The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1899-03-21
MONNETT MADE CHARGES
STANDARD OIL ATTORNEYS DE-
MAND HIS PROOF.
Deny That the Trust Was Connected
With Any Attempt of Bribery
Proceedings Against a Trust Pipe
Line Company-Damaging Testi-
mony at Hearing Yesterday.


no testimony today. 1t was agreed to
have a hearing in the case OF the state
of Ohio against the Buckeye Pipe COM
pany, a branch of the Standard Oh
company, in the office Of Mr.. Mills, act
ing as commissioner for the state.
Messrs. Elliott and Cline, counsel for
the Standard Oil company, sent let
ter to Attorney General Monnett OF
Ohio today, demanding that he make
public the name of the man who OF
tered him a bride to discontinue his
light. This is the letter:
ZION. z. S. Monnett, Attorney Cen
eral of Ohio: On March i. George Rice
announced to the public press that a
bride of five hundred thousand dollars,
less a hundred thousand dollars COM
mission, had been offered You to induce
you to stop or delay proceedings
against the standard OH company now
pending in the superior court of Ohio.
You are reported to have denied en-
tireiy, at Toledo, the Rice story, but
by the time you arrived at Columbus,
the same day, you concluded that the
story was true, and, accordingly, in
various newspapers on the morning OF
the 9th inst. you made a statement that
the Standard Oil company, through
some friend OF yours, had offered you
100000 to influence your action with
respect to the cases pending against
it and other companies in the supreme
court OF Ohio. Reputable newspapers
OF the state. notably the Cleveland
Leader, the Toledo Blade and the Ohio
State Journal, have called upon you to
disclose the name Of the friend who
thus corruptly approached you.
You are quoted in the Cleveland
Plain Dealer of the 7th inst. as saying
that if you were to give out the name
of your friend, half a dozen. depart
ments would be after MIN at once, and
it might be they could force or persuade
him to kee9 his mouth shut. You do
not seem to realize that the reason
given by you for refusing to disclose
the name of your friend is an admission
that the company does not know the
name of the party whom you say was
commissioned to offer you 100000, and
therefore, you must have known that
the alleged friend made, the offer to you
without the authority or knowledge Of
the Standard Oil company.
In the New York World OF the 9Th
inst. you are represented as saying that
you had written the friend who had
tried to bride you that you would not
expose him until public interest de-
mapded it.
I'm another Interview in the CONNER
cial Tribune, of the 9Th inst, you are
represented as saying that your friend
had agreed to protect YOU The ar
rangement for protection seems to be
mutual.
SO far as your statements connect
the Standard Oil company with any at
tempt to bride you, they are totally
false. You have the names, or claim to
have, not only of the friend who ap-
preached you, but also Of others acting
with him, because on the 18th inst. you
were telegraphing you from New York.
while nothing in your story has di-
rectly connected the Standard Oil COM
pany with the attempted bribery, You
have desired the public to assume saiE
connections. We now demand that you
give the name or names of the persons
who made such an offer to you, claim
ing to represent the Standard Oil com
pany, that we may take steps to quiet
this last and most vicious of the many
false and sensational stories to which
you have given currency
With reference to this letter, Attor-
ney General Monnett said he would re-
ply to it after he had consulted with
the supreme court of Ohio.
AFTER ANOTHER COMPANY.
A hearing in the case of the state of
Ohio against the Buckeye Pipe Line
company was begun this afternoon in
the office of Commissioner G. Edgar
Mills. The hearing was held that the
attorney general might take the de-
positions in the proceedings brought in
Ohio to annul the charter of the
Buckeye company for violation of the
antitrust laws of Ohio. The claim of
the prosecution is that the Standard
Oil trust still exists, and that, despite
the law, the Buckeye Pine Line COM
pany is still a member of it. The
Buckeye Pipe Line company was or
ganized for the transportation of crude
Dill Its headquarters are at Lima, O.,
md its capital stock is $40, 000,000. H.
Il. Rogers is the president
At the proceedings today, NJ. 7. Ell
lott and Virgil p. Cline represented
the company. Attorney General Mon
nett appeared for the state of Ohio
W. L. Flagg acted as his assistant.
As a preliminary, Messrs. Elliott and
Cline agreed TO admit a copy of the
testimony given in October last by
John d. Rockefeller in the Standard
on company case provided the Ohio
court should decide that such evidence
was competent. Counsel objected
however, holding that such testimony
was not competent
George Rice was the first witness
called. Mr.. Flagg asked him if he ever
owned a. certificate of the Standard Oil
L ! y
ness identified as his property two GER
tificates. one certificate of the Standard
Oil trust and the other a certificate of
assignment of legal title, both original
certificates.
Have you ever owned a trust certifi-
cafe Of the kind called certificate Of
equitable interest, which you handed
into the trust, and for which you re-
ceived a certificate known as an as
CT IF lepral fiflp9'' ATJ-
Flagg.
NJr. Rice said he could not reply I'M
less given an opportunity to explain,
and Mir. Flagg asked, Did you ever
hand in to the trust a certificate for
which you received stock Of a constitu-
ent company"
Mr.. Rice said Yes and again asked
to be allowed to explain. Mr.. Flagg
held him to yes or a mo- an
swer.
Mr.. Flagg asked an explanation of
the exchange of stock certificates, and
Mir. Rice showed that at the dissolu-
ton of the trust he received in place
of a certificate of stock a certificate
of assignment OF legal title, which en-
titled him to his proportion of the
property owned by the twenty differ
ent companies represented il the trust
THE last certificate conveyed TO me, y
said Mr.. Rice, IAN equitable interest
in the property owned by the trust;
the second conveyed to me the legal
title"
TO whom did you present the GER
tificate supposed TO convey the legal
title?"
i did not present it. 1t was pre-
scented by my agent, Mr. McKemper,
to the liquidating trustees"
What did you receive directly upon
presentation Of that certificate?"
Il received corporate scrip in nine
teen different constituent corporations,