The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1894-05-24
WAsHINGTO N ], E u

l.---------.-, ros,,s Regular. Correspondent,
wAsutssTos, MAY 81, 1884.
Editor. Post:
Everybody one meets seems to nav, nave
become walking interrogation poln''
all seeking the same intormationm
~ r will be found out BY the COM
mittee of Senators charged WIN :; 80 81
vestigating the charges made Gag aga ans
varions individuals and Senators,
including attempted bribery, cor col
rupting methods Of sugar trust, anu
speculating in sugar stock by oe e
tarse Il IS not surprising that Sen
e st,1 selected to serve on this COM
mittee. which began its work to Day
should have been sought to evsde me
d;sarreeable task, but Vice Presl-
dent Stevenson, having made the Sc
lection after mature consideration,
and with view of the special fitness
of each man for the work he is 20
perform, decline to accept any e1cu u,
Is or to make any changes, and the
committee stands as originally APP
pointed-Democrats: Gray, of Della,
ware. Chairman, and Lindsay, OF
Kentucky; Republicans: Lodge. OF
Massachusetts,, and Davis, OF Mimi
sofa; Populist: Allen, Of Nebraska
# a Congressional committee had
any power to compel witnesses sum-
moned to testify there would be no {,
doubt Of the sensational nature OF
the facts that would be brought out
by this investigation. but the Y. ,.
Supreme Court has in similar case
decided that no witness can be pun
ished for declining to testify concern
ing the private affairs Of any citizen;
therefore the testimony will necessa-
rily be confined to that which is in
sense voluntary, but the questions
which will be asked some of the SEN
ators in connection with the relation
between them and the sugar trust
during the last two months may
bring out much, if the members Of the
committee live up to their declared
intention. The first batch of the
investigation deals with the alleged
attempt to bribe Senator Hunton, OF
Virginia, and Kyle, of South Dako-
ia, to vote against the tariff bill, and
will probably be short, as there was
probably nothing more serious in it
than the garrulity of an irresponsi-
Bile lobbyist. The sugar trust branch
will be larger, with results very
doubtful. 1t shall not be surprised
to have the fact brought out that the
sugar trust made big contributions
to both the Republican and Demo-
cratic campaign funds, inst as other
trusts have been known 60 do moro
than once; but with that Supreme
Court decision to protect the witness
es it will be largely chance what is
brought out. Some of the witnesses
are newspaper men who will be will
ing to tell all they know, so far as it
can be done without violating prom
Uses which they have had to make to
obtain some of the information that
has been printed.
The decision to hold the investi-
CATION behind closed doors was not
we'll received in Washington, but the
vote of the committee was unani-
nous, and, all things considered. was
perhaps the wisest thing to do. The
argument of the committee is that if
the testimony were publicly taken it
would prevent much being found out,
as the publication would enable wit
neases who did not care to testify to
keep themselves out of the way when
they saw, by the testimony of other
witnesses, that they would be likely
to be called. The committee will
have a stenographic record of the
testimony made and at the close will
publish it. just as taken, whatever
the nature of the report thereon may
be, at least that is what its members
now promise.
Coxey's army no longer attracts
much interest in Washington, but,
Judging from Coxey's mail. which
has grown to large proportions and is
still growing, the interest through
out the country is on the increase.
The contributions for the support Of
the men has dropped almost to zero
in Washington, bat are coming free
iy from other quarters. The origi-
nal army is decreasing slowly, but
the number is kept up by recruits,
and this week more than 1000 are
expected tojoin. Sentence is to be
passed on Coxey, Browne and Jones
to-day, all efforts to get their cases
before the higher courts having
failed.
At last there seems to be proba
hility that tariff bill will be passed
ina few weeks, the Senators on both
sides having apparently located
themselves. The progress made
during the last halfof last week was
very gratifying to- those who are