The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-04-20
NR. GARLAND ON THE STAND.
de Tells the Investigating Committee
What He Knows of the Pan-Electric.
he Had Nothing to DO with Bringing the Suits,
Regards His Stock as O Purchase, and Is
Sorry 1t Didn't Pan Out Better.


That Attorney general Garland was to appear be-
fore the telephone investigating committee
paused larger attendance than usual this morn
Ing. and this fact, together with warm spring
day, made the atmosphere of the crypt-like room
where the committee meets very oppressive. 1t
was nearly three-q quarters of an hour after
the regular hour of meeting when the
Attorney general appeared, looking pale and
rather feeble. With courteous salute to the
committee, he Immediately took the stand and.
on the invitation Of the chairman, began to
make statement of his connection with the
Pan-electric company. He wished. he said, to
lay before the committee and reafirm the matter
contained in his statement to the President, on
Oct 8. last. In addition he wished to explain
two or three points of that statement. In Feb
Ehary. 1885, General Atkins had said to the wit
ness that he beloved the Rogers inventions were
Of great utility it properly handled; and that
money could be made out of them. Being Door
paan. like himself. General Atkins had desired
witness to enter into this. II told him." said the
witness, 'that had never undertaken to make
any money except by law and poker-had always
lost at poker and generally won at law. was
willing to go into it if he thought 1t offered any
inducements Continuing, the witness said that
Senator Harris made substantially the same
statement about the inventions. and two or three
Jays afterward, he 1.-THE witnsss) had been
Introduced to Mr. Rogers and his son
be their home He briefly told OF the
organization of the ?an-electric company, as de-
tailed by Senator Harris and other witnesses
and then turned his attention to the applications
made to him to bring suit against the Bell COM
pany. 1t was an inference, and not fact, he
said, that the Pan-electric company had made
the application The inference was founded on
Two reasons First, that Colonel Young came
Euly) and the witness knew him to be secretary
md treasurer Of the Pan-electric; and second,
because the witness had. on May 25 received a
letter from DR.. Rogers requesting that suit to be
brought as a stakeholder Of the company. Coup
ling these facts together, the witness took it for
granted that the Pan-electric made the applica-
tion-it was simply an inference, snd name
had been mentioned. The witness had treated
DR. Rogers's letter as personal, ard he knew
Eogers had no authority to make the application /;
That such an application must come from the
president of the company. Therefore, the letter
had remained unanswered, and personal paper
had presented his application for a suit, basing
1t on the law, which, he stated, had been passed
Rf the last session Of Congress. The witness
had heard of the law before that, and had had
BONE search made, but could not find the act
The application. however, was so well written,
and apparently set out the passage of the bill so
positively, that the witness felt that there must
be some mistake and that the bill had become a
law. The application had been referred by the
witness to the Interior Department, where it
should nave gone in the first instance, and the
witness heard no more Of it until 1t had been re-
eurned, last January. with the other papers.
After receiving Van Benthuysen's letter, the
witness had set to work TO examine into the mat
tsF for. though he had no intimation to that eff
feet, he was satisfied other applications would
De made. Looking over the authorities, he had
concluded that he could not order suit and when
The gentleman came Van Benthuysen, Young
md others] he had determined he would not
touch it at oil under any circumstances. When
the witness was still in the Senate Senator
Plat had come to him one day with the bill to
authorize government suits. and had asked his
opinion of it. The witness had looked it over
and said he regarded it as unnecessary; that it
you'd do no good. That was all he ever said or
beard of the bill until it had been brought to his
Attention through the application In the early
part of the fall, Mr.. Humphreys, of the Globe
Telephone Company, had called upon him at the
department about the application. II thought
ne was going to jump over on me" said the
witness. Humphreys had insisted that he tthe
Eitnessl order suit, and had said it was very
curious that because he (the witness) was in
Another company that his tHumphrey's) rights
Bhould be disregarded "He got mad because
Fbuld not do anything about it," said the wit
ness, land we parted, not with mutual respect
and admiration at ALL The witness denied that
be had ever given an opinion about the matter.
The opinion he had given. and the only opinion,
aa{fo all of~sa
svere not infringements, that they were improve
ments upon telephones; that they were different
Sy pateptable-a well-recognized principle.
While stockholder he had beer derelict in at
tending meetings, for the reason that the place
Ofsmeeting was nconveniently situated and that
they were held at night, when the witness rarely
went out of his house. Although the witness
was attorney for the company, yet Mr.. Young
and Senator Harris usually drew up the legal
papers and wheo thoy were referred to him. the
witness made such alterations as seemed to be
necessary. These papers had been submitted to
khe witness In the Senate judiciary room but it
was a mistake to say that any board meetings
had been held in that room The witness was
satisfied that he had never attended a meeting
of the company since the last presidential cleo
tion.
Turning his attention to the ordering of the
Memphis suit the witness said that he had ar
ranged to leave Washington on Aug. 81, and
spend the entire month OF September at his
because he had found September the best mouth
90 be out of Washington, and because he could
shoot deer in Arkansas In that month under the
game law. "The deer did not become ripe until
September" said he Mr.. Goode had returned
about the middle of August, but witness had
said nothing to him about the application he had
received because he did not know exactly what
30 say. He supposed the gentlemen who made
Che application would find their remedy. il they
supposed they had one. When the witness had
some back to Little Rock. he received dispatch
frsm the New Orleans Times Democrat, saying
thRt his admiring newspaper friends were COM
pimenting him on ordering suit against the
Bell company. He replied that he had not
ordered any such suit He had re-
turned to Washington about October
4, and when he had called at the White House
the President had told him the papers were
speaking Of the case, whereupon he had made
the explanation that had been published. The
witness had never opened his mouth to Mr. Goode
about il, because Solicitor Goode under the