Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-10-06
TO[LE DENIES CHARGE
Alleged Attempt to Bribe Mon
nett of Ohio.
TRUSTS SIDE PRESENTED
Efforts Made to Obtain Name of
Man Offering Money.
DESIGNATION OF G. B. SQU1RES
He Repudiates the Accusation.
Monnett Issues Another
Statement.

CLEVELAND, Ohio, October 6.-S. H.
Tolle. member of the firm of Kline, Tolle
& Golf, attorneys for the Standard Oil
Company. has issued the following state
ment. giving the Standard Oil Company S
side Of the charges of attempts to bride
F. S. Monnett. formerly attorney general
Of Ohio:
THE charge that Mr.. Monnett had been
offered and had declined large sum of
money to drop his prosecutions against
the Standard Oil Company was first made
public by one George Rice, in an inter-
view at Marietta, and given to the news
papers March 3, 1899. The charge at that
time received no credence. Mr.. Monnett
himself was at first reported to have de-
MED the charges, but afterward made
some general limitations that there
might be some truth in them. The par
ticulars of the attempt were carefully
concealed by him.
Monnett Asked to Give Name.
1.-The public press at once began to de-
mand that he name the guilty person or
persons. and March 20, 1899. not having
done SO, Messrs Elliott and Kline, on be-
half of the Standard Oil Company, wrote
NEW YORK, March %. 1899.
Hon. F. S. Monnett, Attorney General
of Ohio:
ION March 4 instant George Rice an
nounced to the public press that bride
Of $500. 600. less 500, 900 commission, had
been offered you to induce you to stop or
delay proceedings against Standard Oil
Company, now pending in the supreme
court of Ohio.
You are reported to have denied entire
ly at Toledo the Rice story. but by the
tins you arrived at Columbus on the
evening of the same day. you concluded
that the story was true, and, accordingly
in various newspapers on the evening Of
the 9th instant you made the statement
that the Standard Oil Company. through
some friend Of yours had offered you
$4,000 to influence your action with re-
spect to the cases pending against it and
other companies in the supreme court of
Ohio
Reputable newspapers of the state
notably the Cleveland Leader, Toledo
Blade and Ohio State Journal. have called
upon you to disclose the name of the
friend who thus corruptly approached
you.
You are reported in the Cleveland
Plain Dealer of the 18th instant as saying
that If you We're to give out the name
of your friend half dozen departments
of the trust would be after him at once,
and 1t might be that they could force
or persuade him to keep his mouth shut
You do not seem to realize that the
reason given by you for refusing to dis
close the name of your friend Is an ad-
mission that the company does not know
the name of the party whom you say 1t
commissioned to offer you $4OO,00O and
therefore you must have known that the
alleged friend made the offer to you with
out the authority or knowledge Of the
Standard Oil Company.
I'm the New York World OF the 9th
instant you are reported as saying that
you had written the friend who tried to
bride you that you would not expose
him until public interest demanded it
I'm another interview in the Cincinnati
Commercial-Tribune of the 9th instant
you are reported saying that your
friend had agreed to protect you The
arrangement therefore seems to be mu-
tua.
so far as any connection of the Stand
ard Oil Company with any attempt to
brhe you is concerned it is totally false.
you have the Names or claim to have
you, but also of the others acting with
him. because on the 10th instant you said
i'll the public prints that these men were
telegraphing you from New York
while nothing in your story has
directly connected the Standard OIL Com
pany with the attempted bribery. you
have desired the public to assume such
connection. We now demand that you
give the name or names of the person
or persons who made such an offer to
you, claiming to represent the Standard
Oil Company. that We may take steps to
quiet this last most vicious of the many
false and sensational stories to which
you have given currency.
Respectfully.