The Democratic press. [volume] (Ravenna, O. [Ohio]) 1868-1901, 1879-02-13
The Cipher Telerrams.

tlOu OF tne ,clpnef Qeepatches, certain
facts haye been clearly established
which bear hard on the memory Of two
public men who have gone to their
long account, and of whom we must
speak, therefore, forbearingly,and only
in connection with these develop
ments. These men are the late Will
liam Orton, President of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, and the
late o. P. Morton, of Indiana.
All the kilograms relating to the
Presidential election, except three hum
idred received by the Morrison Com
mittee in the House. were delivered
by the direction of Mr.. Orton to the
Committee ON Privileges and Elec.
tions of the Senate, of which Mr..
Morton was then. Chairman, with five
of the.rankest Republican partisans 10
obey his orders as q majority.
These dispatches were handed over
without schedule to identify them,
and those which were. returned were
received back and burnt at the West.
ern Union Office here, without an ex.
aminationat to prove that all of them
had been sent back. They were bun.
died into trunk when sent to Wash.
ington, and part of them were bun
died back into the same trunk to be
returned to New York-all with entire
disregard of the commonest precau.
tions due to private rights, or TO the
Responsibility of the telegraph cOmpa-
ny to the public. or the whole num-
ber, exceeding twenty-nine thousand,
nearly oHe-third came from Indianap-
oils, thus exhibiting the intense inter
est felt by Senator Morton in the elec-
ton, and the large influence which he
exercised as directing mind in his
party. ''-4- ~ -.
The committee room in which these
kilograms were placed was in the ex-
elusive charge OF Mr.. Morton and his
personal connections and friends. Mr..
Burbank, his brother in law, was Sec
retary of the Committee, and received
them from the Washington manager
Of the Western Union. George E. Bull
lock, an Indiana friend of the late SEN
atOr, was the messenger OF the Com
mittee, and is now Consul at Cologne
as a reward for his services.
While these kilograms were in the
custody of Mr.. Morton and his asso.
ciates they were thoroughly examined,
classified, and utilized. AL that might
affect injuriously the Republican man.
ayers during the Presidential cam
paign, aud during Mr.. Morton's own
operations in California, w ere destroy
ed so that they couldnever see thelight.
Whatever the chiefs wanted they took.
Mr.. Brady admitted in his testimony
that he carried off the dispatches which
he had personally sent from Florida
when he went there to aid the Return
ing Board in making their count.
Finally, after the Forty. fourth Con-
gress had adjourned, Bullock stole a
lot of these telegrans, including the
60 called cipher dispatches. He de-
livered those which he had stolen to
the Hon. j. l.. Evans, a mem Der of the
House from Indiana, and one of Mr..
Morton's devoted followers. Evans in
turn gave them to Mr.. Brady, Second
Assistant Postmaster General, who
had been appointed and retained at
the instance of Mr.. Morton. Both
Evans and Brady were most active in
securing for Bullock the Consulate at
Cologne, where he now is as fit rep
resentative of this Fraudulent Admin.
istration, in return for the devotion he
had exhibited in the theft of these
papers.-[N. Y. Sun.
Penniless MtliiOnaires-How Ma.
bobs OF New York Avoid tho
Payment of Taxes.
Attention was recently called to the
tax notice of 1873 served on VIM. III.
Vanderbilt, which was returned with
the Endorsement of Mr.. Vanderbilt
that he owned no personal property
in excess of his debts. One Of the tax
commissioners said to-day: " Ninety
nine persons out of one hundred
would say at first thought that Mr..
Vanderbilt must have purjured him.
self in swearing to such thing. Per-
sopally !. do not know him, but 1
have no doubt that he told the truth.
The laws are SO defective, the ex-
emptions of property by the United
States and State laws are SO numerous,
and the means of evading taxation are
60 MANY. and SO simple, that 1 am al
most surprised that any Que pays q
tax. Our entire system of personal
taxation is little better than farce
and courts haye interfer-
ed with it and tinkered it TO such an
extent that all large properties escape
taxation, aud the burden falls upon
widows and orphans, whose property
is in the surrogate's hands, and upon
small property owners, who are un-
able to place their possessions where
they will escape assessment. The
gentleman gives a few instances of
the expedients employed to escape
taxation. The president of one of the
cityis great corporations enjoys sala-
ry and income of $4,000 year. He
lives in costly house on Murray
Hill, and his possessions of bonds,
Mortgages and securities are large.
He was assessed on personal property
in this city. t..ta
Under oath he said he was farmer
by occupation, that his residence was
In another county, and that he was
not a citizen of New York. Persons
visiting Europe are usually followed
by the tax notices. 1t ls not an un.
heard of thing for them to go before
IN American consul and make an af-
fidavit that they are no longer citizens
sf the United States. In few months
they are back again in New York and
engaged in their usual business. There
ire thousands of residents OF Brook
yn who own valuable personal prop
srty in New York, which the New
York assessors cannet get hold of.
The Brooklyn assessors also miss it,
md for scOrea Of vaara it has maid M