Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-02-12
THE BABCOCK TRIAL.
Examination of Witnesses Continued
The Correspondence Between the
General and M'DOnaId In
VesttgRted.

witness called this morning in the trIal
of General o. Z. Babcock WAS Major L.
B. Grimes, depot quartermaster in the
United States srmy, stationed at st.
Louis. Major Grimes wss introduced
by the prosecution to show that General
Bsbcock carried on correspondence
with M'DOnald last fall while the latter
was under Indictment for completely in
the whisky frauds.
Major Grimes said-I have been in
the army since September, 1852; l know
General Babcock, having met him frs
| in 1902, in Utah, where / was district
duartermaster; saw General Babceck
when he was here last fall, probably in
September, Just before fair time with the
Presidential party; he said to me that
he would probably want to send some
letters or packages through me to other
parties; he did not say to whom; after
that he sent three letters to me that /
reeollect; that Is suppose he sent them;
/ got letter addressed to myself with
| another letter In that; it was short time
after I saw General BabcOek here; the
letter inclosed in mine was in q white
envelope, sealed and marked M'Donald;
the note to me in the first letter
was, "PIease deliver the inclosed letter
to M'Donald," and it was signed
80. E. Bsbcock;n gave the inclosed
letter to M'Donald, think, at my office;
a week or ten days latsr / received an
other letter through the postoffice di-
rected to me; there was no note in 1t,
but an envelope addressed in different
hand from that Of the first to M'Don-
aid; there Wss no note to me, but there
was piece Of paper wrapped around the
envelope; the third letter was just like
Il. a oil o,N4Nk
let ers to M'Douald; when one of them
ca ne he was not here, and in trying to
fad him met bis brother in-law, Tom
Wa sh, and told him, but do not know
what Walsh did.
On oross-examination, Major Grimes
said he had known General Babcock
reasonably and Intimately, and the lat
ter had bsen q good friend to him; on
one occasion, when M'Donald and NJ
Kee were reported to be using their in
fiuence to have him removed because he
would not put q man in the place that
they wanted, General Babcock promised
his influence to prevent the removal of
witness; once when | delivered these
letters 10 M'Donald / asked him M
Donald if BabcOck had anything to do
with this whisky ring, and he replied:
"Grimes, l don't know; don't believe
he knows any more about it than you
do, and you know and you don't know
anything about it."
On the redirect examination Major
Grimes was asked, did M'Donald in that
conversation say that he himself didn't
know anything about the whisky ring?
Wltness-Yes; he did. Laughter
District t-Attorney-How did you come
to ssk if Babcock had anything to do
with the whisky ring?
Witness-I asked it for the simple rea-
son that if Babcock, who had been my
friend, had had anything to do with It'll
was going to drop him.
ct-AttOrney-What reason had
you to suspect the general?
Witness-NothiDg but the fact Of the
letters sent through me.
Grimes was followed by B. II. En-
gelke, rectifier, aud 81. G. Rogers, depu-
ty.commissiOner of internal revenue.
J. w. Douglass, eX-cOmmissioner OF
internal revenue, was next put on the
stand, who said: "Daring 1873, 1874 and
1875 there were efforts constantly made
to ferret out the frauds that were being
perpetrsted; several revenue agents
were sent to st. Louis in 1872, but / re-
ceived no definite information from
them; later BROOKS and Hoge were
sent out, and especially looked into |
Bevis & Frazer's affairs, and that firm |
paid the government forty thou |
sand dollars as q compromise; when |
l sent Joyce to California, it |
was to get him out Of the way Of the |
agents whom 1 sent here, and who coms
planned Of an excessive attention on his |
part, wining and dining them so they |
could not dOsany work; M'Donald and |
Joyce never came to see me much when |
they were in Washington; had con-
versatiOn with Rogers in regard to the |
investigations in the west; remember |
showing him copy of letter received |
between the tenth and fifteenth Of De- |
cember, written by Brooks, saying that |
the delay would prove equally protita-
bic to the government and gratifying
to ourselves, or something of tnat kind; |
the CODY of the letter was shown to me,
at the White House, by General Bah
cock; he said q gentleman had shown |
it to him, aud he was afraid was being |
deceived by those men; he said he would |
hold me responsible for their conduct; l /
told him that 1 had great confidence in |
the men; he said: "What might sem
sitive man like Logan say, if he saw |
that Ietter?n BabcOck told me the letter |
had been given him cOnfdeHtially, and /
requested me not to say where l re-
ceiVed it from; after the visit |
Of M'Donald to Washington, 1 remem-
Der of coming out of my house on the |
day when met BabcOck, and we talked |
about st. Louis matters; can't say ex-
actly what was said; we talked about |
the revenue agents coming; once in 1874 |
Bsbcock came to my office, and we |
talked about the supposed charges |
against Ford, who was dead; at the time |
/ told him there were DO charges against |
Ford, that the charges / was getting up |
were against the living; he asked what |
examination had been made, and said |
something about blackening the MEM |
cry of Ford; the only way a mans |
memory could be blackened who was !
dead Y as by an examination; afterward |
Babcock came to see me about sending |
q bird IA thrush, 1 think out west; he |
only came to my office once or twice |
altogether that 1 remember; some two
or three months before Richardson went |
out Of Office had talk with the Presi- |
dent, and told him things were crooked |
in st. Louis, and 1 thought If proper |
investigation was made it would result |
to the benefit Of the treasury; on Jsnua- |
ry 20, 1875, l addressed a letter to the |
secretary Of the treasury in regard to q |
change Of supervisors; the rumOTs Of |
frauds beginning in 1872, caused me to |
write this letter; afterward Secretary |
BristoW came into the Office and We |
talked the matter over, concluding |
to wait until the fall elections were |
over; we waited, and there were a |
number OF senatorial elections, and we !
had to wait until they were over; then |
we found that we were in the midst OF
the Presidential election, and that was |
another obstacle; after that we arranged |
to make transfers letters produced and |
read in regard to change Of Officers OF
internal revenue, including General !
MDonald to Philadelphia and Mr.. |
Tutter to st. Louis]; witness went on:
After I addressed letter to the secreta-
~, and transfers Of the supervisors were
made, had conversation with the de-
fendant; the conversation commenced
by him calling my attention to the sub
ject; he told me it wss an unwise
measure, and would bring such .
strong pressure on the President that
the order would have TO be recalled,
which would be unpleasant for
l. 4 DIX