Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1878-06-24
Especial Telegram to the Globe.


WASHINGTON. June 29.-It was French vau-
deville before the investigating committee yes
terday. 1t was sparkling comedy, in which a
nlmble-tongued woman kept two experienced
lawyers at bay for entire day. And while
it can hardly be considered that she specially
attained any advantage of them, yet the condi-
ton Of affairs was left in q very unsatisfactory
state at the close of the examination. The ut
ter lncapacity Of Mrs. jerks to understand the
moral nature of an oath and her consequent
thrilling with the committee on all questions
that she did not desire to answer has combined
20 create very bad impression in regard to her
entire story. There so much that she ut
terly refused to tell, covering up her refusals
with
REPARTEE AND SMART SAYINGS
at the expense of her examiners, that every
body who reads Der testimony will very much
wish that there might be some power to compel
her to tell everything she does know, because
the maiG interest in her testimony is what she
conoaals, and absolutely refuses to disclose
Stleiabarger, who is Sherman's counsel, said
that the general impression created by her tes-
timony is bad; that. while he had no doubt
she confessed the truth when she said she wrote
the Sherman letter, yet
HER FRIvoL1TY AND PLAYING WITH EVIDENCE,
and her desire to make fippant and smart
remarks destroyed the effect of her evidence as
a whole. Mrs. jerks is of French parentage,
and Ter English spoken with a
decided foreign accent, Her manner
was entirely French, her gestures, her studied
dramatic positions, the futtering of her fan
and the way she would work up the situation
before answering were all III the best line of
French comedies. Pushed into the corner she
went around and calmly ignored it. When
asked if she did not care to answer she would
setort by asking the examiner another question
by frivolous replies, by side remarks, by keen
ret"rts, and every possible evasion. When
pinned absolutely to saying yes or no, or to
making 81 1.ple statement, she would often
decline to say anything. Ben Butler examined
her first and his questioning was
so POLITE AND DEFERENT1AL
that he frightened the Democratic members of
the committee. Butler was as much Of a mys-
terry the woman. Upon which side he
was could not have been told by the mode Of
his examination. If Jno. Sherman obtains
any satisfaction from the testimony of yester-
day he is easily pleased. Mrs. jerks absolves
both him and Jas. +. Anderson in the same
breath from any
DIsHONHORABI.E COMPLETELY.
IN the Sherman letter and then she doggedly
refuses to 60 farther. One might wonder how
Mrs. jerks became possessed Of the power to
e1onerate John Sherman. In fact, why she
should accompany her statement of this fact
with ridiculous scene which she had skillful-
1u rod ~ bo,,
dram atization. She gave the committees to
distinctly understand that she was at the be-
ginning and close of the intrigue, and defied
them to make her tell the whole story. She
will be put on the witness stand again Monday.
POWERS OF COMMITTEES.
Anderson's refusal to testify upon the Mat
thew'e committee, and the announcement of
Senator Alison, acting chairman Of that com
mittee, that it was powerless to detaiu Ander-
son, or take any measures to punish him for
contempt, has called general attention to the
powers which the law confers upon co mmit-
tees when dealing with witnesses. 1t appears
that during recess no committee can compel the
attendance of witness, nor detain him in case
he refuses to answer, nor commit him for con-
tempt, and that while such refusal and such
be taken until the facts are reported to the
House interested at the next session.
Combines POSITION.
The Democrats are considering the expe-
diency of summoning Gen. Grosvenor, of Ohio,
and Murat Halstead, Of the Cincinnati Com
naercial, to inform the committee upon what
authority they have based the published state
ments in regard to what took place in Column
bus during the electoral count. The commit
tee is also DESTROYS of learning from him all
that he seems to intimate that he knows so
WE'LL in regard to the attitude which Oonkling
assumed toward Gov. Hayes previous to his
Inauguration. They seem DESTROYS of Hal
steads basis for the statement that Conkline
was kept off from the electoral commission by
the friends of Gov. Hayes because they had
reason to suspect his loyalty to the newly
elected President.