National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-08-25
rHE LArE INVESTIGATOR:
A CORRESPONDENT REVIEWS THE IN
n TTEST


the District Of Columbia was one Of the most re
markable that has ever transpired In the histor'
of this Government And certainly no lnVesage
ton ever instituted by Congress, rave perhaps TIT
Klux, u, has ELECTED 80 much general interest
The gravity Of the charges preferred, the hlgf
standing Of the men for the most part preferrinf
them, and the Esll-knoSn, high and unblenisheC
character OF the men arraignSd, ell tended to sur
round the ease with an Importance rarely ever
equaIed in Congressional investigatIonG The
committee, sftOr sitting almost daily for one hun
dred and thirty-tWo days examining two hundred
and twenty-five witnesses. and taking over tVC
thousand i've hundred pages Of testimony, WI
certainly be accorded patieacs, diligence, and
industry. It cannot be denied that every dppoF
tunity was offered p Snd every possible effort
which were mainly that the Board Of Pubic
Works, and especially Governor Shepherd, had
- veil a he Nationsi doyernmsnt. tSat thSy
were guilty Of great maud and corruption, malad
ministration and ontIages Gpon the rights Of the
people generally. Were these charges true, and
The independent press says yes; and the hrst
impulse Of public opinion was similarly inclined
FuIds; its SiEOtry and morbid desire to drag every
body down to its own degraded level destroys It's
efficiency. And the first impulse Of public opin.
ion like al hastily conclusions Is rarely
ever right; as also It's second sober thought Is as
rarely ever wrong. The reason for this is appar.
emit. The first flush Of public opinion IS formed
reports and the events Of our stirring times crowd
ing themselves, as they do, upon one another with
such rRpldity, and are sent with such lightning
bas scarce time to read one sensational" OF
startling disclCsuses another and yet another
is thrust upon him, thus preventing fair and
righteous Judgment until be Hhsll have had time
That public opinion will eventually declare the
charges untrue and not sustained, there can be no
shadow Of o doubt; and that the honor and tnteg-
rity of Governor Shepherd and his confreres In
the board is In fact now and In the end Will be
admitted to have been indicated 10 equally true.
THE INVESTIGATION WAS INVESTIGATED
by the personal and political enemies Of Gov.
especial attention, that scarcely without exeep-
ton the memorialists were composed Of men
known to be the rankest Democrats and most yio-
the more significant when II is remembered that
Governor Shepherd and the Board Of Public
Works were appointed BY the President and
States, through whom the memorialists sought
the Congressional CT public ear, was the man
whose name is the most prominently CONNECTED
dency in 1916 May It not be that there Is more Of
politics In this than most Of Us Hot OFT And may
Il not have been one Of the secret mainspripgs OF
friend and appointee Of President Grant, thereby
bringing bdium upon him and his administration,
and thus the Republican party which would
Democratic and rendering the Democratic march
to the White House In 1876 all the mora easy and
eertain7 .... "a
investigation than the fact that Gov. Shepherd
and his colleagues courted nay, insisted upon the
most rigid and scrutiniIing search for maud and
all efforts to that end, laying bare their every
act, conceRliDg nothing and declaring In the Ian
gpsgS q GOV SaePherds 81 aER MEL sn,sa
know IT," Nothing was easier thah TO have had
q WhiteWashing report II Gov. Shepherd had 90
desEsd and the sIigsnslss q the case required
than for his friends to have taken the Initiative
in Offering the resolution creating the committee,
and thus, BY tho exercise Of the smallest degree
Of parliamentary tactics, got the coqtrol Of the
committeeP They knew Il; everybody knew Il,
that the Investigation was going to be had, and
what was there to prevent this course II they
S S5SaSSe q tSsr 6SS R nSogsncs Du' ' Gun
The memorialists, aided and guided by three
able counsel9rs, conducted the prosecution with
never before eXeeiled in any TRIAL before any court
or committee. The committee gave them every
Incense; transcribed every rule Of evidencei ad-
mltted heaTsay, Imaginative and creattTe evil
dence admitted page after page OF frreleyant tes-
timony; tolerated witness after witness who knew
nothing TO tell except some petty grievance Of 1is
his counsel sat there with Job-like patience for
days, weeks and months, offering every facility N
their power to aid the prosecution In ferretin2 out
voucher, In number over thirteen thousand, was
there for their inspection document atter doeu-
meut was TurnIshedi statistics after statistics COM
piled. Every day the damaging testimony was
10 come that was to convict them as charged In
the Indictment, but 1t never csmei and to-day
Governor Shepherd, the head and mont Of all this
offending, stands entirely above reproach, with
out q stain on his fair name. No man who Will
fairly read and impartially consider tho testimony
in this investigation will say that be has ever
ton with the improvements Of Washington. The
committee did not believe 1t, else they would have
said so In their report There can be no stronger
proof Of this than the following
LETTER FROM SENATOR ALLISON
to prominent citizen Of Washington, dated July
Il am sorry that Shepherd was temporarily
saorihced, ns he has done 90 much for the city.
he afford to wait, however, as no stain is cast
upon his honor or his integrity ey the inTeusiea-
Yes, he can afford to wait; and we cpine II will
not be for longj for as soon as the passions and
prejudices Of tho hour shall have pAssed'swBy,
and reason reassertS herselfin the minds Of men,
the venom Of many tongues now tradueing him
Will be turned to fulsome praise and lavish adua-
ton.
The investigation disclosed no maud, no con-
spIracy, no dishonesty and not syllable OF testi
mony points in that direction; and, IN fact, the
cation, so despSlred OF sustaining their specific
charges that they wholly abandoned them, and
directed their entire efforts TO an attack upon tho
committee was that the form Of government
which at best was only an experimSat-
had accomplished the object for which
ton By the COMMITTEES Of bill abolish.
ing the form Of government was no rehsc-
ton upon Governor Shepherd, but, on the con-
Of It's adoption by the committee did him great
honor, aud boar unnistakable evidence Of the ss-
TEEN in which they held him. As proof Of this
frst time, that during tie deliberations d the
be reported by them, repsated, persistent and
sSE ssss 70 mace 81
Governor Shepherd Ineligible as . member Of the
Of Of Ss p0mSaob Sa S ao
tanned no restrictions Of that sort is Sufficient
proof that the proposition met with most signal
failure.
Tho committee IN their report pay the highest
tribute TO the
EPoELLENT IMPROVEMENTS OF THE CITY,
conceived by that master mind and wrought by
that master hand.
But / apprehend here is where most Of the
dragged their Slow length slOnS through period
holder on every Gtfsst and sTonss have Ssd bis
sfG my mere Goa To SeeS
with the memorlRliBts. But This is
Just what Congress did not want. They wanted
Grant, Of all the Presidents since washington,
who has taken 3 great interest In making cur
national capital the nations PRIDE with his hIusl
ssgacity for selecting the right man for the right
place, selected A. II. Shepherd and Gen. o. E.
Babcook 70 perform this great work; and IN these
improvements they have redeemed our nations
honor and renewed its fsst-failing pride In our
national capital; and have reared monument to
the wisdom and sagacity Of Gen. Grant, and OF
their own courage, skill and integrity that will
endure long aftF the calunpiatOrs Of then ell
II should Sc rstIetth BsYed that at the time the
late government Nas devised the District Of Co
Iunbla had SCARCELY friend IN Congress, and the
whole country, from New York TO California, was
,lamorinR for the removal Of the capital % the
Mississippi valley, oil on account Of the dnelean.
iness, the unhealthiness, the VpSightlIness And
condition OF tie stfeetS Of Washing.
on. Justice to Gov. Shepherd compels me to say
-hpt he was originally and always In favor Of the
Affairs OF the District Of Columbia being admin
Densing with many OF the cumbersome parts Of
he old machinery; and am free to say that had |
We never had any Legislative Council we would |
have escaped many Of the tflls Ne have bean heir
%, many Of our dlfhculties being attributable TO
hat distinguished body Of patriots.
Suppose General Grant or Sherman on the eve |
1f every battle had been sought cut By some per-
son whose houses or fields were to be Destroyed by
he conflict, and admonished by them that they |
aelds will be Destroyed HAhri says ne Gen. |
sral, 'is this %; must see about that Hold on,
Colonel; don't move your column until this Affair
9 looked into" Suppose this had bsSn the case,
how long dc you suppose the war would have
asted3 "a thousand years, my own Oolumbie,h
. the only answer. Now, suppose Governor
Shepherd, IN the prosecution q this great Nork,