New-York tribune., 1873-12-20
THE CUORPFNNING CLAIM

NR CESSNA REVIEWS THE HISTORY OF THE CLAIM
AND URGES ITS E-ExAMINATIoN-AN ANGRY
DEBATE BETWEEN MESSRs. DAWES AND CESSNA.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE
WASHINGTON, Dec. 19.--With the return of Mr..
Cessna TO Congress, the celebrated Chorpenning
claim has again come to the surface. 1t was Mr..
Cessna who, in 1870. introduced and pressed the
olution directing the Postmaster General to settle
the claim, and he had to bear the brunt of Mr.
Dawess furious attack upon it few days later. He
said nothing in reply when Mr.. Dawes charged him
then with imposing a monstrOus fraud upon the
House. To all appearances he was annlhilated, and
when he went out of Congress few weeks later
any one who should have predicted that he would
ever return would have been thought insane
He did the best thing possible to vindicate
himself. At the next election he went before Ne
people of his district as a candidate and they de-
clared their confidence in his integrity by reCleclng
him. To-day he presented a petition from more
than 300 leading citizens of Somerset County,
Penn who assert their belief in the honesty of Mr.
Chorpennng and in the justice of his claim, and ask
that it may be Investigated.
Getting the floor for personal explanation, Mr.
Cessna reviewed the history of the claim, stated
the charges made by Mr.. Dawes against it in the
XLIst Congress- and the answer of his constituent
Mr. Chorpenning TO them. These answers charged
misrepresentation and unfairness upon Mr.. Dawes
and raised important questions OF veracity. III the
statements were sustained, they would put Mr.
Dawes in the position of having killed an honest
claim, and having branded honest man as
swindler without evidence, and without giving his
victim a chance to be heard in his own defense
Mr. Dawes left his seat while Mr. Cessna was
reading bis manuscript and took chair directly IN
front of him. Borrowing page OF the Manuscript
containing some severe sentences, he went back to
his place and when Mr. Cessna sat down he made an
excited reply condemning the Pennsylvania mem
Der for arguing the case in advance, and stat
ing that the report or Committee OF the
House was false and that fair intelligent, or e-
gal investigation of the claim ever made. In
this Mr.. Dawes was wrong for Mr. Cessna had only
stated the allegations made by Mr.. Chorpennng,
without indorsing them. He said as much in reply.
Mr. Beck then questioned him sharply about his ST.
lence in the Xlst Congress- when the claim was first
denounced. Mr.. Cessna's excuse was that he did
not understand the case thoroughly, and did not
want to appear as trying to get money from the
Treasury for a constituent claim which any one
thought not right He declared that neither he nor
Mr. Chorpenning had been heard by Mr.. Dawes's
committee before the report was made.
Mr. Dawes said that Mr. Chorpenning's lawyer was
told be could have hearing, and declared that there
had been full investigation in both the House and
the Senate After considerable talk which was sniff
ciently l-tempered TO attract the attention of the
entire House. although strictly parliamentary, the
affair ended by Mr.. Cessna saving that he wished
time to consider what Committee he would ask to
make the investigation, and Mr.. Dawes intimating
that any Committee would bring i'll the same verdict
on the claim that they had done.