Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-05-26
l.P. MORGAN DENIES
MELLEN lMPUTAT|ON
Calls Untrue Statement That His
Father Concealed New
Haven Facts.

NEW YORK; May 26s-J. P Morgan
last night characterized as untrue the
testimony of Charles Mellen, former head |
of the New York New Haven and Hart
ford railroad. before the interstate COM
merce commission in Washington last |
week that j. Rferpont Morgan concealed
from Mr.. Meilen facts regarding the New
Haven road which Mr. Mellen should
have known. Mr.. Morgan offered to pro-
duce before any proper tribunal at any
time the records of j. P Morgan & Co.
and the personal records of his father
The statement was his first direct re-
ply to Mr.. Mellen's Washington testimony
which he examined, he said, from a
stenographic report. Mr.. Morgan's state
ment reads: Il became a director of the
New Haven railroad in April. 1918. and
resigned December 81 of the same year.
The only reference to me personally in
Mr.. Mellen's testimony has to do with the
TACT THAI l. as director of the company,
called upon him and told him that a
change In the presidency was desirable.
FOR that act. either as a director or an
ING dvidual, accept full responsibility.
MIR. Mellen, in substance, charges my
1ather with having concealed from him
Aacts which the president of the company
LIZ
years of my fathers life he was abroad
more than one-third of the time. During
| the last three years of his life he was
abroad one-half Of the time. He was ac-
| lively connected during this whole period
| with many different affairs. That he
would have had the time. even if he had
had the desire, to interfere actively In
| the management of the New Haven is inn
possible
Deep Interest in New Haven.
! "Mr. Mellen is right in picturing my
| fathers deep interest in New Haven af-
fairs. My father was born in New Eng
| land and believed in the New Haven rail-
| road. He recognized as others have rec
| ognfzed that with the shifting of the cen
ter of population in this country and the
changing economic conditions, the COM
mercial position of New England was
| threatened and that a change in this
| commercial position would, unless an eff
fort were made to counterfeit it, result in
an unfavorable effect upon New ing
| lands leading railroad.
He undoubtedly believed that a rail-
road peculiarly situated, as is the New
Haven, with a growing passenger traffic
at very low rates and with expense i'm
provements required all along its line,
must make every effort to increase. its
|
lieved. moreover, that the New Haven
and the Boston and Maine, which were
not In his opinion in any sense compel
ing lines. could be operated to the bene-
f1t of New England and more advanta-
geously together than apart and that no
harm could come to the public from this
amalgamation by reason of the full meas
ure of state and national regulation which
| the laws afforded.
All Records Are Available.
| II am quite ready to believe also that
he agreed with Mr.. Mellen that the en-
trance Of the Grand Trunk railway into
Providence would have involved the I'M
| necessary complication of facilities for
| which the New England public sooner or
later would have had to pay
But the imputation that my father in
any sense took the management OF the
railroad or any part of its affairs out
of the hands Of the president is untrue.
ION March 8. 1914. our firm made pub
lie letter showing in detail the totai1
net profits from every source to the firm
of ]. P. Morgan & Co. or to any of its
members growing out Of transactions of
any kind whatever connected with the
New Haven line for a period of twenty
years. These total net profits amounted