The record-union., 1898-12-23
Witnesses Testify as to How They
Were Destroyed.
Evidence Wanted at Cleveland Inquiry
Burned In Furnace Of the Shops.
The Orders to Destroy Some Books
and Accounts Contained In
Boxes in the Office Given by q
Foreman in the Employ Of the
Company, Who Alleges That
They Were Of No Consequence,
and It Was According to Gus
tom.

S%AO IL w h6 xACGOAuAA6 " 0AS-
tom.
of depositions by Attorney General
Monnett to attempt to prove that the
Standard Oil Company had destroyed
a lot of it's books and papers few
days before the Supreme Court ordered
the books to be produced as evidence in
the investigation of the Standard Com
pany was resumed to-day.
John McNierney testified that he had
been in the employ Of the Standard for
over two years. McNierney said that
on Saturday morning, November 18th,
he was ordered to burn a lot of the
Standards books. He burned them
at about 8 o'clock in the furnace of the
shops. Later in the day he said he
was ordered to go to the Euclid Avenue
offices and get some boxes. The boxes
were taken down from the fifth floor in
the elevator, but someone objected to
them being taen out of the front door.
them being taken out of the front door
to the fifth floor.
McNierney said that he remained
around the Euclid Avenue office until
o'clock that afternoon, and then the
boxes were lowered by rope and tackle
from one Of the windows. He was as
sisted by four other employees of the
company. The boxes were taken to
the company's warehouse. They re-
mained 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 furnaces. There
were nine boxes of books and six sacks
of papers. Some of the books were
about twenty inches high, and others
were much smaller.
McNierney said that the books that
We're burned on Saturday morning were
taken from the Euclid office Friday
night. He received his orders to get
the boxes from George Fields.
On cross-examination he said he and
Moran burned the books that were de-
stroyed 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.
The regular Standard inquiry before
Special Master Commissioner Brins-
made, was not taken up to-day because
Messrs. Rockefeller, Squire and Sever
ance who were wanted to testify, could
not be found. Attorney General Mon
nett desired to proceed with the hear
ing, and to subpoena bookkeepers and
other employees Of the Standard. At
torney Kline, for the Standard Com
pany, objected, and argued for more
delay. Said Mr.. Monnett:
I'VE have been a year and two
months getting three days testimony.
We have met with nothing but delays,
and the State is ready to go on
Mr.. Kline stated to the best of his
knowledge that Secretary Squire would
return to Cleveland January 4th. He
said Mr.. Severance had been out of the
city for several months, and he did not
know where Frank Rockefeller was.
He further said none of these gentle
men had left the city to prevent service
being served on them.
After a debate Of some length by the
attorneys, Master Commissioner Brins-
made ordered the investigation post
poned until January 4th at 10 a. m. In
his order he stated: Notice of the
proceedings is hereby given the at
tOrneyS'
AT 4 o'clock the taking Of testimony
before Notary Mason was resumed.
Charles G. Hogan, a foreman in the en-
ploy Of the Standard Oil Company, was
the only witness examined. He had
been in the employ of the company for
twenty-one years. He said he gave
orders, in accordance with instructions.
to George Fields to burn the accounts
and books in the boxes hauled from the
offices of the company to the Independ-
ence-street warehouse. The boxes, he
declared, contained miscellaneous
collection Of papers and few books
which might have been letter press
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 Gus
tom.
STATEMENT FROM ATTORNEY
KLINE.
CLEVELAND, Dec. 22-VireiI p.
Kline of the law firm Of Kline. Tolles
& Goff of this city, attorneys for the
Standard Oil Company, sends the fol-
lowing communication to the Asso-
ciated Press:
My attention has been called to a
printed statement to the effect that
previous to the decision Of the Supreme
Court I, as attorney for the Standard
Oil Company, spent several days in CO.
lumbus; and it is intimated that I re-
ceived a tip beforehand in regard to
the courts decision, and at once noti-
fled the officials Of the Standard Oil
Company. That statement is an abso-
lutte falsehood and an insult to the
court. There is no truth in any part of
it, save that I spent part of one fore
noon in Columbus with Mr. Neal. pre-
pairing a brief in the case. The state
ment given out that the company has
destroyed any of it's books or accounts
for the purpose of evading the order of
the court is equally false
VIRGIL p. KLINE"
Condition Of the Troosurv