The Montgomery advertiser., 1908-10-06
STANDARD OIL HITS N,NNETT Flat D al of Attempted Bribery. GIVES OUT OPEN LETTER Says Ohio Attorney Told False
 hood. Attorney Declares Thst Every Enort Wa. Made ts Run Down Infor-
 mstion, and Aeeu-er Was
 Cornefed.

Cleveland, O.. Oct, 5-T. S. Tolles; member of the firm Of Kline, ToIIes C Con, attorneys for the Standard OH Company, tonight issued statement giving the Standard oif Company's side of the charges of attempts to brfbe F. s. Monnett, formerly Attorney Gen. eral of Ohio. It is in part as follows: The charge that Mr. Monnett had been offered and had declined large sum of money to drop his prosecutions against the Standard oil Company waa first made public by one George Rice, in an interview at Marietta. and given to the newspapers on March g. 1889 The charge at that time received no credence. Mir. Monnett himself was first reported to, have denied the charges but afterwards made some gen. eral intimations that there might be some truth in them The particulars of the attempt were carefully com cealed by him.
 Letter to Monnstt.
 "The public press at once began to demand that he name the guilty per- son or persons. and on March. 20. 1898. not having done so, Messrs- Elliott and Kline. on behalf of the Standard oil Company wrote him the following open letter.. +..
 New York. March 90. 1898. ".IIon. F J s. '.Monnett, Attorney Gen.
 eral of, Ohio: ks
 .on March 4. inst. George Rice azi- nounced to the public press that a bFibe of S5Oo,000, less Sl0o,00 commits sion, had been offered you 10 induce you to stop or delay proceedings against the Standard oil Company. now pend ing in the Supreme Court of Ohio.
 q" You are reported to- have denied entirely at Toledo the Rice story, but by the times you arrived at Columbus on the evening of came day. you concluded that the story twas .trtie. and accordingly ifi various newspaperss on the evening of ths btli instant you made che. statanentg that the Standard on Conpsny through some tfniends of voarh. had entered you $4aosD00 sto tIlS fitlence your action with respect to the cases pending against it ana othaf coFapanieB lin the Supreme Court of ohio a tse
 Ably The 4 Ciexeland Leader. Toledo Blade and Ohio State, JovrnaT have called upon you to disclose the name of the friend who thus corruptIy ap- preached you. You are-E reported Tn The ClsveIarid Plain Dealer of the 7th in- stant, as saying that If you were to give out the name of your friend half a dozen depar rtments of the trust, would De after him at once, and 1t might be -LneY COuAQ AOtGD OA RNH1~N~ keep his mouth shut
 You do not seem. to realize that the reason given by you for refusing 70 disclose the name of your friend ais an Admission that the company does not know the name of the company does say it commissioned. to offer you s400s- 000 and thefefore you must have known that the alleged friend made the loIer to ,,o,, vvithout the authority or knowl- edge of the Standard oil Company. @1Tp The New York World on the 9th vou are reported as saying that vo,, had written the friend who tried fo bribe you that you would not ex- pose him unless public interest /de- handed >st.' l., r. c,. cinnati Commercial Tribune, of the 6th instant YOU. are reported as Saying that yo,ir friend had agreed to protect you. The arrangerfent for protection, 'there- fore seems to be mutual.
 Is Totally False.
 So far 1ass any connection or the Standard Oil Company with any at- tempt to bribe you is ccncerhea' " 10 totally: false. .,.,..
 "tYou hAve the names. or you. claim to have. mot on1ylof the friend who ap- nroached you,5 but also of tho others acting with him, because on the ioth instant. you said. In the public prints that these men were telegraphins yeu from New York = " While nothing in your story has aireetiv connected the Standard. OH Company with the attempted bribery. YOU have desired the public to assume such connection. .l
 I've now demand that you give the name of the person or persons wno made such an ofTer to you. claiming 10 represent the Standard oil Company, that we may take such steps 10 qulet this last most vicious of the many false and sensational stories to which YOU have given currency,
 'Respectfully..