Evening star., 1926-09-22
PREVIOUS METALS
CLAIM WAS DENIED,
GOVERNMENT SAYS
Daugherty's Aide Refused
NeutraPs Plea for $3,894
+. in Identical Case.
BY the Associated Press.

NEW YORK, September ga
claim for shares of American Metal
Co stock amounting to $3,S9494 and
rejected while Harry NJ Daugherty
and Thomas w. Miller were consider
/ ing similar claim for $4,000 900 of
the same shares. the Government
/ showed today in the Daugherty- Miller
conspiracy trial.
The claim for the S7,O00,000 was
made by Richard Merton, German n
| metal magnate, acting as agent for
! the Societe Suisse Pour Valeurs de
Metaux. 1t passed through the alien
property custodian's office in three
days, but the Government has shown
| that 1t was brought to Miller's atten-
! ton five months earlier and that
spurred by retainer of $4,000. John
T. King. late Republican national com
mitteeman from Connecticut, labored
| for it's passage. King introduced Mer-
ton to Jesse w. Smith. Daugherty' s
friend, and to Miller. King later was
paid 1891 900 commission"
Claim for 10000 Shares.
The claim for S3.S9494. being 20.-
900 shares of the American Metal Co..
was made by Edward Grutert and
Julian B. Beatty. Grutert was a neu-
trail Swiss. Beatty was an American
and vice president and treasurer of
the American Metals Co.
Without the Grutert Beatty docu-
ments being taken from files in the
alien property custodian's office the
Government showed by documentary
evidence that Adna r. Johnson. Jr.,
First Assistant Attorney General
under Daugherty, denied the claim on
the grounds that the oral transfer
purported made in 1916 was substan-
tiated only by letter bearing a post
war date. Such claims, Johnson's let
ter said, were never allowed by the
Attorney General.
The claim made by Merton, the Gov
ernment showed. was based upon an
oral transfer alleged to have been
made before the war, but supported
only by an agreement bearing post
war date.
Caroline Gardiner, a clerk in the
alien property Custodian'S office, teSti-
fed that the two checks for $6,997,-
979.97 which Miller gave Merton at
champangne dinner in the Ritz
Carlton Hotel September 20, 1921,
were not issued in a normal manner.
Holds Procedure Changed.
The regular procedure. Miss Gardi-
ner said, was to send the claimant a
release" first. When the claimant
had signed and returned this, she tes-
titled, a check would then be sent him.
In the case Of Merton, she said, the
checks and the release were put in
the same envelope. Other witnesses
have shown that Miller brought these
from Washington to New York per-
sonaiy.
Under cross-examination Miss Gar
diner was asked by William Rand,
counsel for Miller, if, outside the
Swiss claims. any checks had been
paid personally outside Of the alien
property cuStodian'S office.
NO" Miss Gardiner replied.
Rand'S cross examination was
phrased in a manner that showed in
tent to account for Miller taking the
checks to Merton by the fact that the
Societe Suisse was losing $1,000 a
day interest on the seized shares and
that Merton had booked passage on a
liner sailing in a few days.
But Alfred NJ. Well, foreman of the
jury, interrupted the cross-examina-
; ton to ask Miss Gardiner whether
Merton could have come to Washing
ton, signed the release and got the
checks.
Yes" she replied, "he could have
got the checks the day he signed the
release"