Morning journal and courier., 1886-04-03

1 the Half Million Dollars Worth l of Stock That Was Given Him for Nothing. ... WASHINGTON, April 2.-Indian Commis- | sioner Atkins testified before the Pan-Elsc- l tric telephone committee to-day. He said 1 he held one-tenth of the five million dollars I of stock in the company and had paid noth- | ing nor would he have paid anything for it.
 It was given hin while member of Con- l gress, but he thought there was no impropri ety in public officer entering into private enterprise. He had been much annoyed by
 having his name used in the public prints as director of the company. He had not au- thorized such publication nor had he taken any part in the recent investigation by the
 Interior department. A few days after the
 decision of the Secretary of the Interior of the
 proceedings held by the department witness
 went to Attorney General Garland and asked
 him if he thought it would be proper for
 him to go to Secretary Lamar and explain his
 connection with the Pan-Electric company
 and the Attorney General advised him to do
 so, which he did. That was the only time
 he ever spoke to Mir. Garland about the case
 or any suit. Witness was asked by MT. Eden
 if he had ever used his official influence in
 Pan-Electric matters and witness re-
 piled: "Nothing on God Almighty's earth
 and before would do go I would cut my
 right hand off at the wrist. No man can
 look me in the face and say have ever used
 my official influence for the company or in-
 tended to do so." Further Mir. Atkins said
 that the first he knew of 8 government suit against the Bell company was through the newspapers. He asked Colonel Casey Young one day for whom he was appearing in the telephone cases-whether he was acting for the Pan-Electric eompany-and Colonel Young replied that he Louisiana and Tennessee. Witness stated that he did not know anything about the ap- plication about a government suit until it had been made. Would not have joined in the application had he been solicited to do so because he was connected with the Interi- or department and it would have been inn proper for him to have been party to the government suit when at the time he was associated with the government in an official capacity.
 When his examination had closed General Atkins produced a copy of the New York World containing one of his letters to Dr. Rogers and an editorial on it. He was very angry and after reading the letter exclaimed: ''The man who sent out that dispatch is either fool or a liar" Then as he read the euIGoTlal, Wnlcn n0 SalQ cOntalQeQ Ioul aS- persion upon him to the effect that he had bargained away his influence as chairman of the House Committee on Appropriations, he again burst out with the declaration: "That is islander and lie. I place the brand on the brow of Joseph Pulitzer, who said he responsible for this.' His record would show that he was no longer a member of Congress when he joined the Pan Electric company
 O. H. Seixas of New Orleans, one of the directors of the National Improved Tele- phone company, was the next witness called He declined to produce papers and insisted upan testifying in his own way. The mem bers of the committee were apparently re- Ieved when the examination of this witness was concluded. Adjourned