The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-01-16
 OF FINANCE Testify Before Commerce
 Commission. MORGAN OF THE NUMBER He Does Not Know All of His
 Partners. czar of the Money World Says He Merely 0. K.'s the Schemes
 Figured Out by His
 Associates.
MORGAN OF THE NUMBER

New York, Jan. 15.-The Interstate Commerce Commission met today to take testimony in regard to the complaint of the Kentucky Road Commission that the interstate commerce law was being vio- lated in Kentucky by the alleged merger of the Louisville and Nashville and the Atlantic Coast Line.
 The complaint against the Illinois Gen. tral was dismissed at the request of At torney General Pratt of Kentucky. The companies denied all allegation of vio- lating the law. and counsel said the books and traffic agreements were open to the public. J. P. Morgan and others inter- ested would appear If wanted.
 President Spencer of the Southern Rail- way identified a copy of the agreement under which the Southern Railway, through the Louisville and Nashville, got the stock of the Chicago. Indianapolis and Louisville, ana the document was admit ted MT. Spencer sad the purchase was
 to benefit the lines running out of Chi cago. Witness said he could not re- member whether the Monon purchase agreement provides for referring all dis putes to J. P. Morgan as umpire. The rates of the Southern had not been af- teeted by any agreements and bus,ness vas not done with a view to pooling.
 Walters's Testimony.
 Henry Walters. Chairman of the Board ot the Atlantic Coast Line Company, said the company owned e controlling Interest in six or more small lines Operating ns the Atlantic Coast Line kaiiraad Coinpany. Five directors of the AtIanti.. coss Line 0omDAny vseFa also directors of the L.6ufs. vile and Nashville. Witness said: ..We offered to buy the Louisville and Nash. vile. having heard that Morgan and Com pnay, had control of 1t and knowing the bankers could not operate it."
 The witness and Mir. Morgan reached on agreement to buy the 9O6.0OO shares of stock. We paid" said the witness. s10.- OOO.o0O cash, $s5.OO0OOO bonds, s5, OOO stock. The $1OsOO00O0 was raised by the sale of stock, every dollar of which was taken by our own stockholders. Practi- cally three owners hold the stock of the Atlantic Coast Line Company, Michael Jenkins and his family; Walter Newcom- CT and his family and myself. do not think Mr. Morgan owns any of the stock"
 The witness said that in certain circum- stances he might vote for rate war with the Southern. There is no agreement conditioned on securing control of the Louisville and Nashville and no under standing or contract by which the AtIan- tic Coast Line, Louisville and Nashville and southern are operating in harmony or under one control.
 PreNdant Elii0tf 0f he Afiaufi, Line Company and counsel for the At lantic Coast Line Railroad Company, tes- tified corroborating Mir. Walters's testi- mony and said; Bought Like Candy.
 We bought the controlling stock of the Louisville and Nashville just as you would buy 8 box of candy. It was wrap ped up and delivered to us and We paid $50,00Q000 for it. A portion of the shares was controlled by MT. Hawley and Mr. Gates and the acceptance of our offer was subject to the approval of Hawley and Gates"
 J. P. Morgan began his testimony by saying he was the head of his firm and that the firm had ten or twelve members; he was not sure how many. He had nothing to do with the purchase of the 306,0 shares except to approve the con- tract when made. The deal was explained to him by Messrs. Perkins and Steele, when he returned from Europe last spring. Mir. Morgan presumed a confer ence was held with Mir. Gates about the Louisville and Nashville stock sale, but he was not present at it. He was never director of the Southern but thought his partner, Steele, was.
 Mir. Morgan could not remember the preliminaries of the. Monon purchase, though he might have been known all about them at the, time. A sentence in a circular sent out by Morgan and Com pany, August 27, 1902. was mentioned to the witness. It advised stockholders of the Southern to make no change in the management until after the settlement of their lines,
 To Keep or Others.
 I've were trying" said Mr. Morgan in explanation, ito prevent any one getting hold of the stock like they got hold of Louisville and Nashville and knocking it into a cooked hat" Witness considered 1t important to the Southern to hold to- gether the Louisville and Nashville. The option on the Giles stock was obtained April 1 and he did not know in August who would buy 1t.
 MT. Gates had the stock" said Mir. Morgan "and operated pool which con- trOlled It. NO one hneW what ne was doing. I took the stock away from Gates and put 1t where it would not hurt the Southern. At the time we sold 1t we held 1t for others.
 Let me tell you the story. We found that MT. Gates and his associates had control of the Louisville. and Nash vile. When Gates came to us we found he had control of 3O6,OOO of the shares
 That gave him control" MT. Morgan added. 'The Northern Pacifcs experi- ence of the year before made us aware of the danger to the Southern stock and so we made arrangements with Gates. knew the sale to the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad would not be a disturbing ele- ment to the railroads of the South"
 MT. Morgan said at one time he came near returning the Louisville and Nash vile stock to "Gates and the others"
 Continuing the witness said his in- terest in the whole transaction was merely as a banker. He denied that the southern had anything to do with the purchase or sale of the Louisville and