The Washington times., 1935-10-22
B0NFILS PROBE
| LAUNCHED BY
+. TRADE BODY

Sweeping investigation Of .
$350,000 payment by an official
Of the Standard Oil Company Of
New Jersey to the late Frederick
@. Bonfils, publisher Of the Denver
Post, allegedly to influence his
editorial policies. was launched by
the Federal Trade Commission
yesterday.
Standard Of New Jersey at.
torneyS conferred with FTC Of
ficials following the disclosure
that the huge payment was made
allegedly to overcome the Bontils
opposition to a pending gas rate
ordinance which would have al.
lowed Standard to deliver natural
gas into Denver.
Given Chance
The conference was ordered to
afford Standard an opportunity,
ut its option, to challenge or ex-
plain the transfer Of the cash.
understood to have been discov-
cred by Lewis B. Prichard, FTC
examiner, in an investigation OF
the operations Of the Colorado
Interstate Company, Standard sub
Sidiary.
Following the conference. Col:
W. H. England, FTC'S chlet
economist, announced:
"The payment and all Circum'
stances surrounding 1t will be
gone into ut . public hearing
before the commission October
%"
w. n. Dougherty and F. H.
Lerch, Of Standards New York
legal staff, carried into the con-
ference copies Of the newspapers
publishing the dispatch.
Asked for comment, Dougherty
ran a finger down the dispatch
and reread this paragraph:
"OfficialS of the Standard Oh
Company of New Jersey likewise
declined to comment"
Emphatically he added:
"That is positively all we have
10 say"
REPORT STUDIED
Paragraph by paragraph. the
Oonferees studied Prichard's re
port, allegedly disclosing:
A vigorous crusade py the
Post up to october 27, 1927. for
defeat by referendum Of an Or
dinance fixing rates at which
the Public Service Company OF
%a1Apnl IN co11 nofDra1
piped to Denver and sold to 1t
by the Standard subsidiary.
Spread, during the same
month, Of a Colorado coal strike,
which threatened, under leader.
ship Of the I. w. w., to deprive
Denver homes and public inSti-
tutionS of fuel.
Alleged delivery Of the $780,.
900 to BonfilS october q by a
special messenger on voucher
issued by Standard of New
Jersey to officials Of the subSidi.
ary.
Publication by the Post on
that day of an editorial de-
manding that the fight against
natural gas be dropped and the
petition for a referendum on
the ordinance be withdrawn, so
1--WE won't have to worry about
a coal strike every spring and
fall"
Facing the two lawyers across
0 table at the conference were
Prichard, England, DR.. Francis
Walker, FTC chief economist. and
Col. william T. Chantland, FTC
attorney.
The Post was not represented
at yesterdays conference. FrC
officials xpect the newspaper to
have counsel at the public hear
ing. Higher executives Of Standard
Oil may also be summoned.
DENVER, Col, Oct. 22.-wil-
Ham c. Shepherd, publisher and
editor Of the Denver Post, will
deny any knowledge Of the pay
ment Of a large sum Of money to
his predecessor, the late Frederick
g, BonfilS, by Standard Oil inter
eStS in October, 1927, to change
MS GuCOE1hl pOA4Cy IOWdIO G4IC
natural gas franchise, as set forth
in q report Of the Federal Trade
Commission.
Whether he will attend the
hearing in Washington next week
was not determined today. A gen.
eral brief, however, denying the
implications contained in the
trade commissions record, will be
forwarded to the commission with.
In the next day or two.
Shepherd issued the following
statement:
Last Friday, October 1S, we
were notified by the Federal
Trade Commission that there
would be q hearing on October
20 in o case involving the Inter
state Gas Company which con.
tanned, also, certain charges
against F. G. BOnfils.
"These charges were based