The Richmond palladium. (Richmond, Ind.) 1906-1907, 1906-11-15
TRIED TO BUY A
JUROR WITH BRIBE
Serious Charge Made Against
Representative of Stand
ard Oil Company.
ECHO OF FINDLAY CASE
STRANGE MAN TRIED TO PUR-
CHASE A DISAGREEMENT BY OF
FERING FARMER JUROR $500
WAS TWICE OFFERED.
ECHO OF FINDLAY CASE
publishers Preesl

Findlay, o.. Nov. 14-It is claimed
that $500 bribe for disagreement
OF the Hancock county petit jury
which tried and convicted the Stand
ard Oil company of Ohio on charges
OF criminal conspiracy was twice Of
fered c. 0. Meyers, one of the IL
Jurors, during the trial of the case.
The first offer was made to Meyers
on the street, in the very shadow of
the courthouse in which the Standard
Oil company was being tried This
was IN the shape of a direct PROPOSE
ton to pay $500 for q disagreement
Inc second offer was made in the
basement OF the courthouse itself,
when some man, at present unidenti-
fed, showed the juror a big roll OF
bills and rendered them to him. Both
offers were made by the same man,
and both Were eclined
Identity of the would-be briber has
not been established. Meyers says he
does not know him. Prosecutor
David and other officials are familiar
with the attempt to corrupt the jury,
but refuse to discuss the matter in
any way. Though every effort is be-
ing made to discover and punish the
briber, the state has carefully covered
UP whatever clews it may have. In
vestigation of facts will be pushed by
the grand jury now in session but it
is likely that that body will not in
clude in its report the bribery phase
of it's deliberations 1t is believed
that the grand jury investigation is
prosecuted merely to put Prosecutor
David in possession of all obtainable
facts, to enable him to go after any
corruptionists uncovered
At the time Of the Standard trial
Ffndlay was full of strangers, and
rumors of efforts to reach the jury
were persistent, though they could
never be verified Prosecutor David's
move in summoning before the grand
jury the members Of the petit jury
which convicted the Standard after
heart-breaking deliberations, has
borne rich fruit. Whatever Prosecutor
David may have suspected, it is
thought that Meyers added unsus-
pected evidence to IL when he appear
ed before the grand jury. Meyers, dn-
willingly and with great reluctance,
told his story to a reporter at his
home south of Findlay
After admitting that attempts were
made to bride him he said: 1.-THE first
offer was made one morning during
the first week of the trial. Before
court convened a man approached me
in front of Bloomingdale clothing
store and said: There's $500 in it
for you for a disagreement of the
jury I made no reply to this offer
Later on in the trial the same man
met me in the basement of the court
house. He had big roll Of bills in
his hand. He held them out to me
and said: You better take this
Well, 1 CUES not 1 replied
A medium sized. dark complexion
ed, well dressed man, with a short
moustache, is Meyers description of
the briber. Meyers gave a character
istic reason for not informing Judge
Banker of the attempt at bribery.
Il did not know what to do he
said, there had been so much news
paper talk about the trial and I knew
it would make big sensation. / am
just plodding farmer and never was
mixed up with such a thing before. |
did not want to get in the newspa-
pers. So / just made up my mind to
hush. and l did not tell anybody until |
summoned before the grand jury"
Meyers is 40 and typical farmer, |
Industrious and bearing an excellent |
reputation among his neghbors He |
cultivates 120 acres 10 miles south of |
Findlay 1