The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1892-09-19
PECK HAS TIE PROOFS.
He viii Give the Anxious Democrats
$4,000 Of Them, He Says.
THEY WILL ALL Be SWORN TO.
The Records Have Not Been Destroyed.
but the Pledge OF Secrecy Will Not be
Violated = Cieveiand's Fool Friends
Spelling His Chances for Election.

NEW YORK, Sept. 19.-Labor Commits
sioner Peck intends TO make things lively
for those who have questioned the correct
ness of the figures In his now famous re-
port. He came to New York yesterday
and was seen at the Victoria Hotel by
reporter. He talked freely and seemed to
be perfectly content with the outlook in
the mandamus proceedings which will be
settled this week.
When asked as to the truth OF the state
destroyed the individual reports from
which his report was compiled hs said:
1.-The papers have not been and will not
be destroyed, hut Mr. Anderson and the
other Mugwumps or anti-snappers, az
they cali themselves, will not get them. /
obtained most of those reports on my per-
sonal pledge that no names should be dis
closed.
II could not have obtained the data
otherwise. as the law doesn't give me
power to require facts concerning any
mans private business. Tss same rule
are statistical bureaus and also la OBJ
tanning figures for the United States CEN
sus.:
"As to the correctness of my figures
themselves? They were a surprise-dis-
agreeable, IL you will. but a snrprise-to
tc. hdu CApcCtCu W Oc MI VIC cthtt
way, and the first tabulation on the silk
inaustry was our way, but nine-tenths OF
the others, both Individually and by
trades, showed large incre ases in both pro-
duction and the wages paid.
" Ii was the most searching investiga-
tion ever made in this State, and figures
published are correct. They are borne out
by those obtained by Commissioners Wad-
lin OF Massachusetts, and by Commits
sioner Peele of Indiana, who Is staunch
Democrat. He. like myself. began the
investigation in the expectation OF OBJ
tanning different results.
he most amusing thing to me in all
this is that the word of a State officer,
who has held Office without complaint for
over nine years. and who was good
enough to be appointed by that superla-
lively pure patriot, Mr.. Cleveland, should
be doubted.
1" Now these impudent persons say they
want abstracts and affidavits, and they
will get them. AS matter-or-fact they
do not want them, but 1 intend that they
shall have them until they are sorry they
ever made their little bluff.
by Tuesday CT Wednesday Of this
week will give them certified transcripts
OF 10000 individual cases OF increased
wages and production, and intend TO
give them over 50, 600 before am through,
and they will all be sworn to, II Ander,
son wanted the names and facts he could
get them almost as easily as did.
Il took Wilson's Business Directory
and wrote to the manufacturers whose
names were in 1t. Let him take the names
of those in New York city and seven
tenths of them will admit that they have
sent reports to me and that in their cases
the facts are as l have stated. But these
howlers for purity do not want facts.
"The trouble Is. Mr.. Cleveland has lot
of fool friends, and he has thousands OF
them, who should be killed off before his
chances of election are totally gone. Mr..
Whitney has done what he could, but it
Is too large a contract for one man.
IL want 1t settled whether or not in
formation given to a public official under
the pledge of secrecy can be extorted
from him by lot of meddlesome people.
Every bureau of statistics in the country
is interested in the result. II the law
says yes.' then there is au end to all
economic statistics worthy the name.
But as | said before, In my case they will
not be divuged."