The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-03-13
THE CIPHER DISPATCHES.
Theft Of tho Tcirgrnms Explained Sharp
Practice of KcpubiiCan Leaders and
Their Tools.
WAslIrNtiToy. March G. 1879

Viio"ih6 icI'Ott oi TIC cIP!ieI ulnt'atcU-
e5:
The Committee for the Investigation
of Frauds in the Electoral Count, which
By the resolution Of the House OF Janua-
ry ~, 1879. were directed TO inquire into
certain ciphc: dispatches, &c, respectful
ly report;
That in the autumn Of 1876 the Wcs-
tern Union Telegraph Company gave
orders to its employees at ali point, to or
from which such dispatches had been
sent or received or repeated, TO forward to
its main Office at New York all despatch
cs and copies Of dispatches relating to the
Presidential election Of 1876, and The same
were thcreupon collected and forwarded to
New York, where they were assorted in
packages with reference 10 the points
from which the came. The purpose
Of the company vas 30 keep the dcs-
patches from bci'.; exposed to process
from the courts sac. from Congress, and
thus keep them from publication. With
that view they directed that the assO,,-
ment of them be conducted under the
| care Of Mr. Cary-oilice attorney Of the
| company that when assorted they
should remain in his chnr9c. as being Il
person less likely to bc Summoned to pro-
ducc them than the rorrr officers Of the
company. In this selection all cipher
and other dispatches referring orsiIpposcd
TO refer any wayto the election, including
all dispatches in respect OF which the opcr-
ators were in doubt, were collected aud
came into Mr.. Cory'a charge, to the mum
ber of something over thirty thousand.
Subp~nas having been issued by the
Committee Of the House Of Representa-
tivcs on Louisiana A Hairs, of which Mr.
Morrison was chairman, calling for par
ticular Louisiana dispatches, and by the
Committee of Privileges and elections Of
the Senate, Of wh III Mr.. Morton was
chnirm calling for particular Oregon
dcspatcncs. the same were selected from
the .aass thus put in the charge Of Mr..
Cary and particular inventory Of them
taken. Subsequently,, agcncral subpoena
having been served upon the ';icmbcrs Of
the Executive Committee of the lclo-
graph company, commanding them to
produce all dispatches relating in any
way 10 the election of 1876 before the
Norton committee, the company directed
Mr.. Cary to deliver to Mr.. Whitney, tho
manager of the company ut Washington,
all tho dispatches in his charge, and Mr.
Whitney, after having taken thcrclrom
the specific Oregon and Louisiana de-
| spatches aforementioned, placed the rest
| Of the dispatches, amounting in number
| to 1920, in Il trunk, taken IN inventory
| only OF the number sent from or to par
| ticular points, but 10 further designation
| Of the date, sender, receiver or contents.
| The particular dispatches required by the
Morrison aud Morton committees were
delivered on the 23h and 24th of January,
1877. The remaining 29,215 dispatches
were on the 10Th day of January, 1877,
pursuant to the direction of Mr.. Sargent,
one Of the Morton committee in charge
Of the matter, delivered by Mr.. Whitney
either to the clerk Of that committee, Mr.
DurDank, WHO WAS Il brolhcr-in-aw OF
MIR. Morton, or to the person for the time
being III charge Of the committee room,
locked in trunk, the key OF which Mr..
| Whitney nt The same time delivered to
the clerk of that committee
DISPATCHES AHSTRACTEp.
The Louisiana dispatches received by
the Morrison committee were in due time
returned to the telegraph company.
Those received by the Morton commit
toe, both the specified lot of 2ll Oregon
dispatches and the remaining lot OF
29,275 undcsignatcd dispatches, re-
maincd III the custody CT that committee
not open to general or careless nspcc-
ton, but, OH the contrary, kept close and
under guard until the 18th day of March
1877, when the telegraph company, hav-
ing been notified they could recover the
same, applied through Mr.. Whitney to
the officers Of the committee, and rcccv-
cd back the trunk i'll which they had de-
livered the dispatches to the committee
| Iccl-nd fnnathnr Il, I
same, accompanied by the statement that
these were ali the dispatches which had
been delivered by the company to that
committee. This trunk, with the dcs.
patches thus believed to be enclosed was
forwarded to New York, and in due time
under the regulations Of the company, was
opened, and the dispatches therein con
tanned destroyed by burning The tele-
graph company were not ware 1t Tho
| time that there had not been returned to
them I'll Tic dispatches, which they had
deii red to the Morton Committee. In
point Of fact, however, large number
F., of dispatches had been abstractcd while
they were in the custody Of that commit.
tee. OF these about soven hundred were
as late us May, 1873, in the possession oil
one George Edward Bullock, OF Indiana
who had been the messenger to that com
mittec, and protcgc of its chairman
MIR. Morton, and who sccured, upon tho
recommendation Of Mr.. Thomas J. Bra.
dy, Of Indiana, the Second Assistant
Postmaster General, and others from that
State, an appointment as Consul at Co.
lognc. Upon the eve Of his departure
in May, 1878, and just after your CON.
mittee had been appointed, Bullock de.
livcrcd these dispatches to his friend the
Hon. j. L. Evans of this House, who
passed them over 10 Mr. Brady for allcc.
ed safe keeping, who had them copied
and after consultation with Mr.. Hale
and others, furnished those copies in
part to Mr.. William l.. Chandler, secrc-
tary of the National Republican Com.
mittee, and in part TO the New York
Tribune, - that from Mr.. Chandler
either directly or through others, copies
OF all these dispatches came into the
possession Of the Tribune.
THE PUBLICATION.
Some of the originals thus assorted by
Bullock out of the whole lot Of 30, ,27G
kilograms Mr.. Brady forwarded anopy.
mouslv to the Tribune at a time when il
was claimed that journal had no original
tclegrams. The rest of the original.
Brady gave Mr.. Chandler, who left the
same in the Office of General Butler, q
member Of this committee, in his alb.
sence, without acqu:inting him from
whom they came, and in whose posses,
! s'cr slic committee fo;::i,i them.
The Tribune procured .he copies OF
dispatches which it had thus obtained tc
be translated by Mr.. Hassard and othe,
gentlemen in its employment, in which
work they exhibited very great capacity
and hnvn shnwn hntv almost nnu al NJ .,