The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-07-08
TELEPHONE TALK.

WASHINGTON, July chairman Boyle,
Of the Pan-EIectric Telephone Committee,
yesterday presented to the House a report
on the results of the Investigation, signed
by himself and Messrs. Oates, Eden and
Hale. 1t says: "What DR.. Rogers offered
to Messrs. Carlisle and others, was stock in
incorporated and organized companies.
! What he transferred to Garland. Harris and
others, was an interest in inventions in
their condition of no value whatever, and
only TO be made valuable by the joint eff
I forts of the Rogers and those who joined
them in the undertaking. That the capital
of the Telephone Company was fixed at
$4,000. 900 Is wholly immaterial. Had it
been fixed at S., 600, the thing they owned
and their proportionate interests in it
would have been the same. The property
might turn out to be worth much or nothing.
As DR.. Rogers says, it had no commercial
value. The evidence does not show that
these gentlemen were admitted By Messrs.
Rogers, with any expectation OF profting
by their official positions or official action.
General Atkins. the party to whom they
made the proposition. was not in Office.
They certainly expected no official aid from
| him. 1t was General Atkins who spoke to
Senator Harris, so that Rogers did not
select him because he was Senator. The
right to select the other three was given
absolutely to Senator Harris, and no condi-
ton was imposed that he should select per-
sons in Office. At that time Mr.. Garland
was not thought of for Attorney General.
/ 81 l. -
hardly be said in view of his previous life
and his character that il was not thought
| be would use his official power to forward
a private enterprise in which he was inter-
ested. Casey Young was named by Rogers.
/ He was not to appear i'm Congress until
nearly year after. General Johnston was
not in office and did not expect to be. If
official influence was the consideration for
the interests transferred to Harris and TO
Garland what was the consideration for
those transferred to Atkins and to Johns
ton?
"The committee has failed to find that
any legislation was contemplated at the
time this company was formed, or during
its existence up to the present time, by
which it or its members could possibly have
profited. The only matter spoken of was
in relation to the establishment of postal
telegraph by the Government. This has
been agitated for some years. When men-
toned, Senator Harris stated to his asSo-
cistes that if it came up in the Senate he
would make known his interest in the mat
ter and decline to vote. So that nothing
was expected from him and according to
the testimony of all the parties, nothing
was expected from any one of the members.
There is no evidence that Mr.. Garland ever
heard of it."
The report finds nothing unusual in the
method adopted by the Rogers for develop
ing their inventions and bringing them into
use and TO the attention of the public. Un-
doubtedlv the Rogers expected to profit by
the associations with gentlemen of known
ability and distinction. But the report asks:
did they intend to use their powers as pub
lie officers to further the private enterprise
In which they engaged? Did they intend to
prostitute their honorable reputation and
their high positions TO fost and impose up
on the Government or the public worthless
inventions, and to obtain money by fraudu-
lent and dishonest practices? In other
words, did these men to whom wrong doing
had never before been imputed, and who are
regarded now by those who had given
the widest circulation TO the charges
against them as not guilty of 'venallty,'
but at most of an 'imprOprety,' in
tend to become and did they become scoun-
drels all at once? When a man enters
Congress he does not cast the world behind
him, and he is not expected to give up the
pursuit of worldly business. Such is not the
practice, and if this were required some of
the hest men in Congress would be COM
PEELED to leave it. All that can be asked
and all that is expected is that man in
hall in
fuence of his place for the advancement Of
his private interests. and that he shall not
be controlled or influenced in the discharge
of his official duties by any other consider
atiOns than those that look only to the pub
lie good"
So long rs a man in public office does not
use improperly the power or influence of
his pos ton, and does no more than pri-
vate person may properly do, in the view
Df the committee, he can not be held to
have done any thing deserving of cenSure.
The report maintains that no stock was
issued by the Pan-Electric Company, and
in connection with Senator Vests purchase
of an interest say that tho prnpriety and
honesty of that gentleman's transactions
are unquestioned.
Touching the first Government suit at
Memphis, the report devotes some space to
q review of the testimony on that point,
and finds that the Washington meeting of
the National Improved and an-Elpctric
people was not proposed with view for
the institution of q Government suit.
The history of the proceedings at the con-
ference is given in detail and the report
says: Now up to this time what had the
Attorney General done, permitted or ad-
viSed in relation to a Government suit. He
had received DR.. Rogers letter of May "a,
and pigpOnholed Il. He had received Mr..
Benthuysen's letter of July 10. and referred
it to the Department OF the Interior without
recommendation. A delegation had
called on him and he had absolutely refused
to be talked to on the subject on the
ground that he was interested in a telephone
company. 1t is not pretended that he did
any thing more. What more could have
been required of him or Of any one? No
Judge of a court ever behaved more dis
creetly, or circumspectly, or hOnOrably. Ii
he erred at all il was in positively refusing
TO hear the men who had called on him,
and II in error, this was very safe one.
'On the same day that Mr. Garland left
Washington for Arkansas to lie gone SIX
weeks the parties had no assurance OF
Government suit, for they were to obtain il
possible the action of the Government, and
of course it had not been done"
or Solicitor GOOde's treatment OF the ap-
plication to bring the Memphis suit the re-
port says: There is no reason to question
the correctness of G"ode's statement Ii is
not only uncontradictpd but Is fully sup
ported by all the witnesses who testified
about the same matters. lie was rot
connected with any telephone company, had
no interest of any kind to be affected BY
the suit, and had no knowledge OF any pre-
vious application. He had not been in
formed of Mr.. Garland's connection with a