Morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven [Conn.]) 1848-1894, 1882-08-04

was at once placed in the hands of its SER
Reant-at-arms, ordering all the officers presi-
dents, superintendents and directors of both
the Western Union and the Atlantic and Pa
clic telegraph companies to appear forth
with before the Potter committee, bringing
with them all the kilograms that for six
months had passed back and forth between
these politicians, naming some forty or fifty |
of the more active men of the time, and |
covering all that were in the trunks.
So good thing could not be kept. Just |
one hint had to be made-to a friend ''in con- |
Reconsideration soon reached the of
William e. Chandler, who was considerably
"about" in those days, ana through him was
communicated to the vigilant chairman of
the Senate committee. In five minutes that
committee was in session, and voted to do
| the very thing that had been ordered by the
| House committee. 1t was contest for
possession of the kilograms. The House had
| taken its action about nine O'Clock in the
| morning. It was after p. m. when tue
| long summons, covering two three sheets
| of foolscap paper, reached the Office of the
sergeant alarms of the Senate. John Il.
| French was then filling that position. Taking
in the situation, he soon had half dozen of
the readiest writer's of the Senate force
| making copies of the subpoena, couple of
| trustworthy deputies awaiting orders, and a
quick telegraph operator with wire for New
York-and enjoined upon all dispatch and alb
| solute silence. Before the lamps were light
VIVA
| telegraphed to every one of the more than
twenty telegraph officials, and before the sun
! set the next day, to make all sure, peradven.
| ture any legal cavil personal service had
| been made in every instance, at the homes OF
. places of business of these men, wherever
= ! they lived, in the State of New York or II
= New England and the morning thereafter
= on the arrival of the train from the North
. came these men, with their trunks OF tele
| grams, and reported to the sergeant at arms
. of the Senate that they waited the furthe
y ! orders of that body at Wizards Hotel.
q That morning, about nine o'clock, as wa
- his wont, the rotunda sergeant at arms of tn
. House, perhaps thinking over the many field
j" he had won, and lost, in the Buckeye State
all the splendors of which were to be eclipse'
| by the trap which he now about t.
spring, leisurely taking his comfortabl
breakfast at that same Wizards Hotel, whe1
"a a fellow boarder across the table asked
r ''Why are all the telegraph men in town /?
,e adding that he had just left a dozen of ther
Q. in one of the parlors upstairs. "Glad t.
x hear it," replied the Democratic official, $50
10 the presence of these men in Washington
g. saves me the trip of deputy to New York;
' | and he went on with his morning mea
st Later he hunted up the telegraph men i
O. their parlor, and after general introductio
in | and quiet discussion of the topics of tn
es day, he unrolled his ponderous summons an
g. | proceeded to read the same to the body co
| iectively. Upon his conclusion DIR. Greer
president of the Western Union company n.
marked that they were law-abiding men an
would assuredly respond to the summons
the House as soon as they and the paper
70 called for were released by the Senate ths
r, they were in Washington with their trunk
~ of kilograms in obedience to writ fro1
~ that body; and when it was through wit
70 them they would Immediately report to til
Is House.
or The Senate not through with thos
| kilograms until about five minutes before tt
final adjournment of both houses-thoug
during the meantime somebody went throug
patches, an exposure which laid the hp found
mr. | ton for great deal of wholesome polite
~ action the part of the American poop
1t | since. Several lessons may be gathere
'- from these facts by the thoughtful politician
w. and it may be well to put them on record
10 a part of the history of an interesting tim
- The outcome must have reminded the mou
ing Democratic telegraphic official of VIII
has become proverbial about certain ''schem
| of mice and men,