The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1915-10-27
SAYS MORGAN
WAS DOOR MAT
And Was Very Much Riled,
Declared Charles
S. Mellen
TELLS OF INTERVIEW
WITH MONEY KING
Morgan Confessed That He
Had Been Misin-
formed

New York. Oct. 27.-How the late j. p.
Morgan resented the idea of being used
as "door mat" was related yesterday
by ex President Charles S. Mellen of tho
New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail
road company. Mr.. Mellen was continu-
u o his testimony before Judge Hunt and
j Jury in the United States district court
where eleven ex-directors of the corpora
ton are on trial on msdemeanor charge
growing out OF the growth of the New
Haven system.
The governments attorney had finished
reading into the record a long circular
letter in which Presideno Charles p. Clark
IN 1894 was describing railroad conditions,
as they existed at that time. The lette'.
it seems, did not please Mr.. Morgan,
who was director OF the New Haven
road and of the New York Central. MIR.
Morgan thought the letter was likely to
foment unnecessary trouble between the
two roads of which he was director
and both of which were then harmonious.
Nv using Grand Central station as joint
terminus. He made known his disap-
prevail to President Clark OF the New
Haven.
How Mr.. Clark ''passed the buck" to
Mr.. Mellen, then vice-president, was -c-
lated by Mr.. Mellen in the witness stand
as follows;
President Clark told me that Mr..
Morgan did not like my activity in the
matter of the composition of that letter;
that Mr.. Morgan held me responsible for
tha friction that was beginning TO spring
up between the New Haven and the New
York Central, and thought | should be
let out as a nuisance.
$50, fearing that there had bee1 some
Misunderstanding somewhere went down
TO Mr.. Morgan's office in Broad street.
sent in my card, and when Mr.. Morgan
entered the back Office | said | had heard
he didn't like that letter.
"'Would you like TO hear both sidesP
asked /.
Certainly said he. So / told him
all the facts: that the letter had been
written in collaboration with President
Clark. / showed him the original draft
with Mr.. Clark's changes and violations.
When he heard my side Of the case he
said: gat
- have been misihformed. ] have
been used as door mat. Good day.
"Then | left his Office satisfied. was
not fred
r.. v. Lindabury OF counsel for the Dc.
Tense, was asked yesterday how long he
thought the case would last and he said:
when the trial began, two weeks ago
tomorrow, we all thought that the case
would take three or four months. But
at the rate at which we are now pro-
crossing | seriously think il will take
until next July. Instead ii celebrating
Christmas as an appropriate close OF the
trial we are far more apt 90 celebrate
the Fourth Of July as a fitting end to the
celebrated case"
John w. Discon, another member OF
the counsel for the defense, said;
mir. Bats, the special counsel foT. the
iutimates that he viii en-
deavor to show that the New Haven road
raid entirely too much for the Rhode
Island trolleys; also that II paid too
much for the New York. Westchester a
Boston. As the government charges that
the New Haven paid SlsO00O00 too much
for the trolley lines and S29.000.O00 too
much for the New York. Westminster &
Boston road. il viii be necessary 10 put
on the stand large number Of efficiency
engineers and valuation experts. All OF
that kind Of testimony takes time. II j.
very tedious. but IL viii be necessary for
the defendants 20 pat in the proper evil
dence in rebuttal ] should say that We
viii be doing very well to get through by
next July"
Mr.. Mellen was allowed 90 testify yes
terday a. usual without much Interrupt
ton by the defense. Much Of Mr.. Mel
lens testimony has been 20 the effect
that the acquisition Of tributary lines BY
the New Haven merely stopped cut
throat competition BY which the lighting
lines had 20 impoverished themselves and
their stockholders that some Of them
sold out voluntarily while others went
into the hands Of receivers aud were
eventually sold under the hammer.
A sample Of Mr.. Mellens testimony
was when he was asked whethck. after
be- left the New York & New England
road and went 10 the New Haven Ne ~did
anything 20 hurt the New England :"
"Mv business" said Mr. Mellen. @was
% hook after the traffic ~ the New Ha
ven road. I did Ell ] could o. help the
New Haven. u was the road that was
paying my salary"