Phenix gazette. [volume] (Alexandria [D.C.]) 1825-1833, 1827-02-16

,uch, contract: or, that he connlyeo al SUCH
participation in any Of his subordinate ofhcers'
From the prominent figure which Ethan
Mix makes in this transaction throughout, oo
cunyine the two-fold attitude OF iniormer anu
witness. seems 10 demand Of the commiitee
direc; expression Of the opinion they have ioIH,
ed of his general character for veracIty, as wen
as OF the specific opinion they have formed ID
relation to some Of the most prominent paris Oh
his testimony,
On the subject Of his genera! character ior
yeracity, they have no hesitation In saying, mat
he is entirely destitute OF the slightest claim 10
be believed upon his oath.
They have come 10 this conclusion, not only
from the testimony Of respectable witnesses, go
ing TO establish the genera! infamy OF his cha
rac,er, but from the total disregard Tor truth
which he manifested during the progress OF his
examination, and the numerous contradictions
in which he involved himself whilst giving
In his testimony in the presence oil the Commit
let.
Without attempting to detail the numerous
instances in which il is apparent to the com-
mi,tee that he has sworn TO wliul and deiloe'
rate fslsehoods, they have confined themselves
10 those parts Of his testimony which demand
separate and distinct consideration on other
grounds.
On his first examination, he produced let
ter written by Major Vandrvcnter to him, dat
ed the 7th Of August, 1918, commencing win
the following mu,ila,ed Statement: VI am very
sorry that the - are concerned III the con-
tract will not agree 10 admit George on the
terms you have stated"
The letter then proceeds TO state, that the wri-
ter (Vandeventer) had informed MAJOR "copper"
his father-in-law, that there was one other per-
son concerned in the contract, whose name was
not 10 be mentioned; and the letter seems 10 De
designed to prevail upon Mr. Cooper 10 become
one of the surelies for The iuhment OF the con-
tract, without the condition on which 1t APP
pears he was insisting, that his son George
should have one-iourth of the contract. MIX
states lha, this letter was oblileraled when ne
received il, and that he does not know what
were the words that have been erased. he
Committee are decidedly Of opinion, that the
erasure was made by Mix, Tor the purpose oil
throwing mystery over the matter, aud oil ex-
citing suspicion. that the person alluded TO In
the part oblierated was MIR Calhoun.
That the obliteraiion was not made by the wri-
ter of the letter, is clear, from several obvious
considerations II he had been so deslrous to con-
ceal the words erased, the obvious and natural
course would have been, TO have omitted them
altogether, instead of first writing them down,
and then making an erssure that rendered the
sentence unintelligible.
Another circumstance, thar tends to satisfy
The Committee that the erasure was made ny
Mix, is, the manifest difference between the ink
with which the letter is written, and that with
which the erasure is made, and the equally
striking resemblance between he ink used IN
making the erasure in question, and that USED
in making other erasures in the same letter,
which Mix acknowledges were written by HIM
self II is obvious TO the Committee, that the
word "the' is left unobliterated Immediately
preceding the efasure, in order 10 raise a sus-
picion tina, the word Secretary" or "Secretary
of War" occupied the blolted space which fol-
lowed: But noG understanding the rules OF
grammar, which, otherwise, Is an ingenious de-
vice, has left visible the words who are con-
ccriIed," immediately after the erasure; from
which il is evident that the definite article PEE
cedins the erasurc must have agreed, not with
"Secreisry," bur with some common substan-
live in tue plural number, such as 'the other
gentlemen ";he rest OF the gentlemen" ac-
cording 10 the explanation given by Major V an
deyen,cr. This explanation OF the words OBJ.
liberated, which is almost seli-evldent, conclu-
clusl,ely shows, that Handkerchief could have
no motive 10 make the obliteraion, and as
clearly shows the base motives by which Mix
mus, have been actuated in making il.
If, TO these circumstances, We add the oath OF
Major Vandeventer, that he did not make The
erasnre, the fact that Nix did, is established by
a conclusive weight Of evidence.
On his FIRST examination, Mix stated, that
previous TO the lSlh Of April, 1921, he present
ed 10 Mr.. Calhoun, among other papers eXpla-
natory OF his claims, letter from MAJOR Van
deventer to him, Mix written whist they
were both in the city Of New York, dated the
ST Of April, 1921, and containing copy OF
confidential letter which NendevelItei had that
morning written, from New-York, to Mr. Cal
houn. In the first instance, Mix stated to the
Committee, thathe could no, recollect the con-
tents Of the confidential letter farther Than that
il informed MIR. Calhoun that Mix had been
brought TO ierms, and would consent TO the
transfer 10 Go.dsborough
He afterwards, daring the same examination,
| stated ,ha, it contained something about Van
deyenter's going abroad on a foreign mission
member OF the Coumittet percsiving that he
had a paper IN his hand, TO which he OCCASION
| ally referred, asked il that was copy of the