The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1876-02-12
BY TELEGRAPH
TO THE
WHEELING REGISTER.
Press Report. by Western
Union Line, Office Northwest cor.
Of Main and 18th Sts.
THE BABC0CK TRIAL.


United States army, stationed at st.
Louis. Major Grimes was introduced by
the prosecution TO show that General
Bsbcock carried on correspondence
with Mcdonald last fall, while the latter
was under indictment for completely in
the whisky frauds.
saw General Babcock when he was
here last fall 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
saw to whom. After that he sent three
letters to me, and 7 recollect, that is, sup
pose, he sent them. l got letter
addressed to myself with another
letter inclosed IN it; that was
some time after l saw Gen. Babcock
here; the letter enclosed in mine was
in white envelope, sealed and marked
Mcdonald; the note in the first letter
was simply, 'please deliver the enclosed
letter to Mcdonald" and was signed by
o. f. Babcock. l gave the enclosed let
ter to Mcdonald, l think at my office, a
few days later; l received another letter
through the postottice directed to me;
there was no note in it, but an en-
velope, addressed in different
hand from that of the first to Mcdonald.
There was no note to me, but there was
a pieco of paper wrapped around the en- .
velope. The third letter was just like
the second. delivered all three Of the
letters to Mcdonald. When one of hem
came, he was not there, and in trying to
find him, met his brother-in-law, Tom
Walsh, and tod him, but don't known
what Walsh did. ..-.....
On the cross-examination, Major
Grimes said he had known General
Babcock personally and intimately,
and that the latter had been a
government friend to him. Witness said
Once when l delivered these letters to
Mcdonald, / asked him (McDonald) did
Babcock have anything to do with this
whisky ring, and he said, Grimes, /
don't know; don't believe he knows any
more about it than you do, and you
do not know anything about it." In the
redirect examination Major Grimes was
asked: Did Mcdonald, in that conver-
saton, say that he himself did not know
anything about the whisky ring? Wit
ness-Yes, he did. Laughter
District t-Attorney-Hew did you come
to ask if Babcock had anything to do
with the whisky ring? Witness-I ask
ed for the simple reason that if Babcock,
who had been my friend, had haa any
thing to do with it | was going to drop
him.
District -Attorney-What reason had
you to suspect the General. Witness
Nothing but the fact of the letters sent
through me.
Mai. Grimes was followed by G. IL.
Engelik, the rectifer, who gave an ac-
couat of the operations, referring particu,
larly to amounts Of money raised by dis
tillers and rectiiiers for revenue agents,
to keep them still and to obtain informa-
tion from them, all Of which has been re-.
peatedy told. Witness a'so testified to
having seen in whole, or in part, tele-
grams, or what purported to be telegrams,
in the hands of Joyce, informing him of
contemplated Visits of revenue agents.
Witness always Strengthened up his house
on such occasions, and 1t almost always
happened that the agent came out, after
information of their coming had been
received.
IL. G. Rogers, Deputy Commissioner
Internal Revenue, was called, and testi-
fed that in August, 1874, Mr.. Douglass,
at that time Commissioner, asked him to
correspond with Revenue Agent Brooks
in regard to making an investigation OF
affairs at Chicago and St. Louis. Wit
ness wrote to Brooks, who came to
Washington for consultation. Brooks
wished Revenue Agent Hoge to assist
him. he was written to- and after consid-
erable delay he came to Washington;
then went TO Philadelphia to confer
with Brooks. They returned to Wash
ington together, and after several days
left again. Witness said that about the
7th OF December, Gen. Mcdonald came
to his room, and stayed but few min
utes; the next day he came in and said,
"Rogers, l don't want you to tell
me anything; I want to tell
you something; Brooks and Hoge are
going to st. Louis on special business,
and | protest against such secret inves
LEGATIONS. If the officers there are fit to
be in office they need no investigation,
and if they are not they ought to be re-
moved. | then telegraphed 10 Brooks
to delay the investigation. w. o. Avery
was at that time Chief Clerk of tie In
ternal Revenue Bureau. received letters
about that time from Mr.. Brooks. All the
letters were addressed TO me personally.
intended to destroy the correspon-
dence, it not being OF nature | wanted
TO go on file In the latter part Of No.
vember / received letter from Brooks.
1t referred to the contemplated investi-
cations in the West, and said nothing
about the delays being profitable 70 the
government and satisfactory to ourselves.
Mr.. Douglass, the commissioner, showed
me copy of the letter in his own hand
writing. Think Mr. Dougless, had his
attention called to certain Objectionable
expressions in the letter, and he WAS
cautioned to beware Of persons who used
such expressions. Shortly after this,
Mr. Douglass informed me that he would
abandon the Investigation.
The witness was briefly cross examined
but nothing new was brought out.
J.w. Douglass,
ex commissioner OF internal revenue, was
put on the stand He said that during
1873. 1874, and 1875 there were efforts
being constantly made to ferret
out the frauds that were being
perpetrated. Several revenue agents
we're sent to St Louis in 1872, but re-
ceived no definite information from them.
Later, Brooks and Hoge were sent out
especially to look into Bevis x Frazers
Affairs. and that firm paid the govern
ment $4,000 rs compromise. When L
sent joyce TO California, il was TO get
him out OF the way of the agents whom |
sent here, and who complained of an
extra attention on his part, wining and
dining them so that they could
not do any work. Mcdonald and Joyce
never came 10 see ME much
when they were in Washington I had 8
conversation with Mr.. Rogers in regard
to the investigation in the West. | re-
member showing him copy of letter