The Washington times., 1911-11-26
MERRITT STORY Of
STOCK DEAL WHOLLY
!: UNTRUE, GATES SAYS
.:John D. Did Not Squeeze"
= e Brothers in Missabe
Purchase,
agent OF OIL KING
ISSUES FLAT DENIAL
No Call Loans Made-Rockefeller
y Bought in Market and Ad-
81 vanced Millions.

NEW YORK, Nov. 26-The Rev. Fred
erick T. Gates, agent of John d. Rookie
Teller, has replied to the testimony CT
the Merritts before tse Stanley House
Committee, in which accusations were
made against both Mr.. Rockefeller ana
Mr.. Gates. While the Merritts were
festifytng, Mr.. Gates was on a tour OF
inspection of the Western Maryland
railroad, and he did not see steno-
graphic copy of the testimony. lie
Aays that none of the words that Leoni-
das Merritt put into his mouth were
ever uttered by him, and that neither
he nor Mr.. Rockefeller did any one OF
the wrongful acts ascribed to them by
Eeonidas Merritt.
,Ieonidas Merritt was never invited to
New York by Mr.. Rockefeller or his
egents, Mr.. Gates says, and when he
aid come he was not solicited by them
TO remain. They did not solicit anyone
So Join in the consolidation of the iron
properties, but the consolidation was
Sffected by Mr.. Merritt and his friends
without solicitation from Mr.. Rookie
feller's office. Mr.. Rockefeller never
made q demand or call loan of any kind
90 any of the Merritt brothers, but the
bans were all time loans with specihc
dates of maturity, 'and neither on the
dates of maturity or at any otner time time
fnent of these loans.
THE loans were permitted to run on
indefinitely, Mr.. Gates says, and at no
time was Leonidas Merritt told he must
bay the loans within twenty-four hours.
9 sn Willing to Carry Loan. &C.
r"Not the slightest pressure was ever
hut upon Merritt or any of his brothers
e any time to pay their loans" saya
Mr.. Gates. "Mr. Rockefeller was per-
fectiy willing to carry them. They well
know that the pressure upon them
came from other creditors Of long stand
Ing, not Mr.. Rockefeller"
Mr.. Gates tells about the communica-
ton from the Merritts offering to sell
5000 shares Of their stoek Tor IS %OSoU ~
they owed. While Merritt swears that
the stock was then worth SlOt a snare
Mr. Gates inquiries whether tie stock
then gofa fsstsa sSe bas he v had taed
unsuccessfully 20 sell the stock In va
rtous markets and he "guesses that Mr.
Rgtkefeller was depressing the stock BY
false rumOrs." .-
HE guesses wrong" says Mr.. Gates
Only a month before Mr.. Rockefeller
had purchassd several thousand share.
Of the stock from other persons for 81
n
at the time. Two weeks after the Mer
fitts made their sale ''they were 81
pieased that they wrote us from Du
luth asking Mr.. Rockefeller to buy
f2OOo shares more ut SO a share"
it, Record of Stock Bought.
Summing up what the books show, Mr.
Gates says out of the $1,000 shares pur
chased in the year 1900 were sold b!
the Merritts at SO and the other 1890
BY others at less than $40. II the Mer
ritts felt that they had made a mis-
take in selling to Mr.. Rockefeller a
$40. Mr. Gates inquiries why they didn'
10 into the open market, as they coult
have done any time in 1894 and 1895, ant
recoup by buying stock at less than $40
their option and get back their owl
MI Mr.. q Gates G says MIR. Rockefeller .di,
not extend the option from year to year
10 give the Merritts the advantage o
an advance value. because they neve
less and slanderous SUIT against him.
Mr.. Gates makes an exception OF two o
the Merritts and several of their mos
intimate friends, who were carried yea
After year by. Mr.. Rockefeller, ''an
they are now rich men; a;n Mr.. Roc Rockefelle
every time they asked" b.
Mr.. Gates says the main thing tina
caused the increase in value of tn
stock was that Mr.. Rockefeller CAV
the entire enterprise his financial back
ing. He poured million after millio
into the steamships to carry the ore
The books show that his advances u
to 1901, when he sold out his stock, wer
$4,000, 900.