The Wheeling daily register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1864-1878, 1878-06-14

STATE department LOT pOSItiOu ~ n
Consulship till the last of May.
Q-How was it that the letter OF Conn
written on the sixth or eighth OF March
to the President was sent to the Treasury
Departmet, then to the State Depart
ment2 How did it come to be sent to
the Treasury Department when he was
not an applicant for position until two
months after? A-They may have sent
it not being aware that he was an appl,-
cant at the State Department. l will
say as an expert, if you wish that kind OF
evidence, that the Treasury being de-
psrtment of the Government in which
the largest number OF offices
al large are, that when there
Is no special place named by
an applicant, they are very apt to send
such letters therei that matter Is, how
ever, discretionary with the Presidents
secretary, and they may net At that time
have known of his application to the
! State Department or remembered it.
On dealing with Anderson did you
act on the Conn letter. A-No, sir,
| never saw that letter until last week.
It was filed in the Treasury before | was
appointment clerk; ! was appointed May
! /, 1877. | was not aware that this letter
was on file; never looked on the files At
all until after publication of The letter to
Anderson appeared in the newspapers.
Q.-Is it not usual when anybody Rp-
plies for q position in the Department 10
require some testimonials from Outsiders
as basis for appointment, even when
you have made up your mind to make
appointment A.-Ies, sir.
Q-What official papers had Anderson
on e to your knowledge, on which
you based your intention to appoint him
to place that you had picked out2 A
Nothing whatever to base 1t on except
that letter of Matthews to me, l acted
on that solely.
Q-And the particular letter on which
YOU acted is lost2 A-Yes sir.
Q-And the letter which you wrote
in reply TO that particular letter, on
which you acted, you have DO copy of 1t?
Al wrote no letter in reply to that |
think. II required no raply being II
recommendation to office. l do not re-
member writing any reply to it. The
letter which was lost was the one on which
| based my intention to appoint him.
Q-Why would not the President see
Anderson? Ale did not give any
reason, but was very emphatic and showed
great disgust and aversion.
Q-Glve US as near as you can what
the President said. Al can only give
the substance. | went on to tell him that
Senator Mstthews had recommended this
young man, political refugee ttom
Louisiana for appointment in the Trea-
sury, and that had offered him minor
place and that he had positively declined
taking any place in the Treasury, unless
he could have larger salary--sometnlng
like three thousand dollsrs-and that he
had told me that if was TO sec the Pres.
ident | would understand why 9 was to
have larger place, and that ne wanted
to see him. The President declined see
ing HIM and said he was not aware that
any recognition of that kind of his SER
vices was required. He dissvowed all
knowledge OF any such understanding.
Q-Wnat understandings You must
have conveyed scme understanding. A
This gentleman claimed that there had
been q promise to him personally OF a
plxce that Senator Matthews and the
President would know Of
Q-The President dsciamed it? A
Yes.
Q-What did he say about his being
fit man to appoint to any placer A
He said nothing about it. l cannot ssy
as to what the President said, but | un-
derstood him to convey the idea that
there was no objection to appointing him
to a minor place. He did not instruct
me sot to appoint him, and inasmuch as
l named to him that place, l certainly
understood that l could appoint him to
that place without objection.
Odd the President say TO you, or
convey to you, that you should not aP-
point him2 A-No; no more than tha.
he showed his aversion to having any
thing to do with the man.
Q-How did he show it2 A-By the
emphatic way in which he declined to
see him.
Q-Give us the words2 Al cannot;
| can only give you the impression lett
on my mind.
Q-Do you mean for us TO understand
that sll the President declined TO do was
TO recommend him for higher placer
ALL he declined to do was to counte
nance his being put in higher place.
Q-Why did it never occur to you to
go and see Secretary Sherman as the
chief of that Department? A-For the
reason that when l would 60 to him
with these minor appointments he would
say: Il can't attend to that Smith;
can't be bothered with the appoint
ment"
Q-Still here was man that had been
down ia Louisiana where Sherman had
been ana had performed valuable ser
vices. Why then did you not go and see
Sherman2 A-Because he would not
take the appointment that | offered
O. But when be claimed higher one
why did you not go and see hun then2
A-Wel because his claim l did not
think was a matter that needed to take
Secretary Sherman's attention.
Q.-Still you took the trouble to go and
see the PRESIDENT Al did be asked
me to. If he had asked me to 90 TO
Sherman should have done the same
tIng.
Odd the President at this interview
say that Anderson hsd been appointed to
Consulship? a. No, sir, he said moth.
ing about it.
After some further testimony on the
same subject the committee adjourned.
The Matthews Committee.
WAsHINGToN, June l3.-The special
committee OF the Senate appointed at
the instance of Senator Matthews TO in
quire into anv connection thst he may
have had with the election matter in
Louisiana, convened to-day. James +.
Anderson appeared in company with the
sergeant-st arms. The committee con-
slsts of Senator Etmulds, chsirmaD,
Allison, lugslls, Hosr, Dsvis, OF Il!iEois,
Whyte and Jones OF Florida. A note
wss read from MORRISON, temporary
chairman, OF the Potter Committe, stating
that Mrs. jerks wss to be exsm!r ed
today snd that it was necessary that
Anderson should be present. Anderson
then retired snd the committee took q
renpss