The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-03-28
A SPURIOUS REPnRr.

An extraordinary Imposition on the Senate
of the United States.
WASHINGTON, March 27-The Senate com
mittee on postoffices and postroads has, to-day,
been investigating the publication, at the gov
eminent printing Office, of an alleged report of
the committee, and its circulation through the
channels provided for public documents The
document, which made its first appearance yes
,terday, bears the usual formal Senate heading,
and is numbered Report 5H-Part g. Members
OF the committee were at a loss to understand
how this document, of which none of them had
ever heard before, could have worked its way
through the Secretary's Office, where alone the
formal headings are affixed. The clerk whose
duty it is to record and to put heads on docu-
ments of this character as they are
received from the Senate. being called upon
passed through his hands. The manuscript, hav-
ing been sentfor. was found to have been re-
ceived from another clerk in the Secretarys Of
flee. whose duty 1T is to order such extra work
as may be required by committees and senators
at the government printing Office, and 1t was
also found that an order for two hundred extra
copies for the use of the Senate accompanied it,
This clerk explained that the paper was brought
TO his desk on March 16, this year, by the late.
clerk of the committee on postoffices and post
roads, bearing the usual Senate headings in due
form, with an order for 200 extra copies to be
printed for use of the committee. The printing
clerk, supposing the document to have passed
through the regular channels and order
and In itself being proper one, sent the manu-
script to the printing office, where it was set up
and printed. The document is entitled Report
On Postal Telegraph, in the Senate of the United
States. The first five pages consist OF questions
propouEded TO the president of the Western
Union Telegraph Company, and the remaining
thirty one pages are devoted to press comments
on the action of tho Associated Press In furnish
ing reports of tho presidential election" 1t is
not intimated that any of the questions to the
president OF the Western Union were answered;
nor does the document state any reason for re-
publication of the attacks upon the Associated
Press, which are. in large part, from the
columns of papers which have never
been able to secure the facilities of
the Associated Press. A line of the printed
heading indicates that the document is printed
under authority received May 81 1884, six
months before the publication of the press com.
ments which formed its chief part The K-clerk
OF the committee, who also acted as private sec
.etary to its late chairman,t Senator Hill, of
dorado, was sent for, to-day, by members of
The committee and in reply to their inquiries.
nd he had acted in the matter at the instance
- Mr.. Hill motion was also made in the
>enate, in behalf of the committee to have this
alleged report suppressed Members of the COM
mittee charitably assume that Hill was ignorant
OF the fact that he had no right to make a report
as from Senate committee twelve days after
he had ceased to be member of the Senate.