Hand County press. (Miller, Dakota [S.D.]) 1882-1893, 1882-04-19
SHIPHERD.


shipherd, In his examination by the House.
investigating committee on the sth inst. dc.
tailed an interview he had with Secretary Blaine
IN Washington on tho evening of Oct. Is. 1881
The witness adverted to Hurlbut's singular
conduct in withholding documents no had been
requested 10 deliver. Blaine retorted sharply;
What BUSINESS hasl%sou %. sna,fcsHn erfahd !
hoy OF an American Minister? He would have
done right il ho had thrown all Jour papers
,:ito TIE fire, !" ---.....-
The witness then told Blaine what was re-
ported Of Hurlbuts intimacy with Suarez /; that
they had gone out together ON the steamer /;
that, on arriving at Lima, Suarez had placed at
IImlbuts disposal one Of the finest residences
IN Lima, with wlne-cellar exceptionally well
stocked, and that Rnrlbut was occupying Il free
OF expense 10 himself, and all had been furn-
ished by the Credit lndustriel. Blaine laughed
incrcdnlonsly, and said "Oh, they don't catch
Steve in that way. IL he lives in a fine
house he pays rent for it," The witness
then said further swell, Mr.. Secretary,
their intimacy is matter Of public
comment in Lima They are always together.
suarez Is virtually an inmate OF the American
legation" At this Blaine exclaimed, with
great emphasis "If all This be true he must
have sold out to the Credit Industriel. will go
TO the bottom or this" Then, after q moment,
turning to witness, he said "What do you
want me to do, Shipherdr The witness
handed him draft Of dispatch and said |:
it, and replied: "No, not that !;
1t would raise howl in Congress" He
(Blaine) then wrote, resting on the arms OF
his char. dispatch in substance as follows !:
The report reaches the State Department that
your conduct is such as to lead to suspicion Of
improper relations with the Credit Industriel.
Yon must stop it, The witness continued :
81 heard afterward, through Senator Blair,
that the dispatch was sent but the dispatch,
which II appears from the correspondence fur
nished by the State Department was sent, was
very different from the dispatch which the Sec
Tetary wrote in my presence and read to me-"
In his testimony before the committee, on
the 10th inst, Shishcrd said he had talk with
Gen. Gran. concerning tho affairs OF the PERU
Wan Company, and that he GRANT declined
to consider any proposition TO become pecunia-
rily interested In the company, although he
looked upon it in favorable light. Wit
ness said that ex-senator Conkling agreed to
accept retainer for professional services il
the occasion should arise Shipherd declined
TO tell with whom no had been "holding
confidential correspondence upon pension
affairs, intmsting that the committee was ex-
ceecing the range of their investigation and
obtrudDg upon purely private matters. The
witness was then asked il he had anything
further to offer in justification OF hls charge
that Minister Hurlbut had been Influenced
against the Peruvian Company by the Credit
lndustriel.
Shipherd replied at some length to the effect
that he had alraadv saar shsread With ps,r,
suing an at.ack upon the reputation OF dead
man, and he did not care to go further or say
ANYTHING that was not directly in the line OF his
own justification. He had read from newspa-
pers and had heard from.others reperts con-
Meeting Hurlbut with the Credit Industriel,
and these reports he (Shipherd) had repeated
to Secretary Blaine at their interview Oct. a.
shipherd, at his examination on the 11th
inst, positively refused to tell who was the
author of the sealed letter sent by him to An
zoa, under cover Of Minister Hurlbut, and TO
be delivered by the latter. Mr.. Blount con-
tinucd to quote from the printed correspond
ence. and endeavored to extract from the wit
ness a categorical answer 10 each question,
reading from the letter sent to Arizola through
Minister HUlbut but obtained nothing
but evasive replies. He asked "Was
not that letter written by the Venezuelan
Minister" Witness declined to reply.
Witness wag asked il Senator Blair, as counsel,
was conferred with in relation to TITO letter TO
Burlbut in which he (Shipherd) rendered him
$3.50 900 in stock, and replied! "Senator Bair
did not sec the letter to Hurlbut." Witness,
however. told him about It some time after 1t
sent. III was GlscuSsed by ah tue couuSel
none OF them even found fault With II on ITS
face, bat the remark was frequently made:
"Shipherd, that letter will bear double con-
structlon, and may get You into trouble"
The shiphcrd examination was resumed on
the 18TH Witness refused 10 produce list Of
the stockholders OF the Peruvian Company.
He testified that VIM. II. Hurlbert saw a dis
patch to Minister Hurlbut on which Secretary
Blaine had penciled the words $50 IN,
Steve J"
Shnherd's examination on the 14th inst. was
dry and uninteres' ing. He stated that he IRE
sente.i letter OF introduction from Gen. Grant
to President Arthur, but declined to repeal
what occurred at that interview with the Presi-
dent He assured the committee, however,
that nothing occurred that could have
any reference to the allegations OF the
House resolution which led to the investi-
CATION, although the conversation had some
relation to the Peruvian Company. Witness
voluntarily denied the published statements
that no had certain correspondence With Secre-
tary Blaine, and that there were certain letters
which Blaine would rot like 10 have published.
He said he never received an autograph letter
from Secretary Blaine.