The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1912-03-17
TRUST
HAVE BEEN OPENED
"Bathtub" Lawyer Says
Mail Has Been Tam
pered With.
BLAMES AGENTS I.
OF GOVERNMENT
Chief Counsel Honeynan Bitter
in His Arraignment of Methods
Which Department of Justice
Has Used-Calls Case Ad-
junct Of Some Ones Presi-
Dental Campaign.
Especial to The Timcs-Dispatch. !

~
New York. March i5.-Robcrt b.
llpneyman. who WAS cliicf counsel for
HE defense in ina criminal prosecution
of the so-called bathcub trust cases in
Detroit In which the jury disagreed
by vote OF eight for acquittaI and
four for conviction. returned here latc
to-day and announced that special
agents for tho Department of Justice
had been opening letters sent to the
defendants and their counsel during
the trial anu that Postmaster Warren,
Of Detroit. admitted when complaint
vas made TO him, that he knew some
one had Teen opening letters.
Mr. IIoneyman said lie proposed TO
get NJ the bottom OF the letter opening
business. ana that inc VIII push the
investigation now being made. Some
letters containing important docu-
incnts hs never received at all, he said.
while in other cases letters which bore
two or three seals were delivered to
him with the sclls ripped open and
no attempt was made to conceal the
fact that the letters had passed
through the hands Of persons other
than those TO whom they were ad-
dressed.
Herbert Noble OF New York. OF
counsel for the defense, stated to Mr.
lioncyman that letters addressed TO
him mad been tampcrcd with and un-
douhtcdly had been opened and read.
lie said he had no doubt that tic
government prosecutors had resorted
10 this method OF trying To get evil
denc. TO bolster up II case which never
had auy pasis, and in which District
Judge Angel. who tried ,.,e case.
practically ordered verdict, OF not
guilty.
For some reason or other. several
of tho Jurors disagreed with Judge
Angels ruling that the licenses, which
were the basis of tho government pros
ccution. wc-r valid. and refused after
they had been out ten hours to agree
TO "a verdict" said Mr.. IIomcyInnn.
y don't trink the case will ever
bc brought to trial again. ii it is,
somebody will be sorry"
AT no time said MIR. TIoacyma,i,
was tho prosecution Of this case fair
and above board. The entire proceed
ms against the so-cniieJ bDthtub trust
has been conducted ts an annex to
somebody's presidential campaign. Tho
government never had any case. ana
knew 1t.
AS soon as the government institute
cd its inquiry VIC sent al the papers
and contracts TO Washington within q,
week. Mr.. Grosvenor was sent here for
dditional information, and NC gave.
him letters and everything We had
bcartnS on the subject Grosvcnor
then told us nc had found nothing tor
w TO worry about Almost rnmeui-
ately the government start ID a sun IN
equity In Baltimore and in Mr.. Wiz
crsham's brief at the time IL was stated
that this suit was To decide u mover
patent question, which had never b. III
hefori the United States Supreme Court.
shortly after this equity suit was nl,-g
indictments were returned in Detroit.
During ali the Time the case has
been pending the government has been
noodinE the newspapers with state
m:nt sthat this great trust was putting
Sieo,ooV,oo0 year into its pockets and
making the people pay sa5,00o,o 900 more
Than they should for their bathtubs.
when, US matter OF fact. the total
business by all companies year does
not exceed $4,000 0."