Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1876-04-02
POST.TRADERSHIPS.
The Testimony OF District.AttOrney
Dyer, Of st. Louis, In Regard to the
SO-Called " Unreliable' Bell.
He Declares the Detectives Testimony
Substantially Correct -Rice's Tes-
tihoDy in Favor Of Belknap-
Etc., Etc.

-
tee on war expenditures to-day heard
COlOrel d. P. Dyer, distTict-attor ley at
st. Louie, In reference TO the testimony
OF G, s. Bel, the datectivei who test
fed yesterday. Witness first met Bel
in st. Louis, in the fall OF 1875. He
came to the distFict-at.orney's office one
day, and showed an envelope with g
note on the back Eigned hy Avery, and
he witness understood it to be written
to FitZroy 10 deliver any papers in bis
possession to Bell. he understood Bell
was seeking evidence for the govern.
| taent Bell was 10 see Joyce, and, ii
possible, get the correspondence that
pa ssd between Joyce, Avery and Bab-
cock. He wrote q note to the warden
of the jail, and asked him to deliver the
pspei5 to Sell. Bell subs equeptIy came
to st. Louis, during tbs time OF the Bah
cock trial. witness met hiGa at the house
Of Mr.. Eaton, special counsel for the
government in the eases, when he jnti-
mated that ne had got the Avery papers
from the files of the district. attorneys,
Office, and exhibited them to Avery and
his wife, at the Linden hotel. Witness
asked Elm the character OF ths
papaIs In order to ascertain the
truth of the statement. Bell
sal that he had pencil memorandum
from Blufford and Wilson, and dis
patch from the tfeaeurT anking the wit
ness to come to the secretary's room he
rememt erI d that he had had such pa
peIs in bis possession, end was satisfied
from BELTS cor. I.varssttoR that he knew
something about their disappearance;
Bell had asked ii he had any dispatches
D1,NI - al
said that he had certain documents in
his possession in Rev York, and had
ts!egIsphed for them to he forwarded to
ST. Louis by express, apd that, the pa
PERI consisted of ciphtt, psrtlg IN his
and partly In Luskey's handwriting;
also letter from A q. Bradley, telling
him to come to Washington ard he
would be cared for. The substance Of
Of his statement VS. that q proposition
had been made to aim bs Eucke9 and
PsbCock 20 eXiiact the tes Gimony ia tic
Babcock case from toe d s.rict.attor-
ney's office; witr ess had been very care
fol of the dispatches and letters relating
to the BsbcOck CT SO, because he had
festsd sorne such exploit as Yss resort
ed to in the Avery case; BE placed them
in q box and deposited them in the safe
deposit vault; befrre that time Bell
was one day seen :, In the office
Hf the distlsctaattortisy ovsrhSuliDg
some papers, and was informed that no.
body was allowed to do tt at in the ab-
sence of Colonel Dyer; Bell excused
himself by saying that he was hunting
for a match to light his cigar. Bell soon
after made a proposition to furnish this
information delivered to him in cipher
and the Bradley letter After the trial
he returned them to Bell, and had not
seen them since, except when produced
in the New York Herald. These papers
were not produced till nearly the end of
the trial. The reason they were not
used in the evidence wa1 because
Luckey was summoned there for the
government, and was fina ly claimed
as q witnt So for the defense. At q con.
sultation between the Witness and HE
associates, Messrs. BrOadhead and
Eaton, as to the advissbility of calling
Bell as a witness, it was decided to wait
till Luckey was put upon the stand and
then produce him in Iebuttal, 1t was
understood that Bradley was there also,
called by the defeL se, aud iL was in
tended that Bell should not be brought
Ia as witness in chief. Had the prose-
cution known or believed that the de-
feuse would not call Luckey they would
have brought Bell forward and used
him az witness in chief. Bell, who
was in the room, asked Dyer whether
he was not, 10 be put upon the stand.
Dyer answered that when he told him
he had stolen the Avery papers from the
district-sttorney's office, he did not
look to him as witness he wanted to
tie to without corrobOrative evidence,
and he did not believe much in him
until he get all his papers; but il Luckey
hSu heen called he would certainly
have put Bell upon the stand in rebuttal.
Bell then asked Dyer If In such cases
extraordinary means are necessary to
get evidence. Dyer said he was not in
that kind of business, and did not feel
competent to answer the question. He
never found it necessary, either as q
prosecuting lawyer or otherwise, to re-.
sort to such means-either to purchase
the abstraction or suppression OF evil
dence, or any such violent and question.
able tactics; that was not his way Of
conducting business. Dyer said Bells
testimony was substantially correct, so
far as he had seen it printed in the Wash
ington papers, and so far as it referred to
him. Bsll was, however, incorrect in
locating the conversation at the district
attorneys office; it took place at the
house OF Lucisn Eaton, one Of his asso-
ciate counsel.
THE POST-TRADERSHIPS.
WASHINGTON, April General Rice,
the Washington attorney whose name
has figured so prominently in connec.
ton with obtaining post-trRderships
from General Belknap, was examined
to. day before the subcommittee OF the
committee on judiciary. He gave his
story of four post -traderships in Texas
and New Mexico which he had pro-
cured for various parties. His compen-
sation varied; from one person he got
four thousand dollars; from another,
five thousand; from third he got one
half Of the net profits, and from the
fourth he got one.ttfSfd Of the net profits.
He and General Belknap had been resi-
dents of Keokuk, Iowa, had served to-
gether ia the war, and were on friendly
and intimate terms; hence his success
in getting these appointments. He de-
MED that General Belknap knew any
thing of the money which he (Rice) re-
ceived for these appointments; he had
never given or loaned any money tC
Belknap except some trifling amounts
which had always been repaid, and had
never given him any presents, except
| perhaps some wine aud cigars, and s
small wedding present to his wife.
| -~N
EpW EuuR