The Kimball graphic. (Kimball, Brule County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1905, 1894-06-09
.TAE SUGAR TRUST INQUIRY
Senator Hill for Open Sessions Of
the Committee.
Sarcastic Thrusts at His Fellow Legislators
Demands That Nothing BE HID
den From the Press and
the Public. M -

WASHINGTON, June 2.-The house Joint
resolution for the purchase and condemn
alton Of land In the vicinity at the GettyA
burg battlefield, was taken up on motion
of Mt. Hill, dem, New York, and passed.
The resolution offered yesterday by Mr..
PETER, populist. Kansas. for the taking
possession of and holding for public use
the coal beds of the country, was taken up
and referred to the Judiciary committee.
Then the resolution offered by Mr.. Hill,
dem New York, for open sessions of tho
select committee on the sugar trust inves.
tiRation, was laid before the senate, and
Mr.. Hill spoke in its support He thought,
that open sessions OF the committee were
fairly completed by the resolution for its
appointment. 1t was in the usual form,
and did not authorize secret sessions,
neither did 1t refuse that authority,
There was nothing in the origi.
nal resolution that permitted any
senator to suggest that It's proceedings
should be secret. He started of with the
general proposition that the proceedings
OF the senate investigation committees
should be open; that, as a general rule
they wore open and that there was moth
ing about this case that required the
proceedings to be secret.
At 1913 the tariff bill was laid before
the senate.
Mr.. Hill insisted on continuing his re,
marks. He went on to say that the in
vestigation shall be open to the public
and press and that would prevent any
suspicion that the senate desired to have
those proceedings conducted In the dark
1t would satisfy an honest and Just pub
lie sentiment aud would not do injus
tioe to anybody. The committee.
WAS mot oro. arumiload e0ur.
acquit. It was simply TOR the purpose Of
investigating the truth OF certain news.
paper assertions. The senate itself wa,
not a club, although sometimes called sol
and there was no reason why the public
should be excluded from its proceedings.
lie should be excluded from the session,
of investigating committees.
He thought that the investigation
should be held with open doors and that
the reporters Of the press should be pres.
ent. He had read what had been given ia
vestlgation was whether the secretary os
the treasury had made suggestioni
about the sugar schedule for
the action of the finance com.
mittee. Was there anything, he
asked, SO peculiar. so improper, so unprece.
dented aboutathat the testimony in re.
gard to it should not be taken in the broad
daylight and in the presence of the press
aud OF the people2 Another point was al
to whether senators had specialized in
sugar stock. There was no reason why
testimony in regard to that should not be
taken In open session. He was sure that
there should not have been SO many pur-
chases OF sugar stock 'here around this
circle" that there was any fear hat a dis.
closure OF the facts would influence the
New York stock market and therefore IL
was not wise to disclose how many pur.
chases had been made around this cir.
Gle"
The sessions OF the Investigating com.
mtttee. Mr.. Hill added, were supposed to
be secret, but they were neither one thing
given to the public by the distinguished
chairman of the committee. Mr.. Hillspoke
of Mr.. Mcpherson, DEM, New Jersey.
having been called before the committee
a few days ago. The newspaper men, he
said, were watching the doors OF the com
who came out. And when witnesses re-
fused 20 tell them what they had testified
the newspaper men made surmises. So
one newspaper,in publishing the statement
carefully prepared by the chairman OF the
committee said that the senator from
New Jersey had admitted speculation in
sugar stock and another newspaper said
that he had admitted nothing Improper.
Tho two statements were entirely differ
rnt. This playing fast and loose was
unjust to the Witnesses, unjust to the
great public and unjust to the senate,
The old fashioned way of public sessions
would have been the better way,
Mr.. Gray. dem, Delaware, chairman of
the investigating committe, replied to Mr..
Hill. He did not intend, he said, either
on bchalfo of himself or of the committee.
to do more han say that, hav-
ing no personal interest whatever,
In the matter. and having no
personal! wish to crafty, the committee
was perfectly willing for the senate to
decide the question raised by the rcsolu-
tion of the senator from New York. The
personal inclination of the committee and
their personal comfort would have
the doors of the committees
room while conducting the investiga-
ton; but, after deliberation and discus
sion and q careful consideration Of tho
OF the duty i'm posed upon them,
had come to the conclusion that for
the present at any rate the end in view
could be better promoted by proceeding
as they had done.
HIP ra1nlrti1r ,yn.