Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-04-20
GARLAND ON THE STAND.
CALUSINIOUs INSINUATIONs UN-
ANSWERABLY SILENCED.

The Interests of the Pan Electric Com
panvnot Advanced by Word or Deed
on ais Part--NO Meetings Ever Held
at the Capitol Mr.. Goodies Action
Tsken without COnsuIting Aim-Ab-
soluteIy no Abuse of His Ofdcial Po-
sitiOn.
WASHINGTON, April 19.-It was nearly
three.quarters OF an hour before the regu-
lar hour of meeting when the Attorney
General appeared before the telephone
investigating committee to-day, looking
pale and rather feeble. With courteous
salute to the committee he Immediately
took the stand. and on invitation OF the
chairman began to make statement Of
his connection with the Pan-Electric
Company. He wished, he said, TO lay be-
fore the committee and reailrm the mat
ter contained in his statement to the
President on Oct. s last. In addition, he
wished to explain two or three points Of
that statement. In February, 1888. Gen.
Atkins had said TO the witness that he be-
ieyed Mr. Rogers inventions were Of
great utility if properly handled, and
that money could be made out of them.
BENG Il DtOI man ilhG utAlSGlks OOus NJ
kns had desired the witness to enter into
this undertaking.
LAW AND POKER.
81 told him. said the witness. "that |
had never undertaken to make any money
except by law and poker. l had always
lost at poker and generally won at law.
was willing to go into this if he thought
it offered any Inducements"
Continuing, the witness said that Sena-
tor Harris made substantially the same
statements about the Inventions, and two
or three days afterwards the witness had
been introduced to DR.. Rogers and his son
at their home. He briefly told of their
organization OF the Pan Electric Company,
as detailed by Senator Harris and other
witnesses, and then turned his attention
TO :he application made to him to bring
suit against the Bell Company. 1t was
an inference, and not a fact, that the Pan
Electric Company had made application.
The inference was founded on two rea-
sons: First, that Mr.. Young came with
other gentlemen in the latter part OfJuly,
ana the witness knew him to be Secretary
and Treasurer OF the Pan Electric; and
second, because the witness had, May %,
eceived letter from DR.. Rogers request
ing suit to be brought as stOckholder of
hat company.
TOOK 1T FOR GRANTED.
Coupling these facts together, the wit
Aess took it for granted that the Pan Elec-
trc made application. 1t was simply an
inference, and no name had been men
Toned. The witness had treated DR..
Rogers letter as personal. and he knew
DR.. Rogers had no authority to make the
application; that such an application
must come from the president of the com
pany. Therefore the letter had remained
unanswered, and as a personal
paper had not been filed. In
July Mr.. Van Benthuysen had
presented his application for suit, basing
it on the law which he stated had been
passed at the last session Of Congress.
The witness mad heard of the law before
that and had had some search made but
could not find the act. The application,
however, was so well written and appar-
emily 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 law.
SENT TO THE INTERIOR DEPARTMENT.
The application had been referred by
the witness to the Interior Department,
where it should have gone IN the tirst
instance, and the witness had heard no
more OF it until it had been returned last
January with other papers. After re-
3eiving Mr.. Van Benthuysen's letter the
witness had set TO work to examine into
the matter, for though he had no intima-
ton to that effect, he was satisfied that
other applications would be made. Look
ing over the authorities be had concluded
that he could not order the suit, and when
the gentlemen came Messrs. Van Ben
thuysen, Young and others he had de-
termined that he would not touch it at
all under any circumstances.
SHOWN THE BILL.
When the witness was still in the SEN
ate, Senator Platt had come to him one day
with bill to authorize government suits,
and had asked his opinion of it. The
witness had looked it over and said he re-
garded il as unnecessary, and that it
would do no good. That was all he ever
sand or heard Of the bill until it had been
brought to his attention through the ap-
plicatien. In the early part of the tall a
Mr.. Humphreys, OF the Globe Telephone
Company, had called upon him at the de-
parlment about the application.
81 thought he was going TO jump over
on me-" said the witness.
Mr.. Humphreys had insisted that the
witness order suit, and had said it was
very curious that because the witness
was in another company that his Mr..
humphreys rights should be disregard
ed' He got mad because l would not do
anything about it, and we parted not with
mutual respect and admiration at all.
NO OPINION GIVEN.
The witness denied that he had ever
gwen an opinion about the validity Of
tne Bell patent, as had been ascribed TO
oim. The opinion he had given, and the
only opinion, was to the effect that the
ran Electric inventions were not in
Judgements; that they We're improve
ments OF telephones; and that they were
inherently patentable-a well recognized
principle. While a stOckhOlder, he had
Oeen very derelict in attending meet
lngs for the reason that the
place OF meeting was inconVeniently
sset, and that they were held at night when
.he witness rarely went out OF his house.
Although the witness was attorney for
,ne company, yet Mr.. Young and Senator
uaIris usually drew up the legal papers,
Ahd when they were referred TO him, the
witness made such alterations as seemed
I" be necessary. Those papers had been
submitted to the witness in the Senate
l'ulclary room, but ~ was a mistake TO
ssay any board meetings bad been held IN
shat room. The witness was satisfied that
ne had never attended a meeting OF the
0Ohpany since the Presidential election.
THE MEMPHIS sun.
Turning his attention TO the ordering Of
.le Memphis suit the witness said he had
arranged r TO leave Washington on August
-, and spend the entire month Of Septem-
Der IN Arkansas. Mr.. GOOdo had returned
soout the middle Of August but the wit