The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-11-12
President Wished Company Not to Sell Steamship
 Line to Morse
MELLEN, HOWEVER,
 RECOMMENDED SALE
Charles w. Morse Made Offer to Pay $20,000,0 900 for Steamship Lines, Giving New Haven Profit
 of S14, ,0O0

New York, November 11.-Former Presi- dent Roosevelt was brought into the tes- timony today at the trial of the Il former New York, New Haven and Hartford directors. charged with violating the Sherman law, in having assured Charles S. Mellen that the New Haven need have no fear of istration if it rejected a proposition to dispose of it's steamship properties to Charles w. Morse.
 The testimony given by Mir. Mellen was adduced by the government to show that MT. Mellen nevertheless recommended the sale of the properties and that the New Haven directors, in pursuance of their alleged purpose to maintain a monopoly of the transportation traffic of New England, declined to consider their presidents recommendatiop.
 While Mr Mellen gave similar testi- mony at the interstate commerce com mission inquiry into New Haven affairs, he added to it today by saying that MT. Roosevelt felt it would be inirnical to public interest for Morse to get control of the Atlantic coastwise steamship lines through acquisition of the New Haven properties, and that Commissioners Knapp and Prouty, and Herbert Knox Smith. commissioner of corporations, held the same opinion.
 R0Osevelt's Action
 The government however, placed em- phasis on the witness testimony quoting Colonel Roosevelt as saying: T am no lawyer and I can promise you no im- munitv if you violate the law
 Morse, in January, 1907, according to Mellen offered to buy the New Haven steamship lines for $20,0O0,000, a profit of S14, 000,000 on their cost. Mellen thought the New Haven ought to sell, inasmuch as the question was being agitated in Congress of requiring railroad lines fc divorce themselves from ownership of steamship lines. He says he went to Washington and explained the situation to the President in the presence of Messrs Knapp Prouty and Smith.
 T was fearful he added that if this legisla tion should be passed it might come at 9 ttrles when there wonid he purchaser for the properties and we would have them on our hands"
 Presidents Assurance
 The President after declining to prom ise immunity, said, according to Mellen But if you don't sell, youll have no trouble during my administration
 1T didn't see then, and don't see now" continued MT Melen, that he didn't act from the highest dictates of public duty He said that Morses proposition was in the highest way prejudicial to public interest, if he should get a mo- nopoly of the whole coastwise trade as he was aiming to do. He said he was fearful of the success of the Morse com bination, and Herbert Knox was espe- cially so.
 And Messrs. Knapp and Prouty agreed with him?' interposed R. V. Lindabury of the defense.
 They did" said the witness, adding that, in his opinion, the assurance given by the President was one reason why the New Haven steamship lines were not included in the bill in equity brought against the New Haven in 1909 The government maintains, how ever, that the assurance given by Pres ident Roosevelt was meant to apply solely to the proposed legislation and not to acts of the New Haven amen able to the Sherman law.
 Laughter in Court
 May I ask" interrupted Delacy Nicoll of the defense, that when the government again comes to amend the bill of particulars they make Theodore Roosevelt co-conspirator?"
 This remark caused laughter
 NIT. MeIen. aSa1n lOddy proved nos tile witness in the opinion of govern ment counsel Attorney Batts com- plained he was unable to elicit satis- factory testimony from the witness. ex- cept in instances where proof could be obtained through other sources.
 An attempt by the government to show that the United States Transpor- tation company, another New Haven concern, which Mir. Mellen admitted was used to meet the Enterprise lines competition, also was secretly con trolled was hampered by MT. Mellens failure of memory. The testimony which the government sought to bring out in this connection introduced a mystery into the case-the manner in which sums of money were expended in 1907 in getting pier in New York for the United States company. From a letter written by Stevenson Taylor president of the United States com pany. to Mellen it appeared that s35.000 was spent by John Hall Mckay of New York, and that Mckay thought it should be charged for expenses in re- pairs to ships. Mckay went to Eu- rope during the interstate commerce commission investigation and as far as the government knows is still there. Subpoena servers have been unable to locate hir