Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1892-03-29
BORROWING OF MONEY.
Was the Cause of Very Much Of the
Pension Office Trouble.
ALL SEEM TO HAVE BEEN HARD UP
And Borrowing From Each Other Continually
These Loans Brought Threats From the
Lenders and the Borrowers Took the
Threats ss InSubOrdi1ation.

WASHINGTON, d. c., March CSC.
n. lockwood, patent attorney, OF this
city, formerly chief clerk of the Interior
Department, was the first witness called
by the Pension Office Investigating
Committee to-day.
Witness told Of request that General
Raum made TO him for loan OF money
for few days to help him out. He
could not loan the Commissioner the
money himself, but took him to Mr..
Thompson, the President OF the Ma
tiona! Metropolitan bank, who he
thought might accommodate him. Mr..
Thompson refused to accommodate the
Commissioner, because of some personal
feeling against him (the Commissioner
on account Of the latter's refusal to pro-
mote a clerk in the Pension Office that
he (Mr. Thompson) and other persons,
including Senator Plumb, had asked
him to promote.
Mr.. Thompson agreed subsequently
to lend the money to Mr.. Lockwood,
who in turn loaned it to the Commits
sioner. The loan was subsequently
paid.
Mr.. John w. Thompson, the Presi-
dent of the National Metropolitan bank,
referred to by the previous witness, tes-
tilted that he knew General Raum, but
not intimately. He detailed the crcum-
stances attending the request Tor loan.
Witness refused to give the name OF the
lady clerk whose promotion he had
asked for. She said subsequently that
she had not been promoted, and had
been treated little roughly by Green
B. Raum, Jr.
The witness declared that he did not
seek to compensate nor to bribe General
Raum to secure the promotion.
VIM. II. Barker, formerly chief OF
the record division OF the pension oi1ce,
was the next witness. He had received,
he admitted, information from w. w.
Dudley in regard to stocks on which he
had acted. Mrs. Fithian had once Of
fered him (Barker) money in return for
promotion. Witness reported the mat
ter to Green b. Raum, Jr., and Mrs.
Fithian was not promoted. witness
said he had borrowed $50 from a
clerk named Donohue, whom he
had made section chief, Donohue
getting the money from clerk named
Morse. The note not being paid, Don
ohue wrote witness letter during ONCE
hours, saving that unless the money
were paid Immediately Morse would
have him (Barker) arrested. Witness
paid him the money and Immediately
reduced Donohue to clerkshlp (Dut
without reduction in salary for insu0-
ordination in writing such letter dur
ing office hours. After good deal OF
questioning witness said Green Is.
Raum, Jr., probably got a part OF the
$50. as he and witness were borrowing
money back and forth Of each other.
Thomas Farcett, an attorney, ana
formerly an employe OF the Pension
Office. was the next witness. lie told
of the circumstances attending his dis
charge and his efforts to secure a rein
statement. He attributed his failure
TO get back to his refusal to recognize
John Raum (son of the Commissioner
as an attorney in a case In which there
was a fee of S25 involved, unless he OBJ
tanned the consent OF the attorney OF
record.
In concluding reply to question,
witness remarked that he would ike TO
show in parallel columns his record In
contrast with that of the Commissioner
in discbarging him, and at the same
time keeping Theodore Smith, and a
number of women reputed TO be OF bad
moral character in office. This remark
was finally stricken out, and the COM
mittee adjourned until Wednesday.