Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-02-14
SECRET Of ICE books
Oler Refuses Demand of New
York's Attorney General.
STATE MAY GO TO LAW
Jackson Can Have Duplicates of Pa
pers He Has Lost.
THE ICE COMPANY'S ANSWER
Does Not Want Its Office Upset by
Another Examination Like That
Made Last Summer.
STATE MAY GO TO LAW
THE ICE coMPANY's ANSWER

NEW YORK, February 1.-THE American
Ice Company, through President Wesley M.
Oler has sent to Attorney General Jackson
a modified refusal of his demand that he be
allowed to examine the company's books
ut will afford us the greatest pleasure"
Mr.. Oler says. ito let him have duplicates Of
any of the matter the attorney generals Of
flee has lost, but as for data other than
those copied by Attorney General Mayer
when he went over the books last August
Mr.. Jackson can't have them
Mr.. Jackson's demand was served upon
the American Ice Company on February 8.
1t contained no reference to the alleged lar
ceny of ice trust material, but in his reply
President Oler presumes that 1t is a dupli-
cate of that material which Mr.. Jackson Is
after. All that the attorney general need
do to obtain it, Mr.. Oler tells him, lis to
supply us with list of the papers, docu-
ments, contracts and extracts which you
claim have disappeared. In order that there
may be no misapprehension as to the COM
prehensiveness of our willingness to assist
the attorney generals office in every way
within our power, we desire to be UNDER
stood as hereby offering to furnish copies
of any document, extract from any book,
contract, document, paper or letter which
your predecessor or his representative may
have obtained from the Office or files of the
have disappeared from the files or office Of
the attorney general"
Reasons for Refusal.
Further along in the letter Mr.. Oler bases
his refusal to submit to another search
upon the presumption that the first one
gave the attorney general all he needed to
maintain his suit and upon the statement
that 1.-The demand you make upon us is not
warranted by law"
I'm our willingness to again furnish these
data Mr.. Oler concludes, you will under
stand that we waive to this exent our legal
rights. This waiver is inspired by our de-
sire to treat with courtesy state officer
who, it is fair to assume, regards himself
as engaged in the prosecution of his official
duties"
The things Attorney General Jackson asks
for comprise pretty much all the books
and documents in the possession of the
American Ice Company. Among them are
a great number of contracts with little ice
at his home in Larchmont Manor Satur-
day, many of which have never been in
existence or were not at the time the ac-
ton was begun" Mr.. Jackson also asks
rectors and stockholders from the date of
the company's formation until now, CORE
spondence files. comparative sale and cost
sheets, vouchers, ledgers, monthly state
ments reports showing profit and loss of
the New York city department, contracts
with customers, documents relating to the
purchase of other ice companies, papers
relating to Hudson river shipments and dis
tribution, bank check books and a mountain
of other stuff, winding up with Cancelled
bank checks.
oler Says He'll Fight.
$50 you're going to fight observed one
of President Oilers interviewers.
Sure we're going to fight. There is moth
ing left to do. The American Ice Company
never was party to an illegal contract and
never did an illegal thing. Mr.. Jackson
will find it SO. The examination he wants
would keep our whole force upset as it
did last summer, and we're not going to
have it. If there is any intmation that
our company is responsible for the alleged
disappearance of those data it is absurd.
We gave them voluntarily. What object
would any one have in abstracting them?"
This years ice crop, Mr.. Oler stated, Is
now half gathered The recent snow has
drfted badly on the surface of the Hudson
and set the work back somewhat. To in
sure what Mr.. Oler calls "a full harvest
there must be, he said, pretty good weather
through the rest of February.
II can say, though he added that
enough has been gathered so therell be no
ice famine next summer"