The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1899-03-21

| NEW YORK, March 20.-Upon the
arrival of the interested parties In the
the Standard OIL Company hearing at
the Hoffman House, 1t was decided to
take no testimony to-day. It was
agreed to have hearing In the case OF
the state OF Ohio against the Buckeye
Pipe Company, a branch OF the Stand
ard OH Company in the office of Mr..
Mills, acting as commissioner for the
state.
Messrs. Elliott and Kline. counsel for
the Standard OIL Company, sent let
ter to Attorney General Monnett, OF
Ohio, to-day, demanding that he make
public the name of the man who offered
him. bribe to discontinue his fight.
This Is the letter:
"Hon. T. s. Monnett. attorney general
Of Ohio.
"on March 4 inst, George Rice an
nounced to the public press that brlDe
Of $500, ,0or, less 100000 commission, had
been offered you to induce you to stop
or delay proceedings against the
Standard OIL Company now pending in
the supreme court OF Ohio.
You are reported 10 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
instant YOU made q statement that the
Standard company. through some
friend OF yours had offered you $780,
900 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 dis
close the name Of the friend who thus
corruptly approached you.
| You are reported In the Plain Dealer
OF the Tth instant as saying that If you
were to give out the name OF your
friend. half dozen departments would
be after him at once. and It might be
they could force or persuade him to
Keep 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 vas commission
ed 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.
I'm the New York World, OF the 9th
Inst, you are reported as saying that
You had written the friend who tried
to bribe you that you would not expose
him until public interest demanded It,
In another interview In tho Cincin-
natl Commerclal-Tribuna, of the 9Th,
you are reported as saying that your
friend had agreed TO protec. YOU The
arrangement for protection, therefore,
seems to be mutual
| 80 far rs your statements connect
| the Standard OIL Company with any
attempt TO orlbci 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 1ith inst, you
| said In the public prints that these men
were teleSraphlnS You from New York.
while nothing in your story has d.
rectly connected the Standard OIL Com.
pany with the attempted bribery. YOU
have desired the public TO assume said
connections. We now demand that you
| give the name or names OF the persons
who made such an offer to You, claim
Ing 10 represent the Standard Oil Com
| pany, that we mag take steps to quelch
this last and most vicious OF the many
false and sensational! stories TO which
You have given currency"
Monnctt Will Answer.
With reference to the letter written to
him by Messrs. Elliott and Kline, At
torney General Monnett said he would
| reply to 1t after he had consulted with
the supreme court of Ohio.
4 hearing in the case of TIE state Of
Ohio, against the Buckeye Pipe Line
Company was begun this afternoon IN
the Office OF Commissioner C.. Edgar
Mills. The hearing was held that the
attorney general might take dispositions
In the proceedings brought In Ohio to
annul the charter of the Buckeye limo
company for violation OF the antitrust
laws OF Ohio. The claim OF the prosecu-
ton Is that the Standard Oil Trust still
exists and that, despite the law. the
Buckeye Pipe Line Company Is stlll q
member OF It. The Buckeye Pipe Line
Company was organized for the trans
portation of crude oil. Its headquarters
are at Lima. Ohio. and its capital stock
Is sl0.Ooo.000. II. II. Rogers Is the pres
| ident.
I 10 thc PoSetSfhSS to~f"S, 4 :.
Elliott and Virgil 2. Kline represented
the company.
Attorney General Monne,t appeared
for the state OF Ohio. W. l.. FlaSg act
| cd rs his assistant.
! George Rice was the first witness call
ed for. Mr.. FlagG asked him II he ever
owned n certificate of the Standard Oil
| Trust and he answered yes. Counsel
| objected that the question and answer
were Irrelevant because the whole
matter had been decided In the pre-
ceilings taken in Columbus.
Counsel offered like objections to all
other questions asked. Under the law
| the commissioner has no power 10 rule
on such objections and counsel made
them only for show on the record.
The witness identified two certificates.
one certificate OF the Standard OIL
Trust and the other q certificate OF as
slgnmcnt Of legal title as his property
md both original certificates.
| Have you ever owned Il trust certl-
ficate OF the kind called q certificate OF
equitable Interest which You handed In
n certificate known as an assignment OF
legal tItle?" asked Mr. Flagg.
Mr.. Rice said he could not reply I'M
less given an opportunity to explain und
Mr.. Flags asked: Ibid you ever hand
In 10 the trust n certificate for which
You received stock OF constituent
| company"
Mr.. Rice said: yes" and again ask
ed 10 be allowed TO explain Mr. Flagg
| held him down 10 ''ycs" or mo" an
swcr and counsel for the pipe line pro-
tested. saying: "AIr Flagg, you are
not treating our cllept fairly"
Isicc Explains.
Mr., Flagg asked an explanation OF
! uie exchange Of stock certificates und