New Britain herald., 1915-11-11
MELLEN DUBBED ADVERSE WITNESS
 BY GOVT. COUNSEL
Willing to Testify to Anything Shown by Other Testimony
 But Defends His Own Acts
GAIN AN ADMISSION
 IN JOY LINE MATTER

United States Transportation Go.
 Was Formed to Meet Competition
 of Enterprise Idne-Eetters Writ
 ten by "New Haven'' President In-
 troduced as Evidence-Purchase of
 Enterprise Boat Through Taylor.
 New York, Nov. 11.-Charles s. Mellen was again characterized as an adverse witness while testifying for the government today at the trial of the eleven former directors of the New York, New Haven and Hartford railroad, charged with violating the Sherman law,
 While Mellen was perfectly willing said government counsel to testify to anything the government could prove by other testimony, he showed diff erent disposition when the govern ment was dependent upon him alone and where the defense of his own acts as president of the New Haven was involved.
 Made Some Admissions.
 The prosecution, however, got him to admit that he had informed the New Haven board of directors that a rate contract between the road and the Joy Steamship company was ille- gal and that he had recommended the purchase and ownership of the line outright as the lesser evil.
 With the aid of minutes of the board, the prosecution also got into evidence through MT. Mellen that, as a sequence of federal investi- gation of New Haven Steamship line holding, the Joy line was transferr- ed in 1907 to another subsidiary with the result that the line was no long, road,
 The witness also admitted that the United States Transportation company 8 New Haven concern, was employed to meet the competition of the Enter prise Line, this being corrobarted in a letter written by Mellen in which he said that the United States com pany would fight the Enterprise line to finish.''
 Letters Introduced.
 The government also put into evil dence a letter written by Mellen to Stevenson Taylor, instructing him to purchase a steamboat of the Enter
 
 New Haven would not appear in the matter. Taylor was to carry out the deception by seeming to be short of funds and to offer a mortgage for part of the price.
 "The transaction will appear better in case of Investigation Mellen wrote.
 Was the United States Transporta- tion company organized by the New Haven for the purpose of meeting and destroying the competition of the En- terprise line % asked R. l.. Batts for the government.
 ssTO Meet Competition
 'It was with view of meeting it's competition answered MT. Mellen.
 Mr. Batts wanted to know if the organization of the United States Transportation company was not kept a secret from the public.
 "We never advertised the character of any transportation property we owned, but we reported to the proper boards the exact facts" said the wit ness
 II think the ownership of this com pany was not known at first, but it became known later'
 Attorneys Object. Attorneys for the defense objected to the prosecution's next question: "State whether or not all the facts upon which you recommended the ac- cuistion of new transportation lines, trolleys and railroads were laid be- fore the board of directors-were the reasons which influenced you com- municated to them ?"
 This, the defendants attorneys pro- tested, was too general. They de- marded the citation of specific in stances. Judge Hunt ruled against them l however, and MT. Mellen answered: ''They were, in every instance that can recall.'
 "Is it not true that so soon as the Enterprise company retired from business the United States Transpor- tation company was discontinued? "It was kept up for about a year, I think, long enough to wind up it's affairs. Its properties were then ] turned over to the Hartford and New, York Transportation company, where they are today.
 Joy Line Contract. Did you make communication tc the board with reference to the | attitude which you took on the con- tract between the New Haven and Joy Line? (This was a contract to regulate rates.)
 Yes, I communicated to the board the fact that I believed the contract as not legal but that it was less ob- jeCtionable to own the line outright (Continued On Eleventh Page.)