St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-04-23
Witnesses Unwilling to Tell
More Than One-Half
the Truth.
Johnson's Official Statement
Of His Defeat for the
Senate.
Senator Spencer Claims Not
to Have Spent a Dollar
Illegitimately.

tional character as generally expected,
it makes good, racy reading neverthe-
less, the testimony of Senator Spencer,
Hon. M. N. johnson and several others
being particularly interesting. The
committee consisted of three Republic
ans and two Democrats. selected from
the senate, viz: w. H. Robinson, who
was chairman; John E. Haggart, George
w. Harmon, John Mcbride and M. L..
Mccormack, ex-terIitOrial secretary. The
first witness was Harry Van Horn of Sar-
gent county. who SpOrted badge of one
of the cheap $3.50 detective bureaus
down in Kansas and rather surprised
the committee by saying that he had
heard that one member of the legisla-
ture was offered $1,000 to vote against
the lottery bill, and to use all means to
secure its defeat, and on being further
questioned, stated that this members
name was W. S. Buchanan. Mr.. Bu-
( chanan was then called before the
tribunal, and emphatically denied the
allegation. He said:
There was a party told me that there
was some money here OH the opposite
side-that is, against the bill-and he
thought a man could get 1000 if he
would vote against the bill, but was
not offered the money. This party was
from Fargo. have never had word
to say with these people, either with
MIR. Mckenzie or anyone else in regard
to Doodle.
He could not be prevailed upon to
divulge the name of his informant, say
ing it was confidential chat between
him and the man.
Robert Thacker, who was next called,
attempted to leave the room to confer
with Haggart, La Moure or Stevens be-
fore submitting any evidence, but was
Informed that he was lawfully under
arrest and could not leave. In the
course of his examination he was asked
If he heard OF any money being used in
the interest of any one during the Sena-
torial contest. He replied:
Eyes, sir, and all know L am willing
to tell. | happened to be in the tele-
graph office one day, and M. n. john
son was there, and telegram came to
him authorizing him to draw on a GER
tain person for 800, and the telegraph
operator did not know him. and he
asked me to identify him, and 1 did So"
The balance of his testimony was OF
but little Importance, and G. Wilson was
next arraigned. Wilson was detective
in the employ of the Pinkerton agency
at Chicago, and came to Bismarck by
instructions from Mr.. Robertson, the
general superintendent of the Chicago
branch, and had colleague with him
named ClearY. MI. Wilson represented
himself as a special travelling CORE
spondent of the Chicago Times. While
before the investigating committee Will
son was asked to show any papers that
would indicate that he was a detective.
He had burned all his papers, he said,
but could convince Mr.. Haggart by
sending a telegram to Chicago.
After experiencing cross fire
of examination, all to no purr-
pose, the witness was discharged.
was sent here from the st. Paul head
quarters of Pinkerton by Superintend-
ent McGinn, and said he heard Senator
Spencer was at Bismarck using money
to influence members of the legislature
to pass the lottery bill. Hon. M. N.
Johnson's testimony was quite interest
ing. 1t will be remembered that John
son was a prominent candidate for
United States senator, having nearly
the entire support of the Scandinavian
element of the legislature. 1t is gener-
ally believed that he was at one time
fairly nominated in a Republican eau
Gus, but his forces were ignorant of par
liamentary manners, and allowed john
son to be wheedled out of his nomina-
ton. When asked if he had heard the
rumors of corruption, he said:
'Some one told me that he saw Jud
LaMoure have some 500 bills in his
hands. and Jud LaMoure told me to-day
that he knew Of some people who got
money for their votes. 1 do not remem-
Der their names, but they were from
along the Manitoba, somewhere be-
tween our place and the Mouse river.
There was unfair and unreasonable
prejudice against me OH account of my
race, and there was combination of
corporations against me, The one thing
that stands out in history as dishonor-
able in that campaign was the fact that
eighty Republicans went into caucus. L
got forty-two of the votes, and the other
candidates got thirty light among them.
In the joint convention Immediately aft
erwards held my forty-two supporters,
and the other thirty-eight went in with
the Democrats and defeated me. This
was one thing dishonorable in that cam
paign."
"Were corrupt or dishonorable means
used in the candidacy of OrdWay and
Casey?"
"W. R. Kellogg, the editor of the
Jamestown Alert, came to me one day
at the johnson headquarters and
after nice preliminary conversation.
with more or less compliments to me,
both printe d in his paper and spoken to
me off-hand, said that if would with
draw-he said he was sent from the
headquarters of the OppositiOn-that
was before Casey was prominent, and
was after the nomination of Mr.. Pierce,
l thlnk-he said that considering my
circumstances. that | was poor man,
and that my followers were mostly poor
men, and that l was better fitted for a
consulship, etc., and that they would
give me a consulship worth at once as
much as the SenatorShip. | asked him
what agreement could get. and they
said that they would give me written
agreement, and, in addition to that,
would give me sum of money for my
self and enough to distribute among my
followers to make them all comfortably
well off. with the intimation that l was
not required to account for how the dis
tributiOn was made. If l cared to keep
the whole amount they would not care
about it. The sum was not then def
nitely fixed, but of course understood
by the expression s'enough to make my
followers comfortably we'll OIL" very
much more than S25O0O Afterwards,
in conversation with S. W. Mclaughlin,
of Grand Forks, he told me that he was
at the headquarters of the opposi-
ton at the time and knew of the agent
they had sent me. and that the amount
they had agreed upon was $4,000 for
myself and $1,000 for my followers, es-
timating thirty followers at $500 each,
and he also said that he heard W. E..
Dodge say that the Manitoba company
could not afford to let me 60 to the
United States senate if it cost the COM
pany 100000"
"What inducementdi did Mr.. Dodge give
you to withdraw"
"He gave me no inducement to with
draw; he came to my room and treated
me as though [ was to be elected"
ibid he not ask about the United
States judge?"
HE did"
Ibid you ever see the color Of that
S25, ZOO, OF was any part of it ever offered
to you or paid to you?"
''The money was not exhibited"
''Did you in any way ever accede to
that propositions"