Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-07-10
A POLITICAL OLIO.
The Great Star Reuters Defense Cost
Himself Alone Fully $4,000


ton-the former Republican and the lat.
ter Democrat. Both are at the Brigs
House, and Tribune reporter had an in
teresting chat with them Yesterday on 3
variety of subjects. Colonel Hill is known
in Washington as an intimate friend o.
ex-senator Dorsey-in fact, he was a wit
ness for the defense in the recent star
route trial-and he was asked his opinion
of that celebrated case.
speaking as lawyer" he said, 81
read every page of testimony in the stan
route trial, and l failed to find a scin.
tllla OF trustworthy evidence against Mr.
Dorsey. / have known him since 1871.
and went with him in 1880 to Indiana to
assist in the Garfield campaign. | be-
lieve it was his skill and sagacitv alone
that elected Garfield and Arthur. Since
the death of Zach Chandler | believe
Dorsey to be the ablest politician in this
country.
He was prosecuted by Wayne Mac
Neagh and Thomas L. James because he
opposed them when Garfield selected
them for the Cabinet. Dorsey was present
March 3rd when James called upon Gar
field, and he heard James pledge himself
to act as Garfield man if taken into
the Cabinet. That same day he was in an
adjoining room when James called upon
Conkling, and he heard James make the
/ assertion that he was not a candidate for
the Cabinet, but that if he was chosen he
would be COnkling's strongest supporter.
| Both conversations took place within the
space of few hours"
what did the recent trial cost Dorsey %
sit cost him in LAWYERS fees and in the
expenses of one of the other defendants,
who had no money, the sum of $3.50, 900.
The expenses of the defense altogether
amounted to $400, ,000''
'SDid not Dorsey use star route mohey
in the campaign of 1892"
81 will tell you. You remember that
| My dear HubbelP letter? Well, Hub
bell wanted the star route contractors
who were IN Washington then to put up
money, Brady said he did not know what
Garfield would think about the matter.
Hubben thon wrote to Garfield, at Mem
tor, where Dorsey was then visiting.
Garfield replied, directing his letter to
Brady, but Dorsey induced him to DESTROY
that letter and to write one to Hubbell.
Then Garfield wrote that curious letter
to Hubbell, asking what Brady was do
ing in the departments By that time.
however, there were only one or two star
route contractors in Washington, and
they were not asked to put up a single
| cent"
''Whose money did Dorsey use in In
diana?"
He used his own. / went over his
books and found that he spent precisely
| $l3,3OO of his own money!
sit is rumOred that Dorsey proposes to
| joiRthe DemOcrats?''
II may deny that, but / do not like to
| speak of his intentions more than to say
| that he will attend to his vast private
| business, which has been neglected, and
to his ranch in New Mexico, where he
owns "A, 900 acres of fine land. | wish to
say this-that Garfield and Arthur should
not have allowed themselves to be made
the tools Of designing men to strike down
the man who put them in power"
"HoW does Dorsey regard the standing
| Presidential candidates of the Republican
| party?"
81 may tell you that there are some
| candidates against whom, if they are
nominated, he will work. He has four
large boxes Offacts-papers,l letters, etc.
! which he has preserved, and which in
| certain emergencies he will use. At a
meeting of the National Republican Com
mittee last January Logan moved a vote
of thanks to Hooker, the assistant secre-
! tary, and this was virtually a blow at
! Dorsey, who was Secretary. Dorsey Is a
warm friend of COnkling; he never fav-
ored Mr.. Blaine. His relations are pleas
ant with Secretary of the Interior TelIer.''
| "Will the other indictments in the star
route cases be prosecutedT'
81 don't think that they will. The De-
partment of Justice wants no more such
cases, as Congress will certainly investi-
| gate the expenditures of the department.
| Brewster has said that $4,000 will cover
! the expenses of the trials to the govern
ment. 1 say that it will require five times
that sum-at least $3.50, 600. Resolutions
| to investigate the expenditures have been
! drafted and will be adopted by Congress- -
Colonel Hill told some astonishing
! M in xrh nh
were employed by the Department of
Justice. He spoke in high terms of the
force of character, judgment and gener-
osity of ex-senator Dorsey.
Colonel Hill was also questioned about
the nomination of Stanley Matthews to
the Supreme Court, about which he was
understood to be we'll informed.
''The charge was made," he said, sin
| the Washington Republican that Garfield
when he was i'll New York at the August
conference, asked Jay Gould to advance
/ 100000, and the latter consented to do so
only on receiving Garfield's promise in
writing that Matthews would be elevated
| to the Supreme bench. Gould
| gave the letter to Whitelaw
Reid, and when the fight over the
! COllectorship of the port of New York
was at the hottest Garfield decided to
| withdraw RObertsOn's name. Reid tele-
! grapned Garfield that night to the effect
that if RObertson's name was withdrawn
the Gould letter would be published
| Since the letter was published in the New
! York Sam neither Gould nor Reid has
denied it, and if Reid were to be put under
| oath he would not deny the existence of
! the contract with Could"
"What are the Presidential candidates
doing?v
"Arthur seems to be laying his plans.
| Blaine occasionally sends for some of his
| friends, but that is the most he does. |
| think that he wants friend of his to get
the nomination; in fact, Ihe wants to con-
troll the nomination. Logan is almost an
| avowed candidate. A strong effort will
| be made for Mr.. Edmunds."
"What will be the policy of the anti
| Monopoly COnvention?"
81 am Republican, and not in favor
| of the convention making new party.
| think that the anti-monopolists can OBJ
/ tain what they want if they have the po-
| litical sagacity to avail themselves of the
! existing situation. | would advocate the
| policy of selecting an ExecutiveCOmmittee
| with power to call convention, should
! such action appear wise. From the pres
| ent standpoint such action would not be
| wise. The anti-mOnopOlists should de-
! clare in favor of whichever party will
| carry out their measures"
''What measures are these?D
| line forfeiture OF the land grants. in
| volying 105, 600. 600 of acres. where the cor
| pOratiOns have not carried out their con-
| tracts; the regulation of the currency on
| this basis-that the United States shall
| issue all the currency as soon as practical
| BILE; such reform in the tariff as to pro-
tect all the great manufacturing interests,
| with enough revenue to run the govern
ment when added to the present tax on
whisky: and the passage of laws to limit
| the possession of lands by corporations as
well as individuals"
"Much depends on where the limit is
| placed ~
'Yes, we are not Communists or
agrarians, but we do not believe that any
| corporation or individual should be
| allowed to acquire five, ten or twenty
millions of acres. An English syndicate
| bought 100000 of acres OF the Texas
! Panhandle from the Farwells of this city
| That land is equal in size to one-tenth of
the State of New York, and is almost as
| large as Connecticut. While the House
at Washington is Democratic and the
! Senate Republican, the anti-mOnOpOlists
| hold the balance of power and should
avail themselves of their opportunities"
''Yes,'' said Mr.. George, who was
present during the interview, ''the anti
monopoly plank in the Democratic plat
form of the Syracuse convention added
! 100000 votes to Cleveland's majority,
| The committee on resolutions wanted to
omit that plank, but John Kelly sent the
resolutions back and insisted upon it's
insertion. He proposes to put an anti
monopoly plank in the next Democratic
national platform"
|
I EDnk.