Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-07
THE LANSTON SCANDAL
Another Day Of Secrecy in
the Inquiry.
MAY BE A DEAL ON
MERGENTHALER MAY ABSORB ITS
COMPETITOR.
In Which Case the Facts Brought Out
Would Never See the
Light. 4
MAY BE A DEAL ON

The conduct of the investigation into
the Lanston typesetting scandals at the
| government printing office was continued
| today with the utmost secrecy. The COM
Emission repeated its warnings to every-
| body that they were not to breathe n
word of what they see or hear during the
| meetings. Whether or not the testimony
| being taken from day to day on the scan
| daious charges that have been made
| against the management of the big print
! cry shall be published today there were
suggested reasons why the entire investi-
CATION may be smothered before the public
Is ever allowed to know what takes place
In the secret meeting room.
! Men who have had a long acquaintance
with both the Mergenthaler and the Lam
ston typesetting machines have suggest
| ed that 1T is not improbable that at any
| day an announcement may be made that
| the Mergenthaler company has purchased
controlling interest in the Lanston COM
| pany. That it has been suggested is one
OF the important results that many OF
| the stockholders of the Lanston company
| look forward to. Even now the relative
| merits of the two machines are being
| considered very carefully by many men
who are endeavoring to determine which
| of them is the superior There have been
] advocates In the past of a policy by
| which the Mergenthaler would be re-
| quired to purchase a control of the Lam
ston machine because of the competition
| which that machine is able to make for
| the Mergenthaler.
War of the Companies.
| In the heat of the active warfare that is
| now going on between these two companies
| before the commission it is said that each
side is going far possible toward
| showing every weakness of tha onnasino-
| machine. They are, ii is said. saying rather
! more than they would ever think of saying
| under ordinary circumstances. Usually the
| arguments of advocates of one or the other
machines for the purpose of making sales
! are made verbally and by demonstrations
which leave no permanent record. But now
the case is very different. Every denuncia-
| tion, every statement showing the weak
| ness of either machine is being taken down
by trained stenographers. 1t is becoming
| a part of a record, but It is not going to
the public. That record may be destroyed
| or edited so as to lose many of its vital
parts The attitude of secrecy that the
| commission has shown in dealing with this
! investigation is leading many people to
believe that the testimony now being taken
may be emasculated, IL ii Is ever ordered
printed by Congress There is absolutely
no confidence that the general public will
| ever be allowed to know the facts they
have been given in testimony.
In Case of Deal.
special reason why the entire testimony
may be destroyed Is now urged II is said
| that should deal for the purchase OF the
Lanston stock by the Mergenthaler go
through or be practically agreed upon be-
fore the publication of this testimony IL
will be vastly to the interest of both COM
panies that the entire matter should be
suppressed and in that way the severe criti-
| cisms that have been made on the effective
| ness of both machines will be forever
.l,a do tod ntasrf
| can go ahead with it's business without the
| disadvantage of having to explain damag-
| ing statements that may have been made
before the commission by themselves
At any rate there is little confidence on
| the part of people who are interested In.
! this investigation that the testimony being
taken before 1t will ever reach the public
! In that completeness that would result were
| the hearings held with open doors. II will
| hardly be possible for any one TO prove in
| the future that the testimony has been
| grossly revised out of all semblance to
| what was actually stated before the COM
| mission under the conditions that now
prevail. That might be learned by con-
| gressional investigation, in which the menu
| bers of the commission, the stenographers
| and all others having anything to do with
| the testimony would be put on oath and
| required to tell what they know about the
actual testimony taken in this invesuga-
ton.
A Friend of the President.
Because Mr. Keep, chairman of the como
mission, is a personal friend of the Presi-
| dent, and, in fact, was a college chum Of
Mr. Roosevelt when at Harvard College,
| causes some people to believe that he may
be able to justify his course taken in this
investigation. But the public declarations
| Of the President are pointed to as being in
condemnation of that course. In his meg
sage to Congress December g. 1901, Mr..
| Roosevelt. in referring to corporations,
said
I'm the interest of the public the govern-
ment should have the right to inspect and
examine the workings of the great corpora-
tions engaged in interstate business. PUP
lcity is the only sure remedy which we
can now invoke. The first requisite
IS knowedge-full and complete-knowledge
which may be made public to the worid;
Two years later in his message TO Cone
gress Mr.. Roosevelt declared In still strong.
err language:
Publicity in corporate affairs will tend
to do away with ignorance and VIII anord
facts upon which intelligent action may
be taken. Systematic intelligent investiga-
ton is already developing facts the knowi-
edge of which is essential to right under
standing of the needs and duties OF the
business world. The corporation which IS
honestly and fairly organized, whose man
ayers in the conduct of Its business recog,
nfze their obligation to deal squarely with
the stockholders, their competitors and the
public has nothing to fear from such su-
pervision."
Daily Being Violated.
These strong expressions OF the Presioehe
favoring publicity which, In his own ian.
guage, may be made public to the world,
are believed by many people high in the
counsels of the administration here TO DO
daily violated by the commission which is
now carrying a secret investigation pe-
hind locked doors with every one under
obligations to say nothing about what 10
going on. The feeling Is growing that
there will never be genuine puph9ty Oh the
facts brought out by this commission be-
cause of the power that the commission
can exercise in the revision of its testi-
mcny, even should that testimony be called
for by Congress.
Were IL not for the fact that Mr.. Keep
chairman of the commission is a warm
personal friend of the President iE fact, a
college chum of Mr.. Roosevelt while at
Harvard, the opinion is expressed that the
course he has pursued In this investigation
would call out official rebuke. Whether or
not the President will take any action on
the matter is now only subject for spec
ulation. As Mr.. Roosevelt Is out Of the