Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1882-12-26

Regarding Mr.. Dorsey's letter to Pres
ident Garfield, published to-day In
the World, and the circum
stances leading to it. Colonel Robert u
Ingersoll, who was witness to much that
happened at the time, said to-day:
sYou ask what know about the rela-
tions of Dorsey and Garfield after Gar
field became president, and what know
about the published letter of Dorsey to
Garfield on May 81, 1881.
s'Of course I knew in q general way OF
the newspaper charges against Senator
Dorsey. know thathe had conversations
with the president in which he demanded
an investigation, and in which he asked
that the president would suggest the names
of some prominent persons before whom
the charges or the papers or the some
things or the anythings that anybody had
Or pretended to have might be Investigate
ed. Dorsey seemed anxious that the facts
should be made public. He never dreamed
of the presidents helping him to smother,
to cover or to stamp out the real facts. He
did not wish to use the president as a
shield. but rather as an instrument to
compel inferior officers not to keep but to
tell all that they actually
knew. Dorsey went so far an
to say to the president that he wanted no
counsel: that he did not care to be repre-
scented before AN investiga ting committee
all he wanted was that such committee
should be allowed every opportunity of
making a thorough investigation, and if
their report was unfavorable to him he
would ask no favors. The president on
more than one occasion stated that what
Dorsey demanded was not only fair but
that it was more than fair and that it was
eminently proper that he should comply
with the demand. l know that at that
time the relations between the president
and Dorsey we're cordial and frank, and
Mr.. Dorsey had sense enough to know
and the president had brains enough to
know that it would be impossible for Mr..
Dorsey to be shielded by executive power.
Nothing of that kind was ever asked for.
Mr.. Dorsey felt that his reputation was
being destroyed by the circulation of
falsehoods, by the mutilation of reports,
by giving to the country patches. pieces
and shreds, by filling the air with suspi-
cion. He wanted all the evidence laid be-
fore the committee. Mr.. Dorsey, of course,
feared at that time that his enemies, after
having poisoned the public mind, might
obtain all indictments against him by
holding back part of the testimony and by
the presentation of suspicious fragments
made suspicious by being connected to-
gether by links of falsehood. He occu-
pied high position, welded great politi-
cal influence and excited considerable
envy. Under such circumstances it was
only natural that he should ask that what
ever was done against him should be done
in the daylight. Of course he knew that
the department had plenty of detectives
and spies, and that an Indictment could
probably be found about as easily against
one man as against another, and like
every man who has any reputation what
ever, he wishes to defend himself in apt
time. After the president had made the
order for the appointment of a committee,
and after the committee had failed to act,
after there had been two or three adjourn
ments of meetings, accompanied Sena-
tor Dorsey to the postoffce department as
related by him in his statements. We
there met the postmaster general and the
attorney general. The attorney general
thought that it would be improper to have
an investigation at the time because no
charges had been made against Senator
Dorsey. When the publications in the
newspapers we're spoken of the postmas-
ter general disavowed having had any
hand whatever in such publications, de-
MED that he had ever given any informa-
ton to reporters and accounted for the
appearance of the articles in the papers
by the statement that the records of the
postofice were open and the reporter mus!
have obtained information in the usual
way. It was distinctly admitted that
there we're no charges against Senator
Dorsey; that neither the attorney general
nor the postmaster general had ever made
any charges and did not at that time
make any charges. It was then proposed
either by Senator Dorsey or myself that
Senator Dorsey should make a statement
of his entire connection with the star
route service; that he should furnish the
attorney general with such statement OF
with copy of it, and that if anything was
found by the department during the exam.
ination of the star route papers inconsis
tent with that statement, either Senator
Dorsey or myself was to be notified and
we were to have the privilege of explain
ing such Inconsistencies. It was also
agreed by the attorney general that the
statement should be treated as absolutely
confidential. But there is no need of my
saying any moro upon this subject. Sena
tor Dorsey's statement embraces substan.
TALLY everything that was said at that
meeting. After that statement had been
handed to the attorney general the
charges circulated as actively as evel
and no attention having been paid to the
understanding arrived at at the time the
statement was submitted the let
ter of May 81 was written, and the exhib
its therein referred to were appended"
''In any of your conversation with Gar
field in relation to these matters did 1t
use any expressions tending to show thai
Dorsey still retained his confdence?"
81 had several conversations with tht
president when Mr.. Dorsey was not pres
emit and when the conversation was abso
lutely and perfectly unrestrained, and
during which the president said agar
and again that he had not the slightest sus
picion that Mr.. Dorsey was guilty Of
defrauding the government in these con
tracts. I never heard one man express
greater friendship for another than Gener
al Garfield Gid for Senator Dorsey.
never heard one man express greater con
fidenco in the INTEGRITY of another or n