The Savannah morning news., 1901-01-18
WHAT KELLOGG SAYS.
charges That District Attorney Is
Trying to Witty Him.


The New York Tribune of Tuesday
--,n,ed a statement from Mr.. Kellogg,
- kellogg & Rose. which is an alleged re-
r,,, n the charge made in the brief of
Dt.+riot Attorney Erwin. that at the time
counsel for the defendants in the hearing
.s,ore Commissioner Shields were trying
. shoUy that Westcott held certain secu-
.,+Ies they were actually in the possess
.,on Of or had been sold by Mr.. Kellogg.
The article in the Tribune refers 20
seaman dispatch in the New Yorl< Her
ia which was sent out by the Herald
Savannah correspondent after the appear
snce of the article in the Morning News
- last Sunday 1t was in that article
tha+ the extracts from Mr.. Erwin's brief,
wbich contained the statement as to Mr..
Kellogg, first appeared in print. The
Tribune's story is as follows:
THE attorneys for ex-Capt. Oberlin NJ.
Carter, Kellogg & Rose. of No. 100 Broad
NAV Yesterday classed the reported state
ment of Marion Erwin. district attorney
If the Southern District of Georgia. pub
1isbed as a dispatch from Savannah yes
to-day morning, as an effort to bolster up
his case by an attempt TO vilify the at
,ornevs for the defendants. The dispatch
said that Mr. Erwin had made a public
hrief which he had submitted to United
states Commissioner Shields, in this city,
and that in the brief was the statement
that, while Kellogg & Rose were accus-
ing r. F. Westcott, father-in-law of Car
ter of being the holder of valuable Sc
curities belonging to Carter, they were
holding these securities and drawing in
,erest upon them. Mr. Kellogg said yes
terdsy;
/" / feel a great deal of delicacy in
saving anything at all about the matter
In fact, the relation of my firm as at
torney and counsel, formerly for Carter,
and now for the contractors, makes it
almost impossible for me to say anything.
I will say this much: 1t looks to me like
an effort on the part of Mr.. Erwin to
bolster up case which is without fcun-
dalton, by an attempt to vilify the attor-
news. The evidence showed upon the
Greene & Gaynor hearing that the letting
OF the contracts was honest and that the
government had never lost a dollar, the
work being entirely up to the specifica-
tons. The intent of Mr. Erwin is evil
IDENTIFY to put matters on an entirely false
basis. 1t was part of his policy during
the previous hearing 10 vilify the Judge
of the District Court, and the commits
eioneF by presentment of the grand Jury
At Savannah, and it is hardly to be ex-
pected that he can refrain from attacking
the attorneys opposed to him.
" The only semblance of truth in the
article is that some of the securities
which Wescott purchased and held were
turned over by my firm for sale to bro
kers, and a portion of the proceeds was
paid to my firm for fees. We also re-
ceived for fees some coupons not yet
due, This is the only connection we have
had with these securities
As matter of fact Mr.. kellogg admits
all with which Mr. Erwin charged him
admits it in so many words, though he
endeavors 10 hide the admission behind
an array of glittering generalities All
that was said by the district attorney
was that while Mr. Kellogg was trying
to make it appear that Mr. Westcott had
the securities in question, he had them
himself or had sold them himself. This
is true, says Mr. Kellogg.
Save that it is published for the first
time, this is no new thing. Mr.. Erwin dis
Cussed the Identical question in his argu-
ment before the Commissioner, but for
some reason no local account of what he
said appeared in any of the New York
papers.
When the briefs of counsel were filed
with the Commissioner, in New York, Mr..
Erwin permitted a Morning News reporter
10 have access to both BRIEFS that of
counsel for The defendants as well as his
own. 1t was from these that the story app
pearing in Sundays Morning News was
written Mr.. Erwin said at the time that
as the briefs had become a part of the
record in the case he saw no good reason
why they should not be given to the pub
lie.
Yesterday he was asked if he cared 90
make any comment on Mr.. Kellogg's
statement why, none whatever" was
his smiling answer.