The Daily Missoulian. [volume] (Missoula, Mont.) 1904-1961, 1909-05-29
RECORDS OF UNITED COPPER
COMPANY HAVE STRANGE
~ DISAPPEARED.
A SEARCH IS UNAVk|L|NG
Must Be Produced in Court on Next
Tuesday or Directors Of Company
Heinze Refuses to Tell Officials of
Company Where Documents Are.

New York, May 2S.--Where are the
United Copper company's books? Fed
eral officials hunted for them tonight
without success. They must be in the
federal court here next Tuesday or the
companys directors will be found in
contempt.
This sensational .aeyahpment came
as a result of today's grand jury in
vestigation of f. Augustus Heinze's
affairs in connection with the alleged
msapplication Of the funds of the
Mercantile National bank United
States District Attorney Wise obtained
from Judge Lacombe an order direct
ing certain United Copper company
directors to produce the concerns
books in court forthwith or be de-
clared in contempt.
The directors named, Sanford Rob-
inson, Carter Glass, William j. Cur
tis and Horace Abel, reported to the
court that they We're unable to comply
because Mr.. Heinze, president of the
United Copper company, had refused
to give them the books or tell where
they We're, giving as his reason that
he was under indictment and further
investigation.
They said they would make every
effort to get into the companys
vaults and search for the books.
The directors further told the court
that they had called special meeting
Of the directorate to take place five
days hence, when Heinze and Secre-
tary Treasurer Clifford would be de-
posed. Henze, the directors said, told
them that Clifford took the minute
books with him to Europe.
To 30 Lenient.
Judge Lacombe said that under the
circumstances he would be lenient. He
fixed Tuesday afternoon as the time
tor them to report again, and added:
The court appreciates the honest
efforts of the directors to get out of
the scrape. They are unfortunate in
getting associated with a man who is
too terrified to allow his books to be
examined.
LAS long as the books are on earth.
and have not been burned the effort
must be made to produce them"
The mutilation OF books of a corpor-
alton, as charged by District Attorney
WiSe,t-iS a crime under the state law.
The federal statutes cover the removal
of books and under them such an act
may be constructed as grand larceny.
Mr.. Wise declared HeinZe was trying
to keep the books from the court and
that the directors had shown them
selves dummies in Heinze's hands.
This man Heinze," he continued,
thinks he can send away these other
men and hold the books himself, so
that he can refuse to produce them
himself on the ground that they would
intimidate him. | had Mr.. Heinze be-
fore the grand jury today but did not
put him under oath because | did not
want to give him immunity"
The production of the books, Mr.
Wise said was important because he
alleged Heinze fhad been discounting
notes of his brother, Otto, at the Mer-
camille National bank in order to man.
ipulate pool in United Copper. The
directors involved, Frederick ICckstein,
Assistant District Attorney Smith and
two deputies went to the offices of the
United Copper company on Broadway
tonight to hunt for the books. Heinze
had gone, but Eckstein, who is assis-
tant treasurer, readily opened the
vaults He stepped inside, turned on
a light and then exclaimed They're
not here. The subpoenas called for
16 books. including ledgers, journals,
cash, letter and stock books of 1907,
but none was in the vaults. Even the
mutilated ledger which representatives
of the district attorney had previous
ly been permitted to examine, We're
missing. The searchers, however
found some other books than those
called for in the subpoena and these
We're placed in charge of the United
States Marshal.
District Attorney Wise was indig-
nant tonight over the manner in which
the United States court and his Of
fee had been ''flaunted by HENCE as
he expressed it. He referred to it as
a ''cowboy holdup," and added:
They are going to have a different
idea of the way that things may be
done in this jurisdiction these days.
They thought in this case that they
could take their officers and ship them
abroad or put them on train for
Canada and tell us we could not have
the books because they might be in
eliminated. But we established a
precedent by getting Judge Lacombe
to order meeting of the board of di-
rectors forthwith. In all the expert
ence that l have had in the seven
years that have been here. this piece
of work is the most damnable I have
ever heard Of"