The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1912-02-08
JUDGE GARY EXPLAINS THE
DESTRUCTION OF WIRE PAPERS

washington, FEB. S.-Nriminal ac-
tion will be brought by the depart
ment OF justice against at least half
n dozen officers OF the steel trust who
We're parties to the wire trust pools
and who were not indicted last sum-
mer.
Other officers OF the trust will be
arraigned criminally, IL the govern
ment can bring Il about, for the de-
struction OF the trunk fun of records
which were used In the wire trust
cases last summer. Judge Gary last
night admitted these papers had been
destroyed.
Attorney General Wickersham is
looking up the law on the case ana II
he finds any way by which he may
get into court the officers who claim
the records were destroyed and were
party TO the destruction. he will
have them there on criminal charges.
Incenscd at Loss of Papers.
The attorney general is much in
censed over the loss OF the papers.
He admits that they were the prop
erty of the steel trust, but he holds
that the trust had no right TO destroy
them. lie contends that no one had
the right to destroy papers or records
the destruction OF which would inn
pede Justice.
. Judge Gary, chairman OF the Uni
tea states steel corporation. gave out
q statement last night in explanation
OF the charge made by the goYeI'nL
ment that certain evidence used In
the prosecution of the so-called Jack
son wire pools and needed TO support
the governments suit to dissolve the
corporation, had been destroyed stf
Judge Gary says that the evidence.
a trunk full Of sold papers, that had
been before the federal grand Jury in
New YORK and returned after the In
dictments in the wire pool investlga-
ton had .been1fdisposed Of" were or
dered destroyed by Frank Baackes
vice president Of the American Steel
& Wire company. who supposed that
all the prosecutions growing out of
the wire pools were at'ia end and
that the papers wbre no longer need
ed for any purpose.
After expressing his regret that
the government Thought 1t necessary
or desirable" to bring its injunction
suit restraining the corporation or It's
subsidiaries from destroying evidence,
Judge Gary says:
81 had never heard Of the destruc-
tlon OF these papers until yesterday
and upon inquiry I learn that In the
spring of 1911 the New York federal
grand jury, under the direction OF
District Attorney Wise, began an in
vestigation into the Jackson wire
pools. During the course OF this IN
vcstigation q subpoena was Issued, d.
recting the wire company To produce
all letters and papers bearing upon
the transactions under inquiry. The
officers OF the wire company complied
with this subpoena by gathering to-
gether from their files all the papers
called for. They were very numer-
Gus and filed n large trunk.
zone of the officers brought the
trunk fun OF papers from Worcester
Mass, where they were assembled, to
the grand jury i'm New York. In
stead of being retained, In accord
ance with the usual custom, I'm the
custody of the officer producing them
during the recess of the grand jury,
these papers were turned over to the
district attorney at his request, in
order that he and his assistants
might have opportunity to examine
them.
Upon the examination being COM
pleted and upon the day the indict-
ments We're filed, the trunk, fun of
papers, was returned TO Mr. Mac
Veagh (Charles MacVeagh, general
solicitor of the corporation) in re-
sponse to his letter referred TO in the