The Wagner leader. (Wagner, Charles Mix County, S.D.) 1912-1912, 1912-02-16
MILWAUKEE, ROAD
HAS GRAFT CHARGE
AGAINST OFFICERS

AGAINST OFFICERS
Chicago. Feb. 12.-No suit has been
filed against the Chicago, Milwaukee
& st. Paul railway company by minor
ity stockholders OF the company. At
| the same lime the rumors both In New
York and Chicago that suit would b.
started soon, charging excessive ex-
| penditures In the construction OF the
roads Pacific coast extension. the b
cago. Milwaukee n Puget Sound.
have become more definite.
1t developed, through admission OF
the roads officials, that h Beaver
ceived the contracts for most Of The
tie plates used in the construction OF
. the new road, M all except a few spe-
| ~cialties In the car castings supplies.
The vice president Of the Beaver Dam
company is Lawrence Fitch. soniniaw
of A. j. Earring. president OF the st.
| Paul. f. w. McKenna. vice president
I'm charge of operations, in an inter-
view, Immediately after the publicity
accorded the construction of h Puget
Sound, declared no relative or q St
Paul official was an officer Of a railway
equipment house which had supplied
the road. Mr.. Earring said that neither
Of the companies with which his sonin-
law was connected manufactures rail-
way supplies.
Furnished Supplies TO Road.
Yesterday in a new interview 1t was
admitted hat the Beaver Dam COM
pany had supplied the road with an
enormous proportion OF its supplies-
Mr.. Earring was asked with what COM
pany his soninlaw was associated. He
replied that he did not know. He later
recalled that 1t was the Beaver Dam
= 49, -x.-
plif1ed by Mr.. McKenna's admission re-
garding the purchase of supplies from
that concern. How much these con-
tracts has reached neither could say.
1t was reported also that Mr.. Fitch
was in Chicago, but he could not be
found at the company's office at 006
Commercial National Bank building
On that door Is this inscription:
j. u. Cowling & Co.
Beaver Dam Malleable Iron Co.
Detroit Steel Casting Co.
Zug Iron and Steel Co.
w. A. Rome. boiler plate n boiler
tubes.
Fitch is vice President.
Mr.. Rome said the three companies
were all one n that CowIing was
their agent. Mr.. Cowling stated that
while he was agent for the Beaver
Dam he had to do only with the other
L lWOt LII tiAn IAN liz N00A 4GNC8
sary telephone messages. He progressed
ignorance of the Beaver Dams oper-
atoms, or whether 1t had secured Puget
Sound contracts. He knew little aside
from the fact h a d r Lamoreaux
was president and Mr.. Fitch vice presi-
dent. That information he acquired
by consulting a company letterhead.
Mr.. Earring urged that Mr.. Fitchsn
name be kept out OF the story, saying
there was no reason for the connection.
49,
for the extension had been procured
in open market, adding that where pos
sible the company had bought from
plants situated along the lines OF tho
railway. That Is In accordance with
policy, he added, pointing out that thu
Wis.
1--WE buy of Marshall Field 4 Co.
Of which Stanley Field is head" he
said, and Of Armour & CO., OF which
J.. Ogden is head. Both are directors
in cur company. Is there n criticism
Land Holdings "CIean.S
AT the interview with newspaper mel
Mr.. McKenna, Burton Hanson. general
counsel, and Il. ID. SewaIl, assistant to
the president. were in the room with
Mr.. Earring. They took turns in dis
cussing at some length reports regard
ing the acquisition of land holdings
along the st. Paul lines.
1t was explained that almost all the
adjoining land is owned by the MIL
waukee Land company, an Iowa corpo-
ration founded In 1879, all OF who's
stock is held by the st. Paul under
Wisconsin amendments. This was "a
disrrove the rumor hat officials and
their friends had gObbled large trnct1
some time before the rOut OF the sya-
ten. was publicly announced.
AZ a matter Of fact said nrr. Ne
H-r-o ss& ~-,. anr~x 49, -&xA