The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-23
HE BURNED THE BOOKS.
Testimony of san EmpIOye of the
Standard oil Company.

CLEVELAND, o., Dec 22.-The taking of
dispositions by Attorney General Monnett to
attempt to prove that the Standard Oil
Company had destroyed a lot of its books
and papers few days before the Supreme
Court ordered the books to be produced as
evidence in the investigation of the Standard
Oil Company was resumed to-day John
McNierney, of No. S. Oregon street, testi-
fled that he had been in the employ of the
Standard Company for over two years.
McNierney said that on Saturday morning,
Nov. 10, he was ordered to burn lot of the
Standard Oil Company's books. He burned
them at about o'clock, in the furnaces of
the car shops. Later in the day he said he
was ordered to go to the Euclid-avenue Of
fees and get some boxes. The boxes were
taken down from the fifth floor in the ele
vator, but some one objected to them being
taken out of the front door Thereupon the
boxes were taken back to the fifth floor.
McNierney said that he remained around
the Euclid-aVenue Office until o'clock in
the afternoon, and then the boxes were low
cred by rope and tackle from one OF the
windows. He was assisted by four other
employees of the company. The boxes were
taken to the company's warehouse. They
remained there until Monday. The witness
said that about 10 o'clock Monday morning
he and a man named Moran took the books
out of the boxes and burned them in the fur-
naces. There were nine boxes or books ana
about twenty inches high and others were
much taller. McNierney said the books that
were burned Saturday morning were taken
from the Eucid-aVenue offices Friday night.
He received the orders to get the boxes from
George Fields the car shop foreman.
On cross-examination McNierney said that
he and Moran burned the books that were
destroyed Saturday morning. Moran helped
open the boxes and took out the books and
burned them. On Monday Fields gave him
orders to go to the warehouse and get the
boxes and take them to the furnaces.
At o'clock the taking of testimony be-
fore Notary Mas was resumed. Charles
G. Hogan, a foreman in the employ OF the
Standard Oil Company, was the only wit
ness examined. He had been in the employ
of the company for twenty-one years. He
says he gave orders in accordance with in
structions, to George Fields to burn the ac-
counts and books in the boxes hauled from
the offices of the company to the Independ-
ence-street warehouse. The boxes, he de-
clared contained miscellaneous collection
of papers and a few books which might
have been letter-oreSs books, stock books
or order copybooks He declared positively
that no ledgers or journals were burned.
The burning of this material, he said, was
of no consequence, and was according to
custom In July 1896, he said. lot of simi-
lar material was burned, and in 1898 more
accounts and BOOKS were destroyed. This
last time q number of account books were
burned. Hogan said he had been requested
to look at the books before destroying them
and not burn any that were less than ten
wears old. He said he saved a few less than
ten years old that had been set aside by
mistake The hearing before Notary Mason
will be resumed tomorrow morning