Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1924-10-09


and the government owned Alaska
railroad" fixing division of freight
rates between the two concerns on
Joint shipments which last night was
made the basis of a campaign speech
by Senator Wheeler, Independent
vice presidential candidate.
In the first place." Mr.. WORK
said, 1.-The senator is talking about
transactions which occurred in the
interior department before [ en-
tered the office. Secondly, you can
be sure that 1 never wrote any letter
asking that anything be kept
secret"
WHEELER CHARGES PACT
FOR SECRET FREIGHT RATES
WHEELER SPECIAL EN- ROUTE
PORTLAND, Ore, Oct. 7,-Senator
Wheeler, independent vice presiden-
tial candidate, took his speaking cam.
paign today into Oregon. His sched-
ule called for an early arrival at
Portland and for a departure Tor
California on Wednesday, -.1
His California engagements prom,
ised to keep him the balance Of the
week in the northern half of the.
state.
Last night at Seattle he intro
duced new topics into his speaking
repertoire dealing with the conduct
of the Alaskan government railroad
and alleged banking transactions in
Massachusetts at the time President
Coolidge was governor of that state.
The candidate charged that there
had been with Interior Secretary
Works approval, "a secret CONTRACT
entered into between j. p. Morgan's
Alaskan Steamship company on the
one hand and the goVernment-oWned
Alaska railroad on the other" which
fixed divisions of freight rates be-
tween the two concerns on JOINT
shipments He exhibited a copy OF
the contract which he said Senator
La Toilette, independent presidential
candidate, had been unable to OBJ
tain from Secretary Work.
He also attacked President Cool
idge in a. prepred in advance text
which recited an account of banking
transactions in state funds when the
president was governor of Massachu-
sets.
Senator La Toilette one year and
a half ago asked Secretary Work
to furnish him with a copy of each
contract entered into by the govern
ment railroad and the Alaska Steam
ship company and the Pacific Steam
shin company" Senator Wheeler
said. ~ have here Secretary Works
copies of three unimportant and per-
fectly regular business contracts.
Secretary Work, no doubt. believed
he had disposed of Senator La Fol
lette.
Il am now holding up for your
view the contract which Senator La
Toilette wished to see and which he
has seen despite Secretary Works
misleading letter. 1t is a secret
agreement as to the joint rates on
freight shipped by the Morgan
steamship lines and the government
railroad between the ports of Seattle
and Tacoma, and points on the gov
eminent railroad. Why should a gov
eminent railroad make a secret
agreement with anybody?
How can one justify the grant
ing of such concessions to a big and
rich powerful business combination
as against it's small competitors?
Here is a combination trying to OBJ
tain q monopoly over the resources
Of Alaska; instead Of seeking to
break it. That is the meaning of
the contract which Secretary Work
endeavored to hide from Senator La
Toilette"
Attorne General Rustgard, of
Alaska, Senator Wheeler proceeded,
obtained the copy of the contract,
and a letter declaring that it was
not for general publication, nor for
the public" while he read a para
graph from the exhibited document
which said, 1.-The Alaskan engineer
ing commission and the steamship
companies will treat all di-
vision arrangements as confidential
and promulgate the information to
interested employees only"
Concluding this subject Senator
Wheeler said that one of the first
steps proposed by the independent
ticket candidates was "the breaking
of this unfair, illegal hold of the
Morgan-Guggenheim group upon the
land and water transportation of
Alaska"
Il ask your close attention to the
following facts" he proceeded. In
I92O Calvin Coolidge was governor
OF Massachusetts,. Joseph c.. Allen
was state banking examiner and
Fred c. Burrell was state treas
urer. Max Mitchell was president of
the Cosmopolitan Trust company OF
Boston, which failed September 25
OF that year, causing losses to over
1000 depositors.
Under the Massachusetts law
the DEPOSITS Of state funds in anv
one bank must not be more than A
per cent of the banks capital stock.
A law suit resulted. State treasure
BurreIl testified as follows:
That about l a. m, on a sprino
day Of 1920 Max Mitchell. president
or the bank, called him on the teIe.
phone, saying that unless he received
money from some source before the
bank opened that day, the bank
would so broke. That he
Burreu, then went to Governor Cool.
ldge to whom he talked in company
with Bank Examiner Allen and Max
Mitchell, president of the trust com.
Pany. That Governor Coolidge and
state Bank Examiner Allen told him
-BurreII, the state treasurer-to
put some more state money in the
Cosmopolitan bank at once. That
THIS deposit exceeded the legal limit.
was made because, the governor or.
dered it to be done.
THAT Allan "a