New-York tribune., 1907-09-05

books. that they were sold in the spring Oh l'o''
and that no litigation was going on at the 'iiii7
that he had sold them. Mr.. WINS sho"eo' NOV
ever that the Wormser suit was sun III III.
courts The witness said the books contained ali
the records Of the company from its lncepuoh " "
the date of destruction Mr.. Moorehead sald
that he had not been ordered 10 destroy 'ii'
books but did it his own initiative
oWoud you b. surprised If you we're pet10n f01a Iac
The sale of those books was criminal dCIi0ii- =
Q,-And somewhat disappointed. too? Ayes
Did you ever tell anybody about their de
stpruction? 1 At was no secret ,,.o Al sold
them because our vaults and storeroom lao oe0'
o---You knew they were quasi-public recordsE
Al did not so look at it - r,at,u,av Com
mlssioners had right TO examine them a. anu +baro
and Ro a Desn 6esroTed record that you
knew that board had right to exa1l.hpe tp+ riei7t
5Bt%Py Be3d25 because they had never exercised '1' ~
o.-Ara you aware Of the fact that there IS
crime or a misderneanor? A.-No.
es65e te Gg etdra eTT q Sar been told that
there are numbers Of them
Mr. WINS called for particulars, and MT
Moorehead then drew from his pocket circu-
lar and read it. It follows; Don't purh your
old ledgers account books. bills or RECORDS OF any
description, hut dispose Of them 10 US we
guarantee secrecy from pISlfiS eNO0 ~-1
plete destruction of goods by maceration INTO
pulp at our paper mills We give you the guar
antee direct from the MILL certifying 70 'he
destruction of all your private records we re
spectfulIy refer 10 the following list OF BANKS
railroads and insurance companies
COMPANIES THAT BURNED BOOKS
Mr.. Moorehead read the list. which included
among others !. P Morgan & Co, the New York
MetrOnOlitan Lie
Insurance Company and the National blscull
Cononanv The witness then finished reading
the circular
The witness acknowledged that the records or
the transactions involved in the first ana sec
ond consultations We're kept in the books that
had been destroyed. Mr.. Wilcox then asked IL
the circular he had read gave him his insPlra-
ton for the sale of the books. The witness re-
piled that it did. Mr.. Quackenbush. OF counsei
for the merger, interrupted to ask Mr. Moore
head to make a fuller statement. TO tell or 1or-
rner sales This led to a heated tilt between
hin, and NJ WINS In reply to further ques-
tions Mr. Noorehead said he thought that the
capital stock had reached S52OOo000 by the
time the lease signed Mr- WINS theh
showed the successive steps by which the oapl-
taI stock had been increased to the last figure
Q.-Is It not a fact that the accountants histora
of all these transactions disappe96e9d az dete yeg
Q.-Every detail2 A-heS
The witness said that he could produce no
statements that would enable Mr. WINS to re
construct the destroyed ledgers- He said the
Metropolitan had had many dealings with the
METROPOLITAN Traction Company. and that all
the accountants history of these had disap-
neared with the books Mr.. Wins asked what
the storeroom was filed with to take their place
more recent records" said the witness
Arthur Teale was then called TO the stand
Nr WINS read a part of his report 10 the DIS
trIct Attorney in which he said that reports 10
the State Railroad Commission were not IN
accord with the facts in regard 10 the COM
pany's financial condition. as shown by an ex-
animation Of its books. After few more ques-
tions, Mr.. Teale said he had not had time to
read over his report recently and preferred TO
do so before testifying Commissioner Wilcox
suggested that the hearing be adjourned until
this afternoon.
Mr. Jerome had a short conversation with
Chairman Wilcox at the beginning Of the hear
ing He said that he had merely dropped in
for a chat and that there no significance
attached TO his visit