The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1880-11-23
II MOREY LETTER.

parties implicated in its alleged forgery and
the influence which it is supposed the letter
exerted in determining the result of the late
election in two of the Pacific states invest the
subject with more than ordinary interest.
At this inhcture a brief history of the mat
ter may prove of some Interest 10 those of our
readers who have not followed the develop
ments step by step as they have been reached
by a persevering and searching investigation.
About the middle of last month, MIR. Hart,
the editor of Truth, a newspaper published
at New York city, received through the mails
an anonymous letter containing another let
ter inclosed within an envelope postmarked
Washington, Jan. %, 1880, and addressed to
H. l.. Morey, Employers Union, Lynn, Mass
The inclosed letter was the one which it was
alleged James A. Garfield wrote to Morey in
regard to the Chinese labor problem. On the
18th of October a fac-simile of the letter APP
peared in Truth. The contents of the letter
were Immediately telegraphed to all parts of
the Union-Montana excepted. Garfield de-
MED its genuineness and pronounced it a for
gerry. Marshall Jewell attempted to gain
possession of the original letter, but failed.
Soon after Mr.. Kenward Philip, a young man
connected with Truth, was arrested upon the
charge of forging the letter. The national
republican committee were the prosecutors in
the case. The committee had no witnesses
to prove thai the letter was a forgery, but
claimed that neither the body of the letter
nor the signature were genuine, that 10 per.
son by the name of II. l.. Morey now lived
or ever did live at Lynn, Mass, and thai
there was not nor ever had been an employers,
union at that town. The defense claimed that
H. L. Morey did live there at the time of
the writing of the letter in question, and that
an employers union existed, of which Morey
was all agent, but that Morey was now dead.
In proof of these assertions they called two
witnesses, one S. S. Morey, WHO claimed to
be a half brother of II. L. Morey, and one
Robert Lindsey, who said he knew Morey
well and had been in correspondence with
him at the time the Chinese letter was said
to have been written. They also showed a
letter from one Goodell, who stated that he
had been administrator of the estate of the
deceased H.. L. Morey. Furthermore they
proved by the register of the Kirkland house,
at Lynn, that II. L. Morey had remained at
the hotel several days about the time that the
alleged Garfield letter had been sent to Lynn.
Abraham S. Hewitt also stated that he be-
lieved the signature Of the letter was genu-
Inc but did not believe the body of the letter
was in Garfield's handwriting. Other prom
inent men in New York, who were supposed
to be familiar with Garield's chirography,
also stated hat it was their belief that Gars7
field wrote the letter. At this stage of the
proceedings the defense appeared to have the
best of the situation. The election came of
and it was supposed that the matter would be
investigated no further. But the republican
committee found they had a surplus of funds
on hand and determined to use the money
for the purpose Of clearing up the mystery
surrounding the authorship of the letter.
John I. Davenport and a score or two of
detectives were employed to work up the
matter. They have only partially completed
their work. The forger is not positively
known, but Philip is supposed 10 be the guilty
party. 1t has been shown by the prosecution
that some hard swearing has been done. BY
their witnesses they have proven that no man
by the name of II. L. MOrey ever lived at
relative known as H. L. Morey ; that the
name on the register at the Lynn hotel was
forged that the postmark on the letter was
also forged, and that no man by the name of
Goodell or by any other name administered
upon the estate of II. L. Morey at Lynn. FL
nally s. S. Morey and James O'Brien, alias
Lindsey, the former witnesses for the defense,
have confessed to perjury. The former, who
swore that H. L. Morey was his half brother,
now swears that he has no relation by that
name that he was hired by two men (Clark
and Sanborn) to 60 to New York and give
false testimony, for which he was paid that
he was at the democratic headquarters but
saw no members of the committee, and that
he was at the Truth Office and had several
conversations with Josh Hart, the editor of
the paper. His confession reveals nothing
that can implicate Hart or any member of the
democratic committee.
O'Brien confesses that he was induced TO
personate a Robert Lindsey by two men
Duck and Birmingham by name); that he
was at the Truth Office the most of his time
while at New York, and concludes by saying
he knows nothing about H. L. Morey.
At last advices, S. S. Morey and O'Brien
were under arrest for perjury. Philips coun-
sci had asked for his release on the grounds
that nothing had been published by him that
was not legitimate matter for publication.
Judge Davis has taken the matter under ad-
the Truth newspaper, says that as The matter
now looks he is inclined to believe that the
Iattar l., N fornarv IL oIa1 .totoa ttot Dill,