truck were cut, in addition to being refused the purchase of poultry. As principals in (Continued on Page 4)

He mentioned that in 1927, his firm was receiving $200 weekly from David Hirshon as payment for not selling to butchers. These payments ceased when the agreement was broken. In 1928 Hirshon again offered him $150 weekly not to do a wholesale business, and was refused.

Arthur N. Sager, member of the defense counsel, said in outlining his case, that the charges against the defendants were weird. The poultry Chamber of Commerce was designed to help chicken dealers who were “not entirely familiar with our institutions and language, by means of an organization that could get things from our politicians-I mean our office holders.”

There will be no sessions of the court today, Friday, Saturday and Monday, in order to permit defendants to make provision for the Yom Kippur holiday. The opinion was expressed privately by a number of defendants that they would rather pay the $15,000 fine involved, if they could make sure of avoiding a prison sentence, rather than run the risk of loss involved in a long litigation such as the trial promises to be.