The Montgomery advertiser., 1906-06-07
MONEY PAID
 TO MIR. BOYER Purchasing Agent for the Pennsylvania. GRATUITES FROM COAL MEN Allowed a Certain Sum on Each
 Ton of Fuel Bought. Also Was Given Stocks to the Par val- ue of s11,0O0-superior Omcer
 Says His Testimony Is
 Revelation.
GRATUITES FROM COAL MEN

Phi1adelph1a, June o.--Ine lnterstAle Commerce Commission today continued it's investigation of the relations of the Pennsylvania Railroad officials and employees to various mining conn panies in the bituminous coal district. The first witness was Joseph Boyer, of Altoona, chief clerk in the office of A. W. Gibbs, Superintendent of Motive Power.
 Mir. Boyer said he had 200 shares of stock in the Jamison Coal Company, given to him for his one-third interest in the Mac Laren Coal Company. The Mac Laren stock was given to him by Mir. Jamison. He also had ten shares in the Valley Coal Company and fifteen in the Edri Coal Company, which were presented to him by Captain Alfred Hicks. Ten shares of Preston Coal Company stock were sent to him in an envelope He was not certain who sent it but thought it might have come from Joseph Aiken, railroad man, or H A. Kuhn. an operator. All of these stocks paid dividends Mir. Boyer said also that he holds an interest amount- ing to ss,0o0 in undeveloped coal lands on the West PennsyIvania division. He paid for this stock.
 Of Startling Character. In its entirety, Mir. Boyers testimony was of startling character. His stock holdings were only small DOT tion of the gifts he admitted receiving from coal mining companies. In his capacity as purchaser of fuel coal, he testified that he had received from i've companies an allowance of from three to five cents ton on coal used by the railroad for fuel purposes. During the period from the latter part of 1903 to date he has received a total of more than S46,000.
 The money was first sent to him in .A E,.t 1aNA uIf sent to Cashier Hastings of the Second National Bank of Altoona and placed on deposit for Boyer. The companies which made him the allowance were the Granton Coal Company. the Clear field and Granton Coal Company. ths ] Dunkirk Coal Company and Thomas | Blythe and Company. The Graf Goa l Company as4owed him five cents tor | and the Clearfield and Granton Company gave him a share In the profits which amounted to not Less than four cents A ton. Blythe and Company gave him three cents a ton.
 He was asked why he discriminated in favor of Blythe and Company. He replied that he did not discriminate as the money came to him without so- licitation or any effort on his part. He believed that the money had been paid in the same manner to his predecessors in office and believed that he was only following the customs of the depart- ment
 Kept All the Money.
 What did you do with the moneyr asked Attorney Glasgow.
 T kept 1t all"
 'Did you not share 1t with the oth- CTS in the, eDlploy of the railroad
 "No sir. kept 1t all.
 How do you account for getting it
 "I imagine somebody had been get- ting 1t before me.
 Answering a question by Mir. Glas- gow, Mr. Boyer said that for the mon- ey he received from the coal compa- nies, he did what he could for them
 Asked to explain this he said he distributed the orders of fuel coal among those companies to the best
 What did Mir. Blythe say when he came to sec your" inquired MT. Gias-
 He told me he had paid the allow ance before and wanted to pay 1t to me-"
 Did you ever refuse any monsy7"
 Yes"
 "Why?"
 wei, I did not know the people who offered it."
 Mir. Boyer said his salary Is s225 a month His stock holdings are worth at par something more than $i1.000. Mir Glasgow read from the records the purchases of coal made from the com- panles which gave the allowance show ing steady increase. Roughly estima- led the money received by MT. Eyer from the company mentioned was as follows:
 Graf Coal Company s15.ooo; Clear field and Grafton Coal Company $e.000: Dunkrk Company sl,s50; Smith and Turner $IS,520; Thomas Blythe S2,000. AA Ia these payments had ceased last March. He wanted to know why.
 Why Payments Ceased.
 Mir. Boyer said he had not inquired the reason. but judged 1t was because of the Interstate Commerce Comn1is- sion's investigation.
 A. W. Gibbs. general superintend- ent of motive power, Mir. Boyer's su- perior officer. testified that he knew nothing of his chief clerks acceptance O. money from the coal companies.
 Commissioner Clements, referring to MT. Boyer's statements that he believ- ed he was acting to the custom of the department. asked the witness If he had ever heard of any other man in the de- partment accepting money as Boyer had.
 MT Gibbs said he had heard that for mer Chief Clerk Rohrer had received presents but the talk and rumors were not tangible and he had no knowledge on the subject
 Mir Gibbs declared MT, Boyer's tes- timony to be a revelation to him. Had he been aware of the conditions. nc said, he would have taken some action.
 Mir Gibbs was asked If he had ever been instructed to buy fuel coal from the Keystone Coal and Coke Company. He replied that when a new company was organized 1t was customary for the railroad to help it by purchasing fuel coal until such time as IL should become well established. This applied not only to the Keystone Company. but other new companies