New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1878-12-12
FRIGHTENED INACTIVITY.
A IKIUHIENEU INAVIIN4 II
THE POTTER COMMITTEE SLOWLY AND LABORI-
oUsLY MAKING UP IT'S MIND NOT TO INyEsTI-
GATE THE CIPHERS.

THE POTTER COMMITTEE SLOWLY AND LABOkl-
oUsLY MAKING UP IT'S MIND NOT TO INVRsrI-
GATE THE CIPHERs.
lBY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRBUNE.l
WASHINGTON, Dec. 1.-THE Discrimination of the
Democrats of the House of Representatives to en-
bark in an investigation of the cipher telegram
conspiracy grows more and more apparent as the
probable consequences of such inquiry be-
come more fully realized. 1t would not
be strange if within few days q
policy of inaction on this question should be in
formally announced. Avery influential Democratic
Representative has been consulted on this subject
by his party friends to-day. He said that he be-
leved the Potter Committee and the House would
be governed in the matter by the course pursued by
Mr.. TIlden, MantOn Marble, Smith Weed and Others
who are implicated by the cipher kilograms. None
of these PERSONS he said, care officers Ofthe Govern
ment and the only circumstance that would give the
House jurisdiction of the matter is the fact that
what they were doing was intended TO have an
effect OIL the election of President of the United
States But there were hundreds and thousands OF
others also doing something to influence the result
of that election, whose acts nobody proposes 10 in
quire into. The men who sent and received those
kilograms and Mr. Tilden are most interested, aud
If they request The House to make au examination
have no doubt that Mr.. Potter and his committee
will very cheerfully enter upon it,"
"And suppose no such request is made p asked
the correspondent
"lf Mr.. Tilden allows this session of Congress to
pass without taking measures to vndicate himself
from the grave accusations that have been made
against him he will no longer be among the pos
sible candidates for the Democratic nomination in
1880; and there are n great many Democrats who
will not be sorry for that"
"Suppose he should make such a request and that
an inquiry should be made. what thenp
Mr.. Tiden would certainly come out of it yiR-
dictated IN a measure from the attacks that have
been madeupon him. Every one who had anything
TO do with the cipher dispatches will swear that not
one of the teegrams was ever shown TO Mr.. Iilden,
and that he had and could have no knowledge Of
them, either directly OF indirectly Such testimony
would possibly keep him in the field as competitor
for the Presidential nomination in 1850, and that
is what some Of our people DO not desire.'
" But viii not the Democratic party suffer If the
cinhertelegrams are allowed to stand they noware
without explanation or contradiction, and with the
differences that have been drawn from them ?"
"Ithmk not. We shall say that the transactions
disclosed by the secret dispatches those Of pr
vate citizens and not of men who controlled or rep
resented the Democratic party, and that will be the
truth"
The same gentleman said that he could see no
reason why the Republicans should be anxious to
have this subject investigated. They could not ex-
pect to gain anything by it. If the stands IN
its present form, unconradicted, that is all that the
Republicans can desire
From this conversation and from other sources of
information, ii is very apparent that the Democrats
are anxious to invent some excuse that viii he
cepled by the country as sufficient for ignoring the
cipher dispatches altogether aud for allowing the
session to pass without o Congressional inquiry
- 4 g
reasoning advanced against investigating the cipher
dispatch conspiracy would apply with equal force
TO the proposition Of the Democratic members Of
the Potter Committee 10 pursue their irlitlcss hunt
for Republican frauds in connection with the last
Presidential election. If there good reason TO
begin that investigation last Spring, that reason is
not sufficient for its continuance. The great ex-
penditure of time and money that has been made
has failed to produce any important results.