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Show Trust Chief Is a "Witness For Himself JOHN E. PARSONS. TRUST LAWYER TELLS STORY OF SEGAL DEAL Venerable John E. Parsons, One of the Defendants in Sugar Case, Takes Stand for the Defense. COURT REFUSES TO DISMISS THE CASE Defense Pleads Statute of Limitations as Bar to Prosecution Prose-cution by the Department Depart-ment of, Justice. By International News Service. NliW VORK, March 25. In a clear, ringing voice, without the Flight -e.,t tremor denoting his SI! years. ( John 13. Parsons today denied under oath every allegation In tile government's Indictment charging him with criminal violation of the Sherman Sher-man law. The venerable lawyer, for inoro than forty years an acknowledged leader of the American bur and for half a century cen-tury one of the most prominent Presbyterian Pres-byterian laymen in the United States, took the. witness stnnd In his own behalf be-half late in the afternoon. Ho will conclude con-clude his direct testimony tomorrow morning. Then he will be taken in hand for cross-examination by United Stales District "Attorney Wise. WJiotlier any of the other defendants, Washington 1?. Thomas. Arthur D. Don-ner Don-ner and George II. Pray.lcr, will be placed in the witness chair has not yet boon determined by their counsel. V Judge Hand today dashed the hopes of the defense to hovo the case taken from the Jury and the indictments ouashed on the plea that the statute of limitations barred the prosecution. This forced the sugar trust lawyers to produce evidence to combat the sTfong ease made by the government, which is based mainly upon hundreds of exhibits of documentary evidence evi-dence taken chiefly from the Jlles of the sugar trust itself? JSvcry letter and other oth-er memoranda thus presented by the prosecution hears directly upon the government's gov-ernment's main charge that through a loan of $1. 2ii0,000 of sugar trust money made secretly to Adolph Segal, the big combination was enabled to seize control con-trol of the Pennsylvania Sugar company's now refinery in Philadelphia, and restrain interstate trade by not permitting that plant to produce refined sugar. Adjourns Court. After three-quartciri of an hour's examination ex-amination Mr. Parsons was relieved of further strain for tho day by Judge Hand suddenly adjourning court until tomorrow. After leaving the stand, the aged lawyer laughed merrily with his counsel. Turning to the newspaper men, ho said: "A little thing like a criminal prosecution prose-cution can't hurt me." "If this thing keeps up II will be ex-tremoly ex-tremoly dangerous for lawyers to sorvc their clients faithfully." volunteered his son, former Representative Herbert Parsons, Par-sons, who hud preceded his father In the witness chair- lie had told of a talk with Henry Havcmcycr just before the date of the Segal loan. The founder of the sugar trust, ho said, requested him to Inform his father, who way chief counsel for the trust, that, lie had decided to make a loan of $1,250,000 to Guslar 12. ICissoll and for the older parsons to take charge of the transaction. Herbert Parsons also testified that as j late as 130fi lie h.'wl personally, at the direction di-rection of his father, demanded payment I of the note from Klssell. It was through Klssoll that the loan to Segal had been made. "Mr. Parsons, plca.se take the stand." said Delanccy Nicoll. as soon as tho son hud left tho witness chair without being be-ing cross-examined by United States Attorney At-torney 'Wise- With quick, steady steps and head hold high, the 8n-year-old defendant de-fendant walked to the stand after taking the oath. "Is there any truth In the chargo that you helped to 'choke the Philadelphia refinery re-finery and conspired to keep ScgaJ in debt so ho could not'puy the loan?" was asked. Pleads Ignorance. "Absolutely none," replied Mr. Parsons vigorously. Ho added 'that most of what he hod heard since the trial opened was new to him, especially that relating to the transactions between Klssoll. Segal and the sugar trust. As to some of the charges made against him by the government, gov-ernment, ho had never before heard at all. He iiad never heard of Segal until he learned tho loan was to be made to him. Then he Insisted upon dealing with Segal's lawyer, T. U. Harnrd. He said he demanded from the first that Segal should be kept In the dark as to' where the money was coming from, because he did not want Segal to have "anything in black and white." which he might use to back a claim that ho had "brought tho sugar company to terms." "That was tho reason tho only rea-snu," rea-snu," declared lho. old lawyer, raising his voice to give cmphusls to his utterance. ut-terance. In tolling of the clause in the loan agrcomout providing- that the Philadelphia Philadel-phia refinery must be kept closed dur- 5 (Continued on Pago Two.) TRUST LAWYER IS PRIIPAL MESS (Continued From Pago One.) Ing the life of the loan. Mr. Parsons said he 'nad not agreed to this until ho had been assured that the minority stockholders stock-holders had not bought their stock, but hud received it as a bonus for buying the bonds. Reciting the talk he had with TIarned as Segal's lawyer. Mr. Parsons said: "I said that If wo loaned Segal tho money the control of the Pennsylvania Sugar Refining company would have to be In our hands and must not remain in Segal's. Mr. T-Iarned said 'no would arrange this and lie 'did. We took HiIb course because wo did not want the refinery re-finery to open until our money was paid back with Interest, for the reason that to havo opened the plant would havo been to Impair Its value and consequently conse-quently depress the value of the stock wo held as collateral." |