The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1872-07-26
The M'Clure.Gray Committee.

hWtTS OoUWNt kMHO lS uuNtINtpVu w
nc little daftl, has just fired off some
frantic editorials upon the subject of
The expenditures Of the MCCLURE vs.
GRAY election committee at the last
session. He says the committee was
in its outlays, and so forth.
BANNAN seems, in this case, to have
taken his facts Tor rather his ialsehoods)
from the telegraph Undoubtedly the
worst authority In the commonwealth, |
and theTCupOn, as matter OF course, he |
comes TO grief; that is, he makes Il very |
unfortunate exhibition himself before |
the public.
Finding mares nosls is sometimes |
tho employment of men whose minds
are unsettled; but mostly they find
them for themselves and do not bor
row them from others. That any hu-
man being, sane or crazy, should &C.
cept his foliits ready made from the
1elegroph almost passes belief!
But we will, once. for all, from oilt-
cial documents, undertake to make
this matter of outlays by the MCCLURE
and GRAY election completely under
stood, and vindicate the committee
against most unjust and preposterous
complaints.
BANNAN asserts that "the items of
expense" of the committee were $780,
06511; that the committee sat alto.
gether about FIVE continuous days."
that "not one fourth of the witnesses
charged for were examined;" that the
members of the committee were paid
"about seventy-6ve dollars" for each
meeting they held, and he gives,a bill
of items Of the committees alleged
"expcnses" amounting to the $780,
5 O65 ii above mentioncd), which the
, Pittsburg Dispatch, following BAN
NAN, also declares "was paid by the
/, state on the recommendation OF the
chairman of the committee" Each
, of those statements Is false, as We shall
4 proceed to show.
, /. The bill Of expenses incurred by
the committee, in the investigation,
was reported to the senate, April, =
h 1872, and amounted to precisely Sl4,
@ 266 il. or this amount, S6,227 was
n payable by the city of Philadelphls
under the election law of 1889, leaving
= but SS,030.11 to be paid by the state
No other bill or outlay was ever re
a ported or recommended by the com
4 mittee, and this bill which traS report
ed was read, considered by the senate
. and agreed to unanimously. Le9tSlottc
o Journal, p. 1872.
d 2. The committee held thirty Jou
sessions for the examination OF wit
, nesses in Philadelphia (most of then
: prolonged and arduous4 an additiona
d session of day to hear arguments, ant
le half a dozen or more still other session
q for organization or for consultation upol
- the case. This is all shown by the print
:. ed volume of proceedings and evidence
Is and the committee in their report stat
n that most of the time while engaged IL
l. the examination of witnesses, they sa
lol,, tp ton bnur. ~ RANNAN'
:, statement of five days ofsession is there
III fore most ludicrously false, as is als
le his computation Of pay based thereon
3. The further statement "that no
,f one e-fourth of the witnesses charged 10
:, were examined" by the committee, i
l. also most reckless falsehood, The com
t. mittee say in their report that "the.
l. examined nearly one thousand. Witnes
n ses for the petitioners and about eigh
- hundred for the respondent, who's
IL testimony is herewith reported" 0
10 course the volume of the printed evi
s. dence proves the same fact completely
w. In short, the whole number of witnesses
a being 2,104, BANNAN says that less thai
W 526 were sworn, whereas in fact on
Us thousand eight hundred were. The 30
unsworn witnesses being in attendanc
ly on subpoena, were OF course entitled t
a. compensation under the law; but the
were only one-seventh of the witnesse
DC in attendance instead of hree-fourths
4. One of BANANAS items of commit
ca tee expense is, Unpaid acitnesSes {
N, respondent, 81 ,430." This amount shoul
be only $3.50 (being for one hundred an
|" twenty witnesses at 81. 80 each), as co
rs, rectly set forth in the approved bi
is against Philadelphia, page 1872 of Leg
q. istatiue Journal. Here is blunder an
oo an over. estimate Of expense to tn
aS amount of 81 ,250. -,
u 5. Again, BANNAN includes in hi
us items of committee expense, salarie
is to Colonel MCCLURE and to Coione
ofI GRAY, 81, 900 to each. Here again is
Vi reckless or stupid blunder Of $1,000
for one salary would have been paid 6
n all events to a senator from the Fourt
th district, whether the seat was contes
~, ed or not. Besides, the committee ha
nothing whatever to do with any que
LII tion of salary, and took no action in re
te latiop thereto.
er And now as to the real items of e.
or pense incurred in the case: OF cours
they were large, for there has been n
he such investigation or committee Sc
a vice since the overhauling of the Buct
shot War by q committee in 1889. On
ev thousand eight hundred witnesses wei
IL Ofsix hundred and sixty-eight full docl
ms ment pages of evidence was produced
two elaborate reports were made, ana
thorough exposure of gigantic frauds
the city of Philadelphia-these resul
could not be obtained without expens
m. but that expense was we'll incurred.
would have been shame to permit Il
H. frauds in the Fourth senatorial distri
ire to 60 undetected, and their exposu
". will have most wholesome. mo
on salutary effect upon future elections an
~ upon public morals.
~ We have pointed out and expose
en- some of the reckless and false stat
ed ments made by BANNAN concernir
en- the action of the committee, from whit
~, the conclusion is inevitable that I
oy confidence can be placed in anythir
ch said by him, or on his authority, {
IN this whole subject. He may be dismis
nd ed as worthless witness, and all b
M frantic rhetoric and foolish falsehoot
:. be thrown after him.
'V' But we shall recur to this subject
er the M'CLURE.GRAY committee her
No. after, not for the purpose OF direct
confuting calumnies upon the commi
=. tee, but for the purpose of showing tn
OF their action was in high degree ho
lat orable and useful; that they conductt
al, the investigation with great ffdelit
mr. and even economy; that they Wind
~. Gated sound princi pies of law and justi
NY by their report, and that instead
Ist calumniation and abuse they are fair
3GS entitled to the gratitude and thanks
at, the people.-Pdtrtot.