The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1910-02-10
Great Financier Offers to Test
fly Concerning Purchase of
Interests by Firm.
JUST AN INVESTMENT"
NOT AT ALL COMBINE
Sitting of Competition Alleged
at Hearing That Is Now in
Progress.

chase by his firm of a controlling in
tercst in thc United States Telephone
company of Cleveland and the Cuya-
hoga Telephone company of he same
state.
Protesting minority stockholders of
the companies are in New York taking
depositions to be used in the Ohio courts
in the suits TO check contamination
Of the purchase. maintaining that j. L.
| Morgan & Co. acted for the American
! Telephone and Telegraph company (thc
! Bell inierests), IN acquiring six indie
pendent companies in Ohio and Indiana
and that, as competition has ceased in
that territory the transaction is illegal,
Claim Only Investment.
! Morgan & Co. have held all along
/ that any purchases they made were
simply as an Investment Of the firm.
II. y. McGraw of Cleveland and Sam
uel p. JcfTrics Of ST. Louis, Jointly rep
rcseDtjng minority stockholders. said
| this afternoon that Mr. Morgan had vol
untecrcd as witness and that he would
he called, probably in a day or two The
tary dePutized by the Ohio supreme
court where the original suit was
brought. Tho American Telephone aud
! Telegraph company. which controls the
| Central Union company in Ohio and In
| diana. contends that the deal never
went through and that IT does not now
know who owns the independent com
panics and that il has no interest what
| ever IN them. IT further asserts tina
| competition in that territory is as
strong as ever.
What Evidence Shows.
Evidence taken today showed that
the American Telephone and Telegraph
company negotiated with r. l.. Day &
Co., bankers 10 acquire the controlling
interest IN the Ohio and Indiana com
panies on the understanding that the
| holdings If il found il could do so le-
gally. R. l.. Day & Co. acquired the
holdings and later disposed Of them. but
| the American company asserts that II
was not tho purchaser
4 member of the firm Of j. l.. Day
& Co. will take the stand tomorrow and
the minority stockholders hope 10 show
that J. Z. Morgan & Co. were the
purchasers. acting for the American
! Telephone and Telegraph company.
The American company admitted to-
day that il loaned Day & Co. more than
5000, 900 to acquire the ma ior bold
ings. but that whcu Day & Co. were
released from their contract, the loan
was paid.
T.. J. Hall, vice president of the
company. the first witness. declared the
American Telephone and Telegraph
company was the controlling stockhold
or in the Western Electric company, the
largest electrical equipment manufac-
turcrs IN the world.
''In Ohio and Indiana we operate
the Central Union company said Mr..
l I'll I'm il,
Telephone company.
1.-The American Telephone and Telc-
graph company has no control Of any
other companies in Ohio. excepting the
long distance, the Cleveland Telephone
company and the Western company of
Cleveland. The Western owns the
Cleveland company, In Cincinnati we
don t own a controlling interest,
Mr.. Hall said he had been shown a
letter written by President Vail OF the
American Telephone and Telegraph
company to the attorney general OF
Ohio relative 10 the acquisition by IL
l.. Dav & Go. OF the Ohio companies.
Mr.. Hall said the American Tele-
phone and Telegraph company bad not
taken over the stock of the Ohio COM
panies as il was found the Ohio laws
would make it inadvIsablc. The wit
ness said the company asked Il. l..
Day t1 rssase Them hG f4 tne T"foTred
TO in Mr.. Walls letter 10 the Ohio at
torncy geDcral?'
Standard Oil Decision.
"Weu. we couldu Z finance hold
inc company that we wanted 10 organ
iZe TO take over all these concerns, a
Z holding company in which the Amerl
+ can Telephone and Telegraph company
5 would have no interest. But slnce ihe
=, STANDARD Oil decision you can hnanGe ,I.
A. LID
crs won't talk about H. r -
'I took up the matter win q,
r MORGAN & Company after two otne1
banking houses had been unahle 10 nS
n anything Mr.. Davidson OF that hru
: came to my Office and VIC dlscussed lh'
organization of n holding company,
, fold him we wanted TO take ihrg'
r block of stock in his holding company
u but one that would not give control.
G - 4 few DAYS later J, =. Morgan
o Company had notified us that they hat
n decided not TO have anything TO DO WIZ
e the matter, Thcy refusca @ 70 desircJ
the holding company ms We oesircu
t Norpan q Company never had anYthlh!
; else 10 do with the whole thing
i Opposition in Salt Lake.
e o.What opposition have you IN Sal
IS Lake Clty7 r.,h
y "The Utah Independent Telephoh
\ company. r.,
- ''Docs the American lciephono
:, egraph company own or coutToi any III
is tcrrst. direct or indirect IN that com
pany - .. :; ,h
=, bonds. -
r. Frank J. Nelson, assistant cashier
,r the American Telephone Jciogfap p
ID company. testified TO the payment Q
Ne more Than s7.2S0,Oo0 by X. L. Day
-, Company TO The COMPANY t% tpr ,pIaSc ,oInS
~ in interest checks. .e.
a. In an argument over Nelson tcshtl
n ing as 10 the balances kept by IN
Continued OH Page Eleven.