, 1873-01-29

| BY the previous witnesses who were present
He had not been on the stand half IN hour be
interested persons present He did not voluntee
any information he offered no explanation
nor excuses, He did not aesu1ne to hare an
knowledge On matters except as they came unde
his own observation. He answered every question
briefly, modestly, concise1y, and directly, an.
there was feeling Oh all sides that he Was testi
| fying to the truth without reservation Consid
e1nble interest was shown when he produced
memorandum, which aided him In drawing tn
checks for the sl26, 600 for legal fees, in March
| Treasurer williams, and upon it he had drawn
various checks, enough to amount to the exac
sum Of S126,000 One check for e24,000 va.
| given to General G. n. Dodge, OF Iowa, ant
another for S19, GOO WAS given to James F. vii
son, Of Iowa, at that time Government
Director. Neither was made payable to thu
order Of the gentlemen named The witness gavs
the checks to them in person, and stated his po-
sition in the Office at the time, and the circum-
| etancos. The rest Of the money mas paid out in
] three drafts to Bushnell
| Mr- Wilson entered the room just IS his name
was pronounced BY the witness. He inquired al
! once, "What Wilson do You refer to7" He was
| answered, "James r. Wilson, Of Iowa." At thi.
| point there WAS decided sensation among the
Com and the eRsosssors and there vas
Wilson stepped forward, somewhat excited,
thing right here" and WAS proceeding
to speak his mind, when he VAS interrupted
quite sharply by Committeeman Hoar, who OBJ
tected to such Interruptions, and told A1r. VIII
on the subject. The witness understood, as he
said that the s12s 600 dollars was to be used for
lobbying purposes, Treasurer Williams UNDER
standing the same thing. When tho Committee
had finished with Mr. Spence, Mr. Wilson was
given an opportunity to question him, Who still
affirmed that he had giron his questioner 3check
for $4,000 outof the s126. 900 at the Companys 3
Office in Boston Aftor he had questioned the
NAL that he had ever used or appro-
pziated 9 dollar OF the Connpany's fund
except his salary as Government Director.
He said the only possible manner he could sug-
gest, was that he might possibly have taken a
check to hand to third party. But Of this he
statement, which turned into an argument, End
then was put under very rigid cross-e1amina-
ton by Messrs. Shel1abarger and Hoar, Is to his
conduct in declining to sit upon tho Committee
to audit the extra legal expense account, and in
regards bis duty as Director. Hs weakened
his position greatly, being too talkatiyo:
But the Committee apparently we're not
satisfied that he received the check on
1o mneh anser y be ts ~
ness, to shoT that he had heen discharged for
improper conduct. To this LII. Spence exhibited
letter from the principal officers Of the Com
pany, iuclna1ng Amee, Alley, holnns, ana ozners,
speaking OF alm anu nis g. character ana services
IN tne n1gnest teIms: Ine trearment OF tne VII
ncse ~ .1o p4ts " uaAea 1enoe seouisa ~ "
sel9 oruta1 ne Me11 80 epence a'.et tae S1n,
tttee III nau au5ouineu aa1 peiolG anyDouy nau
4ei1 tne too4a' anu caueu n1in VIII ~ eAP'esisIe
uaf, anu oemanoeo my ne nao gwen aucn
teat1mony.
SOUTHERN CLAIMANTS.
Ever since Senator Drake, in his amendment
Of 1871 to an appropriation bill. attempted to
prevent any claimant unde1 the act OF March
u, 1868, from getting money from tho Govern
proved that during tie Rebellion be- was loyal
citizen Of the United States, and the Supreme
Court decided that tho provisions Of that amend
ment wore unconstitutional, Morrill, and Conk-
ling, Chandler and Edmunds, supported by