Las Vegas optic., 1914-11-21
MELLEN in BAD
WITH new HAVEN
DIRECTORS
THEY THINK 1T STRANGE THAT
He is GIVEN IMMUNITY IN
FEDERAL CASE

tative sources it is learned that the
21 directors and former directors of
the New Haven who were indicted
November 2 under the Sherman law,
will fight the government proceedings
to the bitter end Ine contest prom
ises to be the greatest legal battle in
history, for every technicality is like
lly to be employed and every question
las to procedure interposed,
The indicted directors, who have
all entered pleas of not guilty, have
until Monday to demlm to the indict-
ments. 1t will be an interesting ses-
sion on Monday, for it is assumed the
directors will all be represented by
counsel, and it is probable that they
will ask to have the indictments.
quashed
The indicted men, who face the
possibility of years term in prison
as well as fines of $4,000 each, are:
William Rockefeller, brother Of
John D., and one of the chief figures
in the Standard Oil company.
Theodore N. Vail, head of the Bell
telephone.
George f. Baker, chairman of the
First National bank Of New York.
Lewis Cass Ledyard, one Of the
most distinguished American lawyers,
Charles M. Pratt, philanthropist and
Standard Oil director
Dobert w. Taft. New england cor
poration man.
Francis Maxwell, Connecticut bust
ness man.
william Skinner, New England man
ufacturer.
John L. Billiard, Connecticut fihan-
cier
Thomas Dewitt cuyler, wealthy
Philadelphia railroad man.
Charles F. Brooker. Connecticut in
dustrial promoter.
Henry X. McHarg, banker and rail
road director.
Edward D. Robbms, former general
counsel of the New Haven.
George MaeCulloch Miller lawyer
and philanthropist.
| D. Newton Barney
James S. Elton.
James S. Hemingway
A. Heaton Robertson
Frederick F. Brewster.
Alexander Cochrane
Edward Mil1igan.
What, in brief, is charged in the
Indictment is that the accused mil
lionaires broke the Sherman anti
trust law by using the credit of the
New Haven road to buy the capital
stock or control of other New Eng
land carriers, or to lease them, or to
compel rivals to enter into combina-
tions; and that they stifled competi-
ton by various means, including
harassing litigation against other cor
porations. One charge is that they
exercised secret control of the Joy
lime and the United States Transpor-
tation company. Combinations upon
which the indictment is based include
all the steam roads now embraced in
the New Haven system, acquiring ur-
der disguised forms of ownership
nine of the ten competing lines in
New England.
The fact that Charles S. Mellen,
who told last summer in Washington
all he knew against the directors Of
the road, was not indicted leads to
the inference that he was granted i'm
munity. There are directors upon the
Indictment list who are expected to
claim the same consideration. They
are Messrs. Cuyler, Elton, Skinner
and Billiard. They were also sworn
before the interstate commerce conn
mission. ' .eN 7i
a good deal Of bitterness Is mani
tested among the indicted directors
toward their former associate. Mellen.
An attorney who is actively interest
ed, said today: zone peedliarity is
that Mr. MelIen. the man primarily
responsible for whatever has been
done in acquiring properties BY the
New Haven, has been given immunity,
while men who were directors for a
few months only were embraced in
the prosecution According to this
lawyer, although the monopoly con
spiracy was formed Is years ago, the
theory Of the Indictment g that every
person who became a director from
1890 to 1918, for however short a
time. became a participant in the
original offense.
NO date has been set for the trial
which will probably be postponed for
q considerable time. for the intricaoy