Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1880-03-23

he signed what was untrue. And SO when
comes before this House, and when he come
before the people of this State. he comes b
fore them. in the first place. in the role of
person iio has started out upon false basi
who has signed what was not true. who hs
put himself in q position that is living an
a straightforward lie. And lie comes in ths
condition in the first place. Now, ther
there is this to be said that he who come
into court and asks for justice, must come i
with clean hands. And We are followed nc
only by his testimony. but we are followe
by the testimony of the member from Kenne
bunkport. who saws that he signed state
ment, and who says that he mi>represente
to Mr.. White. and upon examination, hi
statement is that he obtained the money un
der false pretenses, if you please to call it so
and he added, ''Ye,. it was a regular hors
trade"
Now. these are the kind of gentlemen VIII,
come in here after they have made thes'
statements. these explanations, after the,
ave made Irregular horse trades" after the,
have deceived and misrepresented, after they
have obtained money under false pretences-
they come in here and ask the members o
this House and the people of the State o
Maine to believe that they started out in gooG
faith in the role of sell. constituted detectives
that they took this money for that purpose
and with no hope or desire Of gain. and the,
ask this House and the people of this State
to believe that the position they assumed wa;
assumed for the veal of the State of Maine!
Now, that is the source from which the tes
timony comes, with the additional source OF
Mr.. James o. White. upon whose life and
services the gentleman from Lincoln has deliv.
cred a panegyric, and has told us what an
honorable man he is, and he was here with.
out stain, and how he is here without his
statement in any way being refuted.
Now this gentleman from Wilton. James
0. White, came before this committee, and
he testified that his competitor, DIR. Eaton,
was elected by l6 majority over him last Sep
| tember. at an election freely and fairly held
| in his representative district. And he testi-
fled that notwithstanding that fact he came to
| Augusta and took DIR. Eaton's seat and sat
down in it and attempted to hold it. And
say that a man that will steal seat, or steal
anything, will lie upon the stand. And will
detract from his testimony every time when
he comes in as he did in those days of trouble.
when the decision of the court told him fairly
and squarely that that seat did not belong
to him. He admitted upon the stand that he
was defeated by l6 majority, and then he
comes upon the stand after that to expose
| bribery. That is the source from which the
testimony comes, and il comes from just those
three witnesses and from nobody else. 1t is
| by them that the charges are instigated. The
testimony Of Solon Chase and Of f. II. Cove
| is simply the ipsc dirt of Swan and Hartman
and J. o. White. And it is q well known
rule of law that no plaintiff can make testi-
| mony for himself by telling A, b, C and ID,
and then they come in and testify as to what
was told them. And that is all it amounts to.
| And the night before, Swan says, in his
statement, that he had been approachedby an
| agent of the republican party and offered
money, and he was going to accept it. And
upon the stand he says squarely and fatty
that he had been approached by no agent of
the republican party when he made that state
ment, and told what j. O. White had told
him. No person had been to him. no person
had made him any offers of money, or held
out any inducement TO him then. And vet,
| notw outstanding that, he goes and makes a
written statement that he had been approach
ed by an agent Of the republican party. and
that he had been offered money for the pur-
pose of changing his vote in the organization
and formation of the legislature!
Now, the only question to be asked and the
only question to be answered in this case, is
whether or not money actually passed from
Wallace II. White to Thomas b. Swan, in
the forenoon of the 9th day of Jan, and wheth-
, er money passed in the afternoon of the 9Th
day Of January from Wallace X. White to
Moses Hartman. Right there is the whole
question and issue here. And between the
testimony of Mr.. Swan on the one part and of
Mr.. White on the other in the forenoon, and
of Mr. Hartman on the one part and of Mr..
White on the other in the afternoon rests the
whole charge.
Now. in this investigation the door was
thrown wide open. Irrelevant testimony was
introduced. In the first place the committee
were of the opinion that they would hold the
parties somewhat within the rules Of legal
testimony. And there went up all over the
State among fusion papers and advocates Of
the fusion cause a howl that the committee
was smothering the testimony. And upon
deliberate consideration it was thought best
to open the door. II was so done. Testi-
mony was introduced upon both sides which
would not have been introduced under the
rules of evidence in court Of law. And af-
ter that. and after they saw the denials that
were made and after they saw and heard the
testimony that was introduced. again went up
the howl all over the State because so much
| irrelevant testimony was introduced. And il
was published in the papers and the commit
tee was criticised. 1t was the old doctrine of
| ssvcu shall and YOU shan't. you will and you
won't. you III pc uaUlncd III you 40, ana you IL
be damned If you DON'T So the committee
relaxed the rules of evidence and allowed a
general and free investigation.
Now it was in evidence before this commit
tee, and you will see that the whole scope and
the whole finding of the minority is that Wal
lace r. White was possessed of money to the
amount of thousands of dollars which he had
obtained somewhere, and which he was in
hotels and upon the streets peddling ont to
whomsoever would accept. There was be-
tween them but little talk. If Moses Harri-
mans story is true, the first word that Wal
lace r. White ever uttered to him was ''Ain't
this nice place to do this kind of business:' r
And Moses Hartman came before the COM
uittee and asked them to believe that the
| first words that Wallace r. White ever said
| to him we're those words when he went into
| the jury room in the court house here in Au-
susta. No talk about the bargain.
No talk about a change of action.
No talk about the reasons which
should influence him to take the course that
he did. No talk about the price. No talk
about the money, nothing Of the kind! But.
amt this = nice place to do this kind Of
business:~ And that is the first intimation,
| and the first talk that Wallace r. White had
with Moses Hartman, and it is to be Gu
riousiy observed that Moses Hartman re-
heats the same words Of Thomas b. Swan,