The Irish standard., 1908-10-03
Letters STOLEN,
CRIES OIL HEAD
vlCE-PREsIpENT J. D. ARcHeoLp
DECLARES FATEFUL mis-.
slvEs WERE "sWlPEp."
FORMER EMPLoYE =.
is ONE ACCUSED
ohiciaI Says Hearst Secured Core.
spondence Through Questionable
Methods Of Procedure-Ex-senato
Defends His Actions,

New York. Oct. IA new phase
Of the discussion of the so.called
STANDARD Oil correspondence" made
public recently by William R. Hearst
was entered upon Wednesday when
John D. Archbold, vice-president of
the Standard Oil Company, made q
statement to the Associated Press
setting forth details of the alleged
theft Of correspondence from his files.
Former United States Senator John
Lowndes McLaurin of South Carolina
also entered the field with signed
statement declaring his attitude in the
matter of the correspondence between
himself and Mr. Archbold.
How Letters Were Obtained.
Mr.. Archbold said:
i I'm response to many inquiries as
to the theft of letters from my files,
the following may be made known:
"Over three years ago report
reached me that certain of my letters
had been offered for sale to newspa-
pers of this city, avowedly as stolen
letters. Examination showed that
some letters were missing and that
they could only have taken by some
one not only familiar with the office
details, but highly trusted. The party
on whom suspicion fell stoutly denied
all guilt. A little later, however, q
man who represented himself as act
ing between the thief and those to
whom the letters had been sold, pro-
posed to return some of the letters
for consideration. His story was
that the idea Of the theft had been
conceived by his brother, who had at
one time been in the company's en-
ploy, and that this brother had in
duced the employe already suspected
to accomplish the theft"
! Mr.. McLaurln's Statement.
! Former Senator McLaurin gave out
y signed statement regarding the cor
respondence between himself and Mr..
Archbold in which he said:
. IAN effort has been made to create
q political sensation by the publica-
tion Of certain correspondence be-
tween Mr.. John D. Archbold, vice.
president Of the Standard Oil Com.
pany, and myself. For that CORE.
spondence~'I have no apologies to
make. At the time the letters were
written had the honor to enjoy, and
am proud still to possess, the friend
ship of Mr.. Archbold, for whom I
have the highest regard. At the time
the letters were written I was en-
gagged in bitter struggle in which
was involved not only my own po-
1itical future, but the economic and
political principles for which I stood,
and which, stated briefly, meant the
emancipation of the south from the
ignorant prejudice of bourbonism and
the bloody shirt into the freedom of
an enlightened self interest and the
progress Of an intelligent Industrial
ism.
In the support of these principles,
and the hope of this progress, saw
then no impropriety in enlisting, if
practicable, the assistance of the most
progressively administered, and the
most intelligently offlcered corpora
tion that human Intelligence has yet
produced. Nor has the enormous
body of statutory crime since created
or the hypocritical affectation of
morality assumed by some of our
legislatures and congress in any wise
changed my point of view or quick
ened my conscience of expediency as
seems to have been thee case with
some of my former colleagues and as
scciates.
"The constituencies that they rep.
resent do not hesitate to take Mr..
Carnegie's trust-rroduced and tariff
protected money for their churches
and libraries, or to accept Mr.. Rookie
feller's largess for the education of
the negro whom they have disfran.
chised"
Two Burned to Death.
Rockland, Me-, Oct. 1.-Two women