St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1884-08-19
Hoadly and Barnum Questioned
Regarding Davenport's
Statements.
Each Accuses Him of FalsehOod, and
HOadly Promises Counter
Statement.
Mr.. Barnum Does Not Yet Believe That the
Letter Was Forgery
Because 1t Was Like Garfield in Matter
as Well as in Penmanship.

forgery of the Morey letter was found in his Of
flee yesterday by reporter, who asked him:
'sHave you anything to say in reply to Mr..
Davenport's allegations?'
81 have not read them,'' replied he, 'but If
Mr.. Davenport or any one else says l ever
forged, altered or initiated any letter written or
purporting to have been written by James A. Gar
field or any else, he says that which is
absolutely and unqualifedly false. never saw
or heard OF the Morey letter until I saw it in
print. That made some Investigations In ref
erence to it is true, and I did SO at the request
of the Democratic national committee, but moth
ing ever came to my knowledge that would i'm
plfcate any member of that committee in the
least in connection with the letter. or any one in
their Office or employ
''Why can you not go through Davenport's
story now and answer it?''
''In 1881, at the time there was such an eX1te-
ment about the letter, Twas requested by proml-
nent Democrats and Republicans both, to offer
reward of $50, 900 for the discovery of its writer
did SO, and after the fullest investigation
was capable of made memorandum of the
entire matter, as it was then fresh in my memory
many of the details of which 1 have now for
gotten. l gave that to an intimate
friend to publish in case of my death
if he thought necessary will
think the matter over, and if, after consultation
with my friends, it is thought best to publish
will give it to the public, let it hit whom it may.
1t is complete and accurate, backed up by un-
questionable documentary evidence, and covers
much ground that my memory would not enable
me to do now"
Davenport says that you confessed the
forgery
81 never have done so for I had nothing to
confess and l repudiate the very thought of con-
fession. His statement is simply sensational
fabrication, and saying that 1 confessed is lie.
As for the effort to connect Senator Barnum's
name with the matter, Mr.. Barnum said at the
time he had nothing to hide. In due time shall
speak for myself, and when l do 80, it will be
effectively
WILLIAM Il. BARNUM,
chairman of the Democratic national committee,
was asked # he had any statement to make re-
garding JohnI. Davenport's review of the Morey
letter matter, in which it was charged that the
letter was forged by Henry H. Hadey, that Mr.
Barnum and others knew it to be forgery be-
fore its publication, and that they gave it wide
circulation with the purpose OF misrepresenting
and injuring Gen. Garfield. Mr.. Barnum replied
story, but L can tell you in two
minutes all that 1 know about the matter.
never heard of the letter until the night Of Oct.
IS, 1880. 1t was published on the morning Of
the goth. The first ever heard of it was about
10 O'Clock at night, on the 18th, when Mr. Brad
ley B. Smalley, of Vermont, a member Of the
national committee. came to me and said that
ex-Congressman Edwin r. Mead, of this city,
had informed him that letter written by Gen.
Garfield and containing damaging sentiments to
his candidacy, was in possession
OF one of the newspapers. Mr.. Smalley under
stood that it was a letter on the tariff question.
We had no idea then that it bore on the Chinese
labor question. Mr.. Smalley wanted me to go
down and see the letter, but was very tired and
suggested that he should CO. Late that night
Mr. Smalley come to my home on Thirty eighth
street. was in bed. He said that the proprie-
tors of the paper Truth had refused to
show him the letter until he had assumed the
responsibility of ordering five hundred copies
of the paper for the national committee, taking
the chances of the letter being what it was
claimed to be. l did not regard the matter as Of
any particular Importance, and nothing more was
done about it that night The next morning
the paper appeared without the letter, and we
had a great deal of fun joking Smalley about
his investment. About noon on the following
day, as l was preparing to go out
q man whom had never seen came into the
headquarters and asked for the chairman
told him was the man, and he said his name
was Hart, the publisher of Truth. He drew
from his pocket the original, or Morey letter,
and asked me if l knew the handwriting
hessrs. Randall, Hewitt, Cooper and others
were present, and we examined the letter. Mr..
Randall compared it with letters from Garfield
that he carried with him, and the Writing
appeared to be identical. Mr.. Hewitt sent to his
house for other letters from Garfield and
all who saw them were satisfied that tbs Morey
letter genuine. 1 went away leaving Hart
and the other gentlemen discussing the letter
Two days later the fac simiIe OF the Morey letter
appeared. l know that every member of the
committee accepted the letter in good faith as
genuine, and that none of US had any knowledge
of its existence until it was made known as have
stated
''Mr. Davenport says" suggested the reporter,
'that Hadley stated to him that before the Octo-
Der election you limited to Gen. Geo. p Este
that il something could be proposed setting
forth in an offensive manner Garfeld's views
upon the Chinese labor question it might be put
to good use, and that the Morey letter was the
outgrowih of the suggestion. Is that so?''
SIT is not replied Mr.. Barnum. al never
knew Gen. Este nor did I have any talk with
Hadley or anybody else on the subject before the
letter appeared"
''Mr. Davenport ayers that Frank W. Tarrey
then chairman of the Maine Democratic state
committee, stated to friend that you sent to
him (Tarrey) copy of the Morey letter two
weeks before its publication here and requested
him to publish it,
THAT is a lie. 1 do not believe Tarrey
ever made such statement. If he did it is
false
''Then your relations with Hadley in this affair
were all after the letter appeared?'
ayes; gave him $3.50 for expenses to go to
Massachusetts and find money. 1 knew nothing
more about the result of his trip than he reported
upon his return
when did you first suspect the letter to be
forgery
81 never began to suspect at all. I am not
convinced yet that it was forgery, It was just
like Garield's. Those were his sentiments Why
Gen. John A. Logan said to me, after the letter
appeared, that he believed Garfield wrote it,
Western Associated Press.
NEW York, Aug. 16.-H. H. Hadley,
whom John 1. Davenport charges with hay
ing forged the Morey letter, being inter
viewed, denied emphatically having written
the Morey letter, and branded as a lie
Davenport's assertion that he had confessed
the forgery, He asserts he never saw or
heard of the letter until published in the pub
lie press. He admitted having investigated
the question of its authorship at the request
of the Democratic committee, but asserts
nothing came to his knowledge duplicating
any member OF the committee in
the affair. AT the request of
prominent Democrats, he offered a
rewari of s25 600 in 1881. for the discnrerr