National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-05-23
THE SEQUEL TO TIE "J0B."

F1s5E ~ EN-xNN< ~ 4
THE SEQUEL TO TIE "J0B."
The scene and results in tho District in
vestigation committee room yesterday af |
ternoon far more than confirmed our pre-
vious limitations OF the effect OF the cross
examination of Mr., Cluss. There has
never been, in any investigation in Wash
ington, 9 scene 50 pitiful and humiliating,
or discontinue SO complete. It was, in
fact, simply shameful. 1t seemed impossi-
Bile that any man In his senses should ever
allow himself to be placed in position
where the simple record OF his own acts
should not only convict him of duplicity
and false swearing, but, IS consequences,
practically ruin him in the community in
which he lives. Yet this is just the net
result for Mr. Gluss Confronted, yester
day, by voucher after voucher, document
after document, and letter AFTER letter, All
bearing his signature and written or pre-
pared under his direction, he, with shame
full embarrassment and utter confusion, adj
mitted their truth and integrity, one after
the other, until, from sheer excitement and
exhaustion, he dropped into his chair, COW
cred with modification and shame. With
the malicious aid of the subtle influence
which we disclosed yesterday, he had been
betrayed into statements on Wednesday,
which, in the very nature of things, could
not be true, unless he himself was the con-
summate rascal that he sought, under
skillful manipulation, TO make people
believe his associates were. We
commend the evidence, elsewhere printed,
to the careful perusal of every reader. We
have not space here to recapitulate the ma
terial points upon which Cluss's "fixed"
testimony of Wednesday was utterly de-
molished by no other means than his own
signature and his official acts. 1t is, in
deed, shameful narrative He had sworn,
for instance, with great positiveness, that
the account for work against Government
property rendered last November had been
made up and transmitted without his
knowledge or approval, and he very broadly
intimatcd that 1t was, therefore, fraudulent.
Yesterday the entire series of vouchers was
produced, each one fully, stated and certi-
fed, and Mr.. Clusss approval upon the. face
Of eUery one of them Not only that, but
letter transmitting them to the vice presi-
dent of the board, and calling attention to
the fidelity and accuracy with which they
were stated, was produced, and Mr.. Cluss
confessed, with great embarrassment, that
he had not only signed it, but that he had
directed it to be prepared, and had even
amended its text Again, he had sworn
that as to certain tables in the Governors
answer he had never signed them. If his
name was there, it was forgery. The
original manuscripts were promptly
produced, and again Mr. Cluss, by
aphysical contortion, admitted that he had,
after all signed the papers before him. He
had further sworn that the Evans Concrete
Company measurements were all made by
Forsyth and Oertley, and that he had never
approved final voucher for that work in any |
case. He was COMPOUNDED with no less than |
fifteen of his own final vouchers on these
very contracts and not being able to deny |
his own acts stared vacantly from one end |
of the table to the other as if appealing for |
help from an unseen source to extricate him
from his desperate ENHANCEMENT. And |
thus we might go on-but read the testi-
mony.
The question now being asked is, Who
is responsible for the ruin of this man-who |
has been instrumental in placing Mr.. Cluss
in position the inevitable consequence Of
which is to deprive him of his professional
and personal standing in this community
and before the country for no other appar-
ent motive than to create little ephemeral |
scandal and crafty an intense personal ma
Iignity2 1t is Mr.. jeremiah NJ. Wilson. |
He is the responsible party. Every one of |
his associates on the committee is aware
of his extraordinary conduct, and mem
bers of Congress and the country should |
know that poor Cluss's nightly visits
to Wilson's room, and the latter's as
siduous training" of his witness has |
produced this result. Mr.. Wilson should
be proud of his work. 1t is q noble con-
ception of the work of a high-minded
legislator, under his oath of Office, tosuborn
a witness and betray him into self-destruc-
toni
To those friends of Mr.. Wilson who ad-
NIT his conduct but deprecate comment
thereon, we have only to say that we have
tried hard to agree with them. We have
passed by the long catalogue of sins of
omission on his part, in the belief that he
would be fair in the end, at least. But this
last performance dissipates all possibility
of that, and we should be derelict to this
community, which is bearing growing
burden of suffering and hardship every day,
if we failed now to show to Congress and
to the country that this man has utterly
disqualified himself for judgment in this
case, and that his conduct has completely
destroyed the moral integrity and judicial
fairness OF any report which it is possible
for him to make. ...- ..-...