Evening star., 1911-01-27
FLAT[Y DENIES
DODSWORTH STATEMENT
Says He Did Not Report Of
fer to Bribe Journal
of Commerce.

A fat denial Of statements made by
Alfred ". Dodsworth, business manager
of the New York Journal of Commerce.
who said an offer to buy the editorial
influence of his paper had been communi-
Gated by its then correspondent. Charles
a. Conant, was made in telegram 10
the House ship subsidy investigating
committee today from Mr.. Conant. now a
New York financier.
Mr.. Conant says Mr.. Dodsworth was
"laborng under misapprehension," and
that he Conant. was never interested in
any manner in shipping legislation, and
never submitted any offer from the
Spanish government, or from any other
source, to bribe the journal of Com
merce or 10 influence its editorial opinion
on any subject
Witnesses Called.
Mr. Conant was subpoened to appear
before the committee next Monday, with
John W. Dodsworth, editor Of the Jour
nal of Commerce, and F. c. Donald of
Chicago, manager of the Central Passen-
ger Association.
Mr.. Conant in his telegram says: Mr..
Dodsworth is laboring under a misap-
prehenSion ii he has suggested that any
such proposition was submitted by me 10
his father, William Dodsworth, or to any
one on the Journal of Commerce. l con-
tinued until the close Of 1901 to repre-
sent the Journal of Commerce in Wash
ington. and was trusted with the writing
of editorial articles upon many questions
of public policy. ! do not believe that
Mr.. Dodsworth would ever have permit
ted this if he had believed that / had
been party to any proposition to bribe
him or the paper"
Working Methods Explained.
The working methods of. the confer
ence' steamship lines. handling what is
claimed to be IS per cent Of the transat-
lantic passenger traffic. were told be-
fore the committee by Herman Winter,
manager Of Oelrichs & Co., the general
representatives of the North German
Lloyd Steamship Company.
Mr.. Winter testified that the whole
point of the passenger traffic pool was
that each line must maintain its share of
the business. and when one line gets too
many passengers it would be authorized
to raise the rate. He contended that the
onus of the reduction of rates on sailing
dates of the independent Uranium lines
was on the company; that his own line
never took the initiative in cutting a
rate.
Mr.. Winter denied a number of the
statements made by Paul G. Fourman Of
the Uranium line.
Duty of Control Stations.
The control stations the conference lines
kept up on the Russian-German frontier
were to examine prospective passengers
as to their physical and mental admis-
siblity, saving them the Inconvenience of
being turned back later on when they
would have a long distance to travel to
get back home. and the stations were in
this respect complying with the wishes
of the German government and co-operat-
ing with the immigrant laws of the
United States. He said that more were
turned back at these control stations than
are turned back at the United States
ports.
The arrangements with ticket agents in
this country were explained by Mr.. VIM
ter. Mr.. Winter said that SO far as he
knew no member of his company had any
relations with the New York Journal of
Commerce.