OCR Text |
Show TO REGULATE A GREAT BUSINESS Corruption Alleged in West Virginia. Letter Containing Charges Bobs Up Mysteriously in Committee-Room. It Alleges Bribery in Legislation to Regulate Oil and Gas Combine Com-bine in State. CHARLESTON. W. Va , Feb. 7.-John Worthlngton and United States Marshal Elliott today appcp.rc.d beforo the West Virginia legislative committee Investigating Investi-gating tho charges made by Elliott In his letter to Worthlngton of allogod corruption corrup-tion In connection with a bill before tho Legislature to regulate the oil and gas business In tho State. The principal mystery mys-tery Just now Is to .the method by which tho letter was extracted from Elliott's possession. Elliott could throw no light on the subject. Committee Has Letter. The Elliott letter, containing views of Elliott on tho position of each Legislator's Legis-lator's attitude toward pending oil and gas legislation, was dollvcrcd to the committee. com-mittee. Gov -elect Dawson, Secretary of Stato Swisher, Attornoy-Gonoral-clcct Clark are mentioned In tho letter as opposing op-posing tho mcaBuro and using their efforts ef-forts to defeat It. Charlco Brooks Smith, who produced the original letter, said ho had found It lying on his desk at the hotel, but could not slate by vhat means It had reached there. Says Letter "Was Stolen. C. D, Elliott, author of tho letter, followed fol-lowed Smith on the stand Ho admitted writing the letter, and said he placed it In his grip. When he left Charleston, the morning after, ho opened the grip and found that tho letter had been stolen from his grip. It was. therefore, never sent to Washington. Elliott denied that ho was employed by the Standard Oil company tp fight gas and oil legislation. He said that he had no knowledge of apy member of thu Legislature receiving any money to cast his vote against the bill. Standard Oil Talks. John Worthlngton, Standard Oil agent and addressee of tho Elliott letter, followed fol-lowed Elliott. He said ho never offered any monetary Inducement to any member to cast a vote against the gas measure; that ho knows of no deal between Gov.-clcct Gov.-clcct Dawson and the Standard Oil company com-pany by which the latter company was to give Its Influonco In West Virginia to tho Interests of the Republican party on the promise of opposition to any legislation legisla-tion detrimental to the company's Interests. |