New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1880-05-04
MIR. VANCE AMUSING THE SENATE.
HIS SPEECH ON THE KHLLOGG-sPOFFoRD REsoLU-
TIONs-HOw EVIDENCE IS DIsTORTRD FOR
PARTISAN EFFECT

TIoNs-How EVIDENCE Is DIsToRTKD FOR
| PARTISAN EFFECT.
IBY TELEGRAPH TO TRmUyE.l
WASHINGTON, May. 3.-SenatOr Vance, of North
Carolina is of the "iolly boys" of the Senate.
His speech up on tho Kclogg-Spolord resolutions,
begun on last Friday and finished today, was /" as
good rs n circus" in places and its scintillations Of
wit were very much of the kind one expects to hear
| from the sawdust arena. Whenever no touched
upon tho testimony he bundcrcd. It is to his
| credit however, that hc frankly acknowledged his
| mistakes when attention was called to them.
For example, he stated that Mr.. Blanchard.
| Governor Kcogg's private secretary, had signed
| the nnmo of tho Register General to kilograms di
rccting the Registers Of the different parishes in the
State Of Louisiana to send their returns to the
Custom IIOuSc instead of to the Office Of the Reg
lister General. He courtcouSly permitted Senator
Cameron to remind him that Mr.. Blanchard was
never Governor Kcllogg's private secretary; that
the tclcgrams had never been sent to the Registers
| in the parishes, but only to those in NewO Orleans,
and that they not requested to send their re-
turns but only their rcgistries of returns to the
| Custom House.
Mr.. Vance quoted cOpiously from printed vOlun-
| tccr statement of Mr. Jewett n Democratic lawyer
in Orleans in relation to the state of affairs in
Louisiana preceding tho overthrow OF tho Packard
| Government, and from Washington dispatches to
The Ner Orleans Tim0 to prove that about the time
tho Committee on Privileges and Elections began
its work Of investigation, thcl National Adminlstra
tion was disposed to help Senator Kellogg with It's
influence. When asked to tell in what part Of the
volume of evidence these papers were to be found,
| he said they were not In the evidence and were now
eng read to the Congress Of the United States for
| the first time.
Mr.. Vancr's eliminating point was the alleged
translation of a number of Senator kcogS's cipher
| kilograms to and from Ncw-Orlcans, transmitted
during the progress of the Investigation. lie said
| that when the kilograms wcro first obtained, after
some difficulty. from the telegraph company, he
| was surprised that Senator Kellogg did not come
| forward promptly and offer to translate. them.
Senator Kellogg interrupted him to say thatlhc had
not only made such an 0llrr verbally 10 the chair
man. Lut finding il was not accepted he had after
ward written formal letter to the chairman of tho
committee olrIiu., to translate one of them.
.rnator lSaulshury thcrrupon confirmed the
statement with rcglrl To the letter but said that 1t
was written after tho committee had finished its
work Of taking testimony leaving the impression
that that the reason why tho oiItr was not ac-
ccptcd.
Senator Cameron promptly called attention to tho
datr Of the letter and to the fnct that tho COM
mittcc had taken testimony several days after that
time! also to the fact that Senator Kellogg had
previously made the same offer verbally.
Neither Mr. Salisbury nor Mr.. Vance made nny
reply to this. The incident exhibits very plainly
fin. di,po,ition of Democratic members Of the COM
miitcc who have acted rs judges upon the claims
of Senator Kellogg to his SCAT to suppress or dstort
| tnr truth whenever II is possible to do 50.
The cipher tclcgrams proved not To he difficult OF
trur~laion hrng formed hy the simple substitution
of arbitrary words for terms In common uSr, and
Senator Vance read what pnrpOrtcd to be tranSla-
nrl4 of several of them. They proved, II they Wrro
correctly translated whnt everybody knows that
Senator kellogg being the only Republican in Con-
gr.,, from Louisiana. has been able to secure the
aupnintncnt of good many Republicans 20 Federal
| mrnbcrs Of the Packard Legislature The inrt hpS
| never been denied and Mr.. Nan'" read thG trir-
lrams and their trauSlatiOus with srriO comic nec-
| tinn of voice and made quaint remarks upon thcm
which created u pood deal of mcrrimrnt
| A. u LEGAL argument his speech VIVA unworthy ol
2 man Of his reputation and experience lie strug-
plrd with The problem of res doJmicdf' Tor some
time but when Sruutor Carpenter stntcd the bear
u.- of tho question and asked HIM u hc Wlohtu 10
L, md, r., nnd aS EXPRESSING the opinion that when
| thc Senate bring judge of the qualifications oi
| its own members. had oucN tried n ease and de,
cllrrl that upon it, merits senator was emitted
10 ST. II mirht he rcOpcnrd md reversed th0 ncXt
| week, Mr.. Vance said hn meant nothing or me klhl'
| He simply believed it wrong to declare that u cnSG
Wns tried upon iis merits when tho privilege or
taking testimony had been refused to tho contest
ants i,
Senator Vance il n courteous and popular gentle
man. hut hO is, i'll this matter, acting SIMPLY hS Il
PARTISAN. -.
keep the resolutions before tho Senate until vote
~ ROM lrI.