Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-06-15
MAKING A HUGE FARCE OFT
LITTLE DONE ny THE SENATE ST.
GAR INVESTIGATION.
One Senator Says That He specu-
lated In sugar Stock, and So Far
This Is About All There Has
Been Accomplished.
specIal 10 the Atlanta conatItutlon.

Washington. June 1.-THE senate
bribery investigating committee has
| developed nothing mp to date. But
one senator has been implicated In
| speculations in sugar stock. and he
/; had previously acknowledged II on
the floor of the senate. That Is about
all that viii come out OF It except
the punishment of two newspaper cor
respondents who declined TO give the
sources from which they obtained
news. not that there may be nothing
! else to develop, but because no pun
, ishable crimes have beer committed,
and to develop little things works no
good to any one,
AS matter of fact, the senate Is
making nothing out of these investl-
cations OF newspaper men. This is
the second ono recently. II will be
remembered that a senate committee
was appointed two years ago to in
vestigate executive session leaks. 1t
attempted to force newspaper corre-
spondents to tell from whom they OBJ
tained the details of executive session
news. Each and every one of them
declined to tell. There was no at
tempt made to punish them.
The senators knew how the corre-
spondents got executive session news.
but none of them cared to tell, and
none of the newspaper men would. AS
matter of fact, correspondents In
giving each other executive session
news never tell from whence II comes.
That committee being unable to
learn anything by statements from
the correspondents, removed Executive
Clerk Jim Young, who Is n newspaper
man by profession, but who never
printed nor told an executive session
secret. After doing this without proof
the committee just stopped, and has
never made report. The senate evil
IDENTIFY thought the investigation would
stop the leakage of executive session
news, but since then, since the re-
moval Of Mr. Young. the news of ex-
ecutive session has been printed more
fully than ever before, Even the ex-
ecutive sessions In which Mr.. Young's
removal was discussed were printed in
the newspapers with perfect accuracy
of detail. SO the senate gave up at
tempting to intlmidate the correspond
ents.
Pooling Away Time.
Now 1t is attempting to intimidate
them again. or rather it should be
put that It is attempting to force them
to recognize senatorial dignity and dis
play more respect in criticism of the
senate as body and individual sena-
tors.
In this they will fail. Even failing
few correspondents for contempt will
not do this. Newspaper correspond
ents, as a rule, are the fairest minded
and most just set of men in the world.
They are always ready to accord to
every man his just deserts. But they
have no respect for position alone
They judge men by what they are,
and not by the position they happen
TO hold. II a senator IL not worthy
of respect, they will say so as quickly
as they would say the same thing
of any other man. Every fair-minded
man Will applaud this in them. The
people want to know what manner of
men make the laws for them. They
have right to know. Public men
are public property. Their official acts
are legitimate subjects of criticism.
and no amount of investigations will
stop newspaper men from crlticising
them.
DeninIs Are Not believed.
1t Is easy for public men to make
denials. 1t Is with many a common
practice to deny newspaper stories
when such stories are calculated to
in1ure their political prospects. Some
OF them make serious errors at times
and to escape from the fatality OF
their own acts characterize the news
paper reports as false
| well remember d case in question
which happended several years ago.
A member of congress talked with mo |
az length on question which was then |
me subject of much discussion
throughout the country / wrote out
the conversation IN the shape Of an |
interview and submitted II to him for |
revision He changed Just one word |
IN some twenty sheets of manuscript |
When 1t was printed he read II with |
huch satisfaction and remarked that |
ne expected the main idea he han nd |
af
But II did not Many newspapers in |
various sections characterized the nro |
position advanced as absurd and i'm |
praeual. ana criticised him severely. |
~ we press IN his own congression- |
al district criticised him. Then IL |
was that he sought shelter, but dir |
ierent from many others He came |
10 me and honestly stated that he |
mad made serious error and wanted |
W escape the consequences by ap- |
peanhs TO the old shelter of having
been misquoted. He was IN n sad |
phght but was honest with me about
H. ana an article was arranged which
renewed MIN to some extent.
When They Lack MornI Courage,
But there are cases where public
men have dictated stories and revised
them and afterwards denied them in
1910 II is so easy to state you were
ehtirely misquoted. that 1t is becom-
ing common practice.
But good newspapers will tell the
news and print the truth about bubble
men. They will accord them what
Is Justly theirs, but no amount of in
designations Will cause mock dignity
to be recognized as the genuine arti-
ne senatorial dignity is all right In
AVA, way, put Is not a cloak or suf-
hTIent thickness to screen all sins.
me Washington EVENING News
psin,s the news OF the rise and fall
Oh Oh sugar stock every afternoon on its
s sIrst Page, under the head lines, For
gossip that might have been correct
month or so ago. but II there was
ever any specializing senators there
. ute no more now-not In the face OF
'he investigating committee. Il. w. b.