The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-05-20
WILL PROBE BUYING OF STATE TR0LLIES BY NEW HAVEN ROAD
Folk Promises To Bring Out Facts Through Me11en's Testimony === Former Railroad Chief Tells Of Loanin9 Big Boston Paper $500, OOO===Millions Juggled As Dollars By Company

washineton. May 2o-ssVve have not yet heard of the method by which the Connecticut and Rhode Island Trolley lines were acquired; we want to know more about those transactions.
 Thus spoke Folk, counsellor to the interstate commerce commission, this afternoon, ann ouncfng that Charles 5. Mellen will not leave the witness stand until he has unbosomed himself aaoout these scandals.
 The Rhode dsIand trolley lines are said to he worth 100000 and cost the New Haven $24, GOO, GOO. Nobody knows how many millions were sunk in the Connecticut lines.
 < The proceedings again were slow Tn getting under way Hampers of doc urnents and records were brought into the room They were records submit ted to the commission by MT. Mellen for xarnination. He has assured the commission that every paper in his possession bearing upon financial transactions sof the New Haven dur ing his incuIubency as president has been placed at it's disposal
 MT MeIen took the stand after a few minutes conference with his counsel Commissioners McChof.d and Daniels were at the Commission ta,- ble.
 $500 900 Loan to Herald.
 e.when was loan Of $soao0o made sta Haskell. of the Boston Herald 2'' hogan MT Folk
 Two years or more before notes od adr. Haskell were sold to MT. Billiard. |Adrs Me Hen repAed- Ss
 Asked to in the nsaction he said TT had Known ldr. Haskell some years and ladd the case before the finance committee and they agreed to the loan. z
 ..was the fact that he was owner of the Boston Herald an indncement to make the loan?' MT. Folk asked.
 .sIt was certainly not a bad induce nent.''
 what was pending in the Maaa- chusetts legislature at the time of the loan to Haskell r.
 s-There was always something pend ing in the Massachusetts, legislature
 s.At what time was the bill incor- porated in the Boston Railroad Hold ing company before the legislature? ?''
 eAlbout June, 1909
 ssWhat members of the finance com mittee did you SC regarding the Has ke1l 1oan?''
 "I don't recall. said Mir. Mellen who was present when the loan tc Mfr Haskell was authorized.v E Were there any other loans made by the New Haven or New England Navigation company to anybody be sides MT. Haskell and MT. Billiard ?''
 q think some others were made perhaps loans of five or six millions were made to the New York Central and to the Pennsylvania. railroad They all were made through the finance Committee Of the board of di- fectors''
 t1 had nothing to do with the Bfl- lard company, added MT. Mellen-
 Trust Go. Had Collateral.
 ho Ino +a TJoc rrsi1 n s3y, thing to do with the note given by the United States Trust company fol a similar amount 2,
 CT think it did. think the United States Trust company had the collat- eral for the money What were they y2''
 securities of the Boston Herald What, were HaskeIl's notes worth 2 ssAt the time of the loan, think and for some time after they were worth their face value.'' Are they worth that noy?' lsiI don't think so. Did you have anything with ths reorganization of the Boston Herald 2 asked MT. Folk.
 At the request of MT. Hemingway l I attended a, meeting at which the re. organization of the Herald was con sidered- I paid no special attentior to the matter. I was there as an ob server. took no part in the proceed ings
 sI met, at times, MT. Choate ane MT. o'Brien, the .editor of the paper Tn the course of a year, attended perhaps three meetings of the boart | of the paper I met Mir. Holmes, too who was largely interested in the pa per. I never was in the Boston Her a1d. office. The meetings attended were in the Union club as I recall did nothing at those meetings excep I observe the proceedings.' Do you remember how long it tool the Boston Railroad Holding Com pany's bill to pass MT. Folk asked About 50 or 60, days after Govcrno Draper advocated it in a message MT Mel1en replied. He wanted to brin. stock of Boston and Maine outside o 1 the state under a company contro1le. 1 by the state of Massachusetts, MT. MeIlen said he was not partfcu 1 larly Impressed with the holding com pany idea but thought it better thal the situation that existed fol1owin 1 the sale of Boston & Maine stock t Billiard which, he declared, had bee discredited in several instances an l caused annoyance to the New Have MT. Mellen testified that copies of tn draft of the bill had been sent t him before its passage
 Byrnes In Again
 s"Who sent you these?',
 AEither MT. Choate or MT. Byrnes.
 That is Timothy E. Byrnes, you Legislative. agent in Boston %
 He was a vice-president of the Nel EHaven.''