The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-12-23
MELLEN, CHAMBERLA AND SMITHERS ARRESTED UPON
 GRAND JURY INDICTMENTS
Seven Specifically Overt Acts Are Alleged in VOluminOus Statement of Complaint - Jury is Recessed
Presidents of New Haven and Grand Trunk Systems Charged With Criminal Restraint of Trade
Smithers is Indicted as Chair man of Board of Directors of Grand Trunk Road


 Grand Trunk Road
 New York Dec 23-Idictments charging them with criminal restraint Of trade were returned in the federal
 court here. this afteSpoon against
 Charles s. Me11en, president of the
 New York, New Haven & Hartford
 ailroad; B. J. Chamberlain, president
 Of the Grand Trunk Railroad Co.,, and
 Alfred ". smithers, chairman of the
 board of directors Of the Grand Trunk.
 The indictments followed a general
 investigation by the grand jury of the traffic agreement negotiated between the Grand Trunk and the New Haven roads which had been approved by the New Haven but not by the Grand Trunk
 Both MeI1en and Chamberlain asked permission to testify before the grand
 jury but their. request was denied, on would gain immunity.
 The defendants were not in court when the indictments were returned. It was announced that they would be notified through their lawyers to ap
 pear and plead to the indictments.
 Seven specifically overt acts are all legged in the indictment which is un-
 usually volumnious and goes at great length into the trade relations be- tween the New Haven and the Grand Trunk systems. They are:
 First-That the defendants, Me1len. Chamberlain and Smithers. met in New York, Aug. 5, 1912, to discuss Chamberlain which provided that, the Grand Trunk should surrender to the New Haven system all of it's interests in the Central Railroad of Vermont; Chamberlin wrote to one Da1yrimple, vice president of the Grand Trunk, I a very satisfactory agreement with MeIen and that he OaIyrimp1e) and one Campbell should meet quickly at Me1len's office to discuss new divi- sions of New England business Third-That the defendants held a
 further meeting in New York on Sept.
 Fourtt-That the defendants held
 another meeting in New York on Oct. 9th, at which Mellen initialed and
 gave to his co-defendants a memoran-
 the Grand Trunk is tsto retain the Central Vermont and existing con-
 trolled lines and continue it's exist
 ing business at present."
 Sfxth-That on Nov 7, 1912, the de-
 fendant Mellen caused to be with drawn a petition heretofore filed by his direction with the public service
 commission of New Hampshire asking
 to extend the New Haven lines paral- Tel and to compete with portion of
 the Central Vermont railroad. aeventh-That on Nov. g. 1912, the
 defendant Chamberlin caused the work of extending the line of the Central
 Vermont from Palmer to Providence,
 R. l., to be abandoned.
 The indictment describes in great
 detail the two systems of the New
 the Grand Trunk were engaged in in
 terstate and foreign commerce be-
 Montreal, Chicago, Detroit and Mil waukee. It points out that the Grand Trunk controls line Of steamers be-
 tween New, York and New London and that, through it's control of the Central Vermont, it's line extended in to Canada and that in this section it Haven. It is further pointed out that the Southern New England Cor poration, which was a part of the Grand Trunk, was given permission to extend it's lines into Providence. According to the indictment, it was the intention of the Grand Trunk to
 build this extension to Providence and then to operate line of steamers be- tween that city and New York. Be- tween May g and Nov- p, 1912, Ii. is claimed the Grand Trunk had expend- ed on this extension and on the steam ships which were to be used $2,O00, GOO
 and had agreed to spend s2, ,0G0. 900 ad- 1 ditiona1. It is stated at the present time the New Haven road carries most of the interstate and foreign com nerce of New England but that if the proposed Providence extension had
  have immediately become active competitor throughout New England as it is at present for through western business
 The three defendants, it is alleged1 have been since August, 1912, engaged in an unlawful conspiracy to prevent the transportation of interstate and foreign commerce over the proposed extension and have been active factors in a conspiracy to restrain both pas senger and freight business in New England.
 Special Deputy Attorney General Jesse c. Adkins. after the indictments had been reported, said that the in vestigation of the alleged conspiracy began within two days after work was stopped by the Grand Trunk on the proposed extension. Two special agents were assigned to investigate | the combination he said, and at the direct order of Attorney General Vic kerssham every possible angle in the
 case was covered. The grand jury | was not discharged by Judge Hough l but recessed until early in January. Frequently it will be available for additional investigations should they l hoo