New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1872-01-10

tigatlon. For instance, this protest AGAINST the
intOerable prolixity of the examination is Ger.
tainly well deserved:
Four hours spout, yesterday in examining q
newspaper editor with other result formidable
list Of references to peoplo who considered likely
furnish Information of their own knowledge. Whether
this much Of the testimony will repay the time devoted
TO It, only be asccrtaned when the witnesses iud
Gated arc forthcoming. Half an hour would certainly
have sufccd 10 discover al that Mr. Reid knew which
was worth hearing. aud the remaining three and half
hours of his cxaT!lation were obviously wasted"
But The Times might have gone further.
There was no need of calling any editor to
the stand at all. Even MIR. Howe, who seems
to be conducting this inquiry as a sort of
political campaign, in which he has to put all
manner OF inquiries TO witnesses with a view
of dragging out odds ard ends of knowledge
useful in some underlined way to the faction
of party which he represents, and whose
chief cXcrtiOn seems to be TO put
words into tho mouth Of the witness
which the witness never uttered, and
TO ask him no end of questions on the precise
points on which he has stated that he can
give no information Of value, must under
stand the duties of an editor too well to sup
pose that Mr.. Reid, or any other manager Of
q newspaper, could give Of his personal knowl-
edge the facts which part of Mondays nves-
tigation was DESIGNED to elicit. II is not the
practice of an editor to collect news, but 10
slit and mako use of the information gath
cred by those he employ; and If MIR.
Howe really wanted to know the source
whence orr exposures of Custom-house abuses
were derived, he could have found ont by
asking in private one or two straightforward
questions, or even writing letter OF inquiry.
Possibly the recollection Of the behavior of the
active proprietor of THE Times when that gentle
man was summoned by the Grand jury to tell
what he knew of the crimes he had charged
upon the Iammany officials may have led
Senator Howe TO suppose That he had a heavy
task before him. Mr.. Jones not Only knew
nothing himself, but refused to indicate any
source from which the Jury could probably
obtain the facts of which they were in
search. We on the other hand are not
in the habit Of making CHARGES that
we are unwilling to subslaltiatc, and we
have been at al times ready to give the Sen
ate Committee on demand list of competent
witnesses to whom they can apply for tcst-
mony at first hand on the points to which
their inquiries ought to be directed. They
have such list from It's now, and might have
saved days Of weary and proiitless cxamnl-
ton, debate, wransing, buncombe, and hair
splitting if they had asked for it at first.
But when the Committee wastes hours quar-
rcling over such nonscuscal questions rs what
we had for stating that they meant
- hold secret sessions (Which it turns out
HAT they themselves cOufrmcd), what eyi-
icncc we could show That the Custom house
was not a proper place to meet IN, who ''Ta1
used the word monopoly" in the examine
ton. what proof we could give that 1t cost
more to cart goods four miles than to cart
them one, the inference is pretty plain ulat
the gentlemen who manage tals inquiry are
either adopts in the art Of how not to
do it, or are not trying IN earnest
to get ut tie truth. Talking against
time on the general principles OF Civil Service
Reform, in solemn debate with 4 witness,
ard wearing ont the day with questions
entirely imp.rtircnt to the matters in issue,
and on points whcrcon the witness has again
and ag1in explained That experts could fur
n:sh immcasurably more valuable evidence,
will not instruct Senator Howe in Custom
house Encouragement, nor expose to him
the system of appointment and removal
which has 80 long dssrdccd the Federal pat
ronagc in this city.
After days Of such conduct, it i'll becomes
Senator Howe, when at last he finds that his
drag net has suddenly caught great mass OF
ugly statements on points he was instructed
to inquire about, with the Eamc2 Of witnesses
who can prove them, to enter instant
and virtuous complaint against this UNI
cxampled waste of time. MIR. Howe has,
to his great apparent dissatisfaction,
been row publicly told Gas he might have
been, any day, privately at TIE TRIBUNE
Office, if he had not chosen to entail the an
noyancc and Inconvenience of public exam
inatiOu), the names ard addresses of
men placed in sncCurc Offices solely rs a
reward for past or prospective political ser
vices, and of others turned out of
their positions for refusing to vote
at primary meetings in the particular way
demanded by the Collector. lie has been
told Of direct interference by the Collector of
the Port in the lowest Ward primaries, of
direct promises of United States Offices for
votes in favor Of his particular faction, and
of direct threats of removal for votes the
other way. He has been given great deal
of other useful knowledge respecting the under
hand Interference of the Custom-hOuse in local
partisan politics, and much of the testimony
has been as direct and clear rs any court could
require. This is the testimony which Mr.
Howe apparently did not expect, and did not
want. The truth must come out, sooner or
later, and it is foolish to waste time about it,
If Mr.. Howe is trying not TO bring it to light,
cannot the Committee devise a new system of
examination which will spare the enormous cir
cumlocutiOn Of the Senator from Wisconsin,