The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1874-03-27
Washington News and Gossip.
ruE DIsTRICT INVESTIGATION.

THE DISTRICT INVESTIGATION.
The Boston Advertisers Washington special
giyer a clearer idea of the District investiga-
ton than the general press dispatches We'd
nesday ex-Mayor Bowen testified that under
his administration the uniform prices for grad
rug, including all necessary hauling, was eleven
cents The board price, as first established,
was twenty cents, and afterwards this was in
creased to thirty cents. Another witness testi-
fed that he had obtained work to the amount
of some $50, 900 without a written contract;
that since this investigation was regarded as
inevitable he had been requested to sign con-
tract covering the work and execute bond, al
though the work in question had been finished
for ten months, and paid for. Another witress
who had contract amounting to some $780,
600, testified that he paid $4,000 to a person
whom he named as his attorney to procure this
contract and attend to his affairs in connection
Herewith. A large portion of the interest in
this contract arose from the fact that the lum-
Der used was purchased from a son of one OF the
former members of the board of public WORKS,
who was also partner in the business with MS
father Several witnesses testified that mate
rial had been removed from streets in front OF
their property and they had been unable to OBJ
tain adequate drawback for it from the boar1
Another witness produced bills Of assessments ISL
y
struction of foot-walks, when not single
brick had been taken up or put down on his
property since the board came into power.
case also came out where an assessment OF
about SO 900 had been levied upon single
square, where the total cost as shown by the
auditors books, was only about $4,000.
INTERSTATE RAILROADS.
In the House, Wednesday, Mr.. G. f. Hoar
made strong speech in favor of the McCreary
<,oos,orto1;,, hill which bo v;owod in q fuo
fold aspect: First, should the regulative pow
er proposed by the bill be exercised by the gov
eminent? Second, in view of the distribution
of power between the States and the general
government which should exercise the power?
Relative to the first point he argued that the
British government had long exercised the pow
err and that all that the pending bill proposed
was to fix the burden of proof upon railroad
corporations, in order that the people might be
protected from extOrtiOu. He combatted the
argument used by Mr.. Willard of Vermont yes
}erday, which declared that the bill proposed a
violation of civil liberty, and insisted, on the
contrary. that the bill really protected the right
of the citizens against the encroachment of
monopoles On the question of jurisdiction
Mr. Hoar argued that the State is powerless,
since the right to regulate commerce between
States is wholly vested in Congress by the Con-
| by the citation of arguments by Mr.. Madison.
| He did not believe that the Commission could
J be corrupted, and even after the rates had been
| fixed the railroads and citizens have common
remedy at law. The powers which the bill
creates were only powers OF the courts
STEALING TELEGRAMs.
The Springfield Republicans Washington
correspondent says that there is not little talk
about the resolution which Mr.. Pierce offered
| in the House in regard to the management of
| the telegraph offices in the south wing of the
capitol, He started out with the statement
that important Geographic dispatches had been
taken off the wires at the capitol, ''by the care
| lessness of the operators or from some other
cause" and provides that new arrangements
shall be effected to nsulate those offices SO that
| nobody shall hear messages which are sent off
| in them, ETC. etc. The House adopted the reso
| luton. He really means that Mr.. Hoar has
good reason to believe that Buffers spies have
stolen his (Pierce's) dispatches, and that it was
done repeatedly during the Simmons fight
This is no news to the newspaper correspOn-
dents here; they have long known that Butler
system of espionage has long included the tele-
graph officers here. One of his most faithful
from the instrument, and he has given many a
precious secret to his master by judicious caves
dropping. Some of Mr. Pierce's Boston des-
patches got to Butler before they reached the
man to whom they were sent. But it is idle to
| attempt to break down this system by congress
| sional interference. Let him carry it on SO
| long as he likes and trust the press to expose
him. No public man who exists and thrives
| by such system can long keep it up. The
| American people are not SO degraded that they
lives by it. A few men may be terrified by
| Buffers taunts into connivance with his
schemes; but they cannot control an American
Congress or the people.