Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1881-11-08
THE STAR RuUTE CASES.
District attorney COrkhili Makes = state
meut IN Court.

W WashingtOn yesterday morning, person
al explanation was made by Mr.. Corkhill,
the district attorney. He said that he
had never before found it necessary to an
swer any criticism on his official conduct,
because he had rested secure in the undis-
turbed conviction that no man, however
high his official position. or however hum
bic his station in life, could point to a
single official act of his that merited cen
sure, ard no one could truthfully say that
he had ever failed to perform faithfully
and cons :icntiously, to the best Of his abil-
ity, every official act. The public busi-
ness connected with his Office had not,
| within the last ten years, been in as good
| a condition as it was to day. During the
two years that he had held the Office no
| conviction had failed in any important
case, and no guilty person had escaped
| punishment for his crime. Yet he had
been, time and again, charged publicly
with 4 want of interest in the star route
prosecution, aud with being relax, neglect
full and inattentive to bis duty in that
respect. He would probably have
passed these charges over with
oat notice had not tho Washing
ton Star published last Saturday evening
4 report of supposed cabinet meeting,
tho United States, in which the attorney
general was represented rs saying that in
the star route cases Mr.. Cook had been en-
ployed as special assistant attorney for the
United States On the express desire of Mr..
Corkhill, and that he (the attorney gen
eraD had nothing to DO with it. 1t was
entirely immatcrial whether Mr.. MacE V cagh
had ever made that statement or not. 1t
| would be read and believed all over the
United States. He therefore took this Oc
casion to make rublc statement Of the
matter.
On the first of June, 1SSl-now five
months aso-Mr. MacVcash had sent for
him and informed him that u certain in
| vcstigation was in progress i'll the post
Office department, in connection with the
| star route cases that the persons engaged
in the investigation desired the appoint
ment Of Mr.. Cook and that lie had
thought it proper to notify him (COrkhilD
Of Cooks appointment. He had 4 long con-
vcrsation with Mr.. MacTeagh, in
which he said that the appoint
ment of Mr.. Cook WAS satisfactory and
agreeable to him, but that lie desired to
have his own position properly and plainly
defined that he was ready and willing to
perform any service required Of him, but
that the delay in tho appointment Of 4
marshal had given him all the business
that he could attend to. The attorney
general not only assentcd to that, but said
| that no officer so situated could give the
necessary care and attention demanded by
the star route investigation. In order,
however, to put himself (CorkhilD on re-
cord, he had asked permission Of the
attorney general to make his statement
in writing, which hc had done. His
letter was published at the time, but
seemed now to bc overlooked. Mr.. Cook,
who had been engaged in the cxami
nation, was formally appointed. lie
/ had had never given himself out as his
! (Corkhill's) assistant, but claimed, and
properly, to be 4 special assistant a:tOT-
ney OF tho United States, charged with the
prosecution of tho star route cases. lie
| (COrkhilD had, therefore, not been con-
suited in connection with the prosecution.
Mr.. Cooks consultations had been all with
the attorney general, whose assistant he
properly claimed to be- 1t would be seen
from this statement that he (CorkhilD
could not know anything officially of the
i case, or be in the slightest degree respon-
siblc for It,
Another point charged in the matter
vas that the present proceeding by Grim
inal information had been rendered neces
sary by his ad adjournmcnt of the grand jury
from the 10Th of september to the Sd of
October. lie had been charged in the pub
lie press rs responsible for it. Tho fact
! was, that on the 18th of July last counsel
for the defense came into court with the
remarkable motion that the case he pre-
sented to the grand jury, and that OH that
occasion he stated that he knew nothing
of the case, and that Mr.. Cook was the
only man who could answer for the gov
ernmcnt in the matter. Mr.. Cook then and
there stated that it was his intention, after
! the summer was over, to present some ease
to tho grand jury.
1t was then his (COrkhil!'s) intention, rs
the court knew, to adjourn the grand jury
till the first Monday in October, his honor
being in the habit of returning from his
summer vacation between the Goth of Sep
tember and the 1st of October. The as
s:ult on the president had, however, Oc-
CURED, and lie (CorkhilD had consulta-
lion with Judge Cox. who said he would
return on the 18th of September, and that
the grand jury should be adjourned till
then, unless in the meantime, the presi-
dent should die and if so, he would re
turn at any time, call the grand jury, and
have the assassin indicted. Otherwise tho
grand jury might be rcspited till the 81
day of October. Thcroupon the grand
jury had adjourned till the 18th of Sep
tember. Then it was called and remained
in session till the 10Th of September, do
ing no business except in the examination
of small pension case. The grand jury
was again respited for two weeks, in ac-
cortiance with the previous understanding.
At that time he had no knowledge that
there was any immediate intention to pre-
sent the star route cases to the grand jury,
but he had the best of reasons to suppO Q
that there was not. On tho 5th of Sep
tembcr he called upon Attorney General
Ma;Veagh and in formed him that he
would have no business for tho grand
jury when it assembled and that if
there were any Of the star route cases
ready for pl cscntation the grand jury was at
his service for three weeks otherwise hc iE-
tended to adjourn the grand 'jnry till the
first Monday in October. The attorney
general then informed him that since the |
presidents assassination he had not given |
the star route cases any special attention !; |
that he knew nothing of them and that he |
(COrkhilD need not bother himself about |
them, and that when his services or those
of the grand jury were required he would
be notified by the person having special
charge of them. Under such circum-
stances the grand jury was respited for two
weeks. On the 25th of September he was
informed by Mr.. Cook that the attor-
ney general wished to 600 hin,