Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1890-01-17
THE OHIO FORGERIES.
Ex-Governor Foraker Tells How II
Was Imposed Upon.

HIS TESTIMONY BEFORE THE INVESTIGATION COM
| MITTEE ToDAY-HIs RELATIONS WITH WOOD
HOW HE GOT THE FORGED PAPER-HIs SURPRISE
| AT FINDING SENATOR sHERMAN's NAME-HIs
| MEETING WITH MURAT HALsrEAD, ETC.
| E1-Gov. Foraker continued his testimony be-
fore the House committee investigating the
| ballot box forgery this morning. He said that
after parting with Wood he got letter from
him August II saying that Crosley (who had
the contracD was absent; that Mayor Mosby
was favorably inclined toward his application
for the position of smoke inspector; that
line from him (witness) would
help the application, and that soon as the
smoke inspector matter was settled he Wood
would go to Washington and get such infor-
nation as might be desired in the other matter.
| Witness replied on tho 18th that he Wood
would get the letter of recommendation from
/ him, as he had promised when he (witness) got
the information Wood had promised and not
| before.
WOODS VALUABLE PAPERS"
On the 21st witness got a note from Wood
| saying he had valuable papers, and wanted to
| see him for fifteen minutes. Witness saw Wood,
| who produced letter signed W. NJ. Langdon,
| dated Detroit, August IA, addressed TO Wood,
which seemed to confirm Woods previous
story that an effort was being made to secure
| GOV. Ayers signature TO a new contract. Wood
also gave him three papers he called state con-
Tracts, which witness did not have now. They
mad no relevancy to what the witness was III
| terested In, and he made no use of them.
WITH RESPECT TO THE GUN CONTRACT.
Wood produced q letter dated United States
patent office, August 6, 1887, and signed by
Commissioner Hall, addressed to him, and saying
that Lieut.. Vim. H. Bell had secured a patent
| Tor an Improvement in gun carriages and copies
| OF the specification would be furnished upon
| application. Another letter signed j. f. c. p"
| SAID that Lieutenant and Capt Bell were
would help in the Dodsworth case.
Wood said that Col. I. C. Campbell and Gov.
Campbell had been buying up and getting con-
troll OF number of inventions relating to ord
| nance. That is what he said," remarked the
witness. II don't believe anything any more"
Continuing Wood said these were a part only
| OF a number of papers he had that had been
submitted to him for investigation.
| THE BALLoT-Box PAPERS IN WASHINGTON.
| Witness made no use of them. and after look
| ing them over told Wood they did not include
| the papers he wanted (relating to the ballot
| box matter). Wood said they were in Wash
| lngton-witness understood perhaps at a later
| date, that John r. Mclean had them. Wood
promised to write for them, saying that Cros
| ley had them no longer. September witness
| got a letter from Wood dated Cincinnati. Sep
| TENDER l, stating that he had received
a telegram saying the old contract was
at Baltimore and Wood was to meet
| party there. He Wood wanted a letter
| Of introduction to President Harrison. Wood
| had enormously supposed that witness wanted
| the new contract up to this time. Witness gave
Wood the letter OF introduction (Which was
| read) and wrote Wood that he expected him
| with the letterenot later than Thursday.
DIDN'T KNOW AS MUCH AS HE DOES now.
The letter commended Wood as an old soldier
| and an inventor of merit; witness did not know
as much of him as he did now. September 8
Wood telegraphed witness from Cincinnati
asking where lie could see him. Witness was
| impatient and replied that he could see him at
the appointed place. Meanwhile he got letter
from Wood sent from Washington, dated Sep
TENDER 3, saying that he had the document
witt the valuable names; that J.RM. was out
of the city; that there were three papers in
ALL and that he inclosed letter from Ed Hall.
This Enclosure was dated Cincinnati, Sep
TENDER 4, and addressed to Wood at Washing
ton. The writer told Wood not to hesitate
about getting the facts and staying with For
| aker during the campaign. Witness never had
any communication with Hall until after the
election.
WHEN THE FORGERY WAS COMMITTED.
Witness telegraphed Wood to come to Column
bus that night or next morning. Wood replied
| that he would mail the paper to witness; that
the telegram was too late. Witness called
particular attention to the letters, for it would
appear from another witness that the paper
was not forged until the next day (September
| 81, after Wood had written that he had the
paper. Previous to that, on September z, wit
ness had conversation with Mayor Mosby
on the train about Woods application for the
place of smoke inspector, and succeeded in
having action deferred for a few days. He
| (witness) had notified Wood to be at Columbus
September IL to attend to it. September ii
Wood came to Columbus and brought the
forged paper exhibit AZ. Witness had acci-
dentally misstated this date before. His secre-
tary. Mr.. kurtz, was present and knew witness
was expecting the papers.
DIDN'T EXPECT TO SEE SENATOR sHERMAN's NAME.
The first thing witness found that he did not
expect to see was the name of Senator Sherman
He had understood that the paper bore the
names of Messrs. Butterworth, Mckinley and
Mcpherson. Wood said that he was surprised
to see it, as the name was not on tine paper
when he first saw it. He Wood had expected
to find it on the second contract, however. Wit
ness had never seen Gov. Campbell's signature
and got MIR. Kurtz to procure copy OF a
biographical SKETCH and there noticed that Mr.
Campbell signed his name James Z. Campbell
whereas it was signed j. Z. Campbell to the
paper. Mai. Mckinleys name looked like a
very good-a genulne-signature and witness
would have sworn to it. He did not think Nc
Kinley would question it if signed in any honor
able connection Maj. Butterworth did not
sign his name usually as it signed to the
paper. The ''B" ended on the wrong side but
the signature otherwise good. Coming to
Senator Sherman's name Wood suggested that
il might have been signed with "a stamp. and
witness noticed popularity of the stroke under
the IS" Wood said he
GOT THE PAPER AT WASHINGTON
from Walter Wellman, private secretary to
John R. Mclean, and in his absence in charge
of his private papers. Wood applied to Well
man for it and Wellman telegraphed the re-
quest to Mr.. Mclean at Saratoga and he replied:
Let Wood have what he wants" Thereupon
Wood got the paper and made tracks with IT
for Cincinnati. That was his story. The wit
ness said he accepted the paper without ques-
ton to its genuineness 1t led to ali the
modification he had experienced about this
whole letter. AS any honorable man would, he
felt mortified to find that
HE HAD BEEN IMPOSED UPON
by that paper, which in the light of subsequent
events, it appeared, should not have deceived
him. But the preliminary statements had pre-
pared his mind for it. Continuing, witness
read q copy of his letter to Mayor Mosby
recommending Wood, and also letter from
Wood saying that he had been received kindly
but that Ed Henderson had been seeking the
appointment of another man. When
witness GOT hack IN hia nfSca ON