The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1896-08-08
HIS CHARGES SENSATIONAL
PROSECUTION is CONFIDENT THAT
LARGE-SIZED FINES WILL BE
IMPOSED.
HE WAS CoAxED AND BULLIED.
Present Inquiry, Stfcl1ney Charges
Is an Effort to Force Him Into
the Pool.

plosion before the Interstate Com
merce commission took place this
morning, and the top was
blown off the railroad pool.
uncovering an unlawful combi-
nation. President Stickney, of the Chi
cago Great Western road, when called
before the commission today, substant-
lated the report of a strong pooling ar
rangement among the roads west of
Chicago. He said that he had refused
| to become party to it or turn over his
surplus traffic for the benefit Of the
combine, and charged the roads in the
pool with instigating the present in
quiry for the purpose of proving him
guilty Of cutting rates, as a penalty
for his refusal to join the association.
Chairman Morrison said If there were
such a conspiracy, he knew nothing
about it, but that he was very anxious
to learn of any such trap and Of the
details of the pool
Mr.. Stickney said that the pool Off
GERS had importuned, bullied and
threatened him in order to get his road
into the deal. He said that the pools
method Of fixing rates made anarchists
for the reason that high rates were
charged the farmers and low secret
cut rates given to the rich grain
merchants. In the course of his evil
dence, Mr.. Stickney grew quite elo-
Quent and his testimony was sensa-
tional throughout. He promised to
produce every bit of documentary evil
dence in his possession that would
throw light on the pool, but said it
would take weeks to collect it, The
commission ordered that it be forward
ed to Washington.
The prosecution is now confident that
the investigation will end in the i'm
position of some large sized fines
against most Of the western roads.
There has been strong pressure under
the apparent smooth surface Of the
present weeks investigation. Yester-
day when President A. B. Stickney
took the stand, he created a mild SEN
sation by the disclosure of the methods
OF his company in outwitting the 9TH
ers in the handling Of grain. This
morning, the cross-examination of Mr..
Stickney was up to expectations. He
charged his fellow railroad men with
melting the present Investigation to
catch him in a we'll laid trap on the
tables on his opponents and charged
them with assailing him because he
refused to pool his trade with them.
BE kind enough to give the commits
sion the names Of some of the roads"
was asked.
Mr.. Stickney moved uneasily In his
chair: he crossed his legs and then un-
crossing them, wrapped them about
the legs Of his chair and slowly re-
piled: L am anxious to tell everything
that have done. There is a form to
be followed, and If this is followed. I
have nothing to do but to obey. But
let me consult with my attorney"
Il say at a 11-cent rate corn will
move promptly. We are moving it,
but that is because we have to go ont
and buy it,
Mr. Stickney was then permitted to
leave the stand. The railroad men had
got the worst of the inquiry and did
not care to push Stickney any farther.
as one of them remarked: 1.-THE old
man is loaded and you can't tell who
is going to get hurt
Chairman Midgley, Of the Western
Freight association, was the principal
witness at the afternoon session. He
Is supposed to be the executive officer
or the pool, but the real ruling hand of
the organization Is said to be General
Freight Agent Johnson, of the Rock
Island road, who has been subpoenaed
before the commission. Nidgley de
MED the existence Of any pooling ar
rangement, but finally acknowledged
that there was an agreement for a
division of traffic. He said he had
never attempted to divert traffic from
one road to another to even up, but
said when one road got ahead of its
percentage he gave its officer a lecture.
which statement ELECTED laugh from
the crowd of railroad officers present
General Traffic Manager Bird, of the
st. Paul road, was the last witness of
the day. His testimony was In regard
to the reconsfgning practice at Kansas
City, and was of technical nature
The doings Of the interstate COM
merce commission at Chicago this week
have furnished railroad circles with
more varied excitement than any other
source for many moons. On top of the
charge of rate cutting, discrimination
and general violation of the interstate
commerce law, comes the charge that
the Western roads have been main
tanning money pool, in direct defiance
Of the law. The sessions Of the COM
mission have been very exciting, and
all the more SO since the disclosures Of
President Stickney, of the Chicago
Great Western, who showed the com
missioners how to get around the law
and carry grain at cut rates. He also
dropped some bombs into the laps of
the other railroad magnates by telling
them how he had been hoodwinking
them right along, and getting all the
business. In fact, President Stickney
has been using the other roads to his
own advantage, and was making his
line rich off the profits. And when the
managers of the competing lines
scratched their heads in perplexitv
President Stickney laughed in glee. One
Of the things he told was that the Iowa
Development company was a concern
owned by the Great Western, and that
the grain handled by this company was
really the property of the railroad IT
seems that two years ago the Great
Western discovered that it was getting
the worst Of the grain business on ali
agreements made with other roads.
Then brilliant scheme popped into the
head Of the willy president. He hired
a grain man to go to Kansas City and
EsysSEssaszss